Even though CES 2021 is completely virtual this year, that doesn’t stop LG from being a little extra with its OLED demos. This year, the company is creating not one, not two, but three flashy demos of its 55-inch transparent OLED display.
Of the three, the most timely demonstration is an elaborate sushi bar setup. The screen acts as a physical barrier without contact between the chef and the guest, as well as a means of leafing through the menu or watching videos. At the same time, it does not totally obscure the chef’s vision preparing his meal – which is the coolest thing to eat at a sushi bar. Appropriate, given the impact of the pandemic on indoor meals.
The company also plans to demonstrate how the screen can be useful in subway cars. More specifically, replacing the windows of the train cars with a transparent screen so that passengers can see information such as subway maps, weather and news, while also watching the sights. It’s a cool concept, although it’s probably best suited for areas that have beautiful scenery and not New York’s crunchy subway tunnels. LG demonstrated something similar in Beijing and Shenzen earlier this year.
LG is also creating a “smart bed” that has its transparent OLED embedded in a frame that can be placed at the foot of the bed. The idea is that you can press a button and that’s it, the screen leaves the frame to “show information or TV content in various screen proportions”. It doesn’t quite as meaningful as the sushi bar or the subway settings, but is aimed at anyone who wants to watch TV or a movie in bed while watching the rest of the room. Although, technically, the frame is portable, then you could, theoretically, transport it to other rooms where this transparency can be most useful. (Still, as with Xiaomi transparent TVs, it is unclear who exactly is crying out for transparent TVs in their homes.) LG is also incorporating something it calls Cinematic Sound OLED (CSO) into the frame itself to eliminate the need for external speakers.
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LG is not ashamed to present its cutting-edge screen technology – and we seen your transparent OLED before. It is more like this time, LG is trying to make a case for how transparent OLEDs can fit into everyday life. What happens with transparent screens is that, although you expect them to work as Minority Report, things like ambient light can make images look faded. However, LG claims that its transparent OLED does not require backlighting and offers 40% transparency – an increase over the 10% transparency that LG says is typical of today’s transparent LCDs. It’s a cool technology, but it’s also ridiculously expensive in $ 18,750 on the LG website. In any case, LG, at least, is not the $ 87,000 that you would need to shell out for your 65 inch scrollable OLED TV.
It is a pity that we will not have a chance to see these demos in person. LG’s CES monitors have historically went very incredible. The good news is that everyone, including the general public, will be able to watch the demos virtually from January 11th.