On Sunday night, Samsung held its annual First Look event at CES 2024, where the company teased the world’s first transparent MicroLED display. Although there’s no word yet on how much this technology will cost or when the technology will find its way to retail devices, Samsung showed off the transparent MicroLED display side by side alongside the transparent OLED and transparent LCD models to highlight the differences between the technology. Compared to other panels, the MicroLED panel was not only brighter, it also featured a completely frameless design and a more transparent glass panel that made it easier to see objects behind it.
In person, it’s hard to describe the effect of Samsung’s transparent micro OLED displays, as the content almost looks like a 3D image when it floats in the air. The demo unit was free-standing and was only about a centimeter thick, further adding to the illusion of a floating screen. Plus, due to the high pixel density of the tiny LEDs, images also look incredibly sharp. So far, Samsung has only uploaded one EDM-filled vertical video, but hopefully it gives you an idea of what we saw:
According to a Samsung spokesperson, since transparent MicroLED displays have higher brightness compared to transparent OLED displays, they are also less affected by ambient light.
The bad news is that with Samsung’s current lineup of opaque MicroLED TVs currently costing $150,000 for a 110-inch model, it’s going to be a long time until these new displays are anywhere near everyone’s reach.
Coincidentally, Samsung isn’t the only Korean company showing off a large, transparent display at CES this year. Its eternal rival LG has debuted the OLED T, which, unlike Samsung’s model, will go on sale this year. The OLED T appears to be LG’s first wirelessly transparent OLED TV, with 4K resolution and wireless audio and video transmission technology from LG. That’s based on the company’s M3 (non-transparent) model, which debuted at least at this year’s CES. The OLED T also features a contrast screen that folds into a box at its base that you can raise or lower with the push of a button.
Update, January 9, 2 PM ET: This story was updated after publication to include details about the LG OLED T phone.
We’re reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.