Samsung debuts the world’s first transparent MicroLED screen at CES 2024

There’s always a number of surprises at CES and during its First Look event, Samsung teased the world’s first transparent MicroLED display. 

While there’s still no word on how much it costs or when this tech will find its way into retail devices, Samsung showcased not one but three different transparent micro LED displays with slightly different designs. Two of the demo units featured tinted glass which made it easier to ignore any potential districting objects behind the panels, while another appeared to be as transparent as regular glass while also boasting a frameless design. 

A side view of what Samsung is calling the world's first transparent micro LED display.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

In person, the effect Samsung’s transparent micro OLED displays have is hard to describe, as content almost looks like a hologram as it floats in mid-air. All of the demo units were freestanding and measured only about a centimeter thick, which adds even more to the illusion of a floating screen. Additionally, because of micro LEDs high pixel density, images also looked incredibly sharp. So far Samsung has only uploaded a single vertical video overflowing with EDM, but hopefully it gives you some idea what we saw:

According to a Samsung representative, because transparent MicroLED displays have higher brightness compared to transparent OLED panels, they are also less impacted by ambient light. 

The bad news is that with Samsung’s current crop of non-transparent MicroLED TVs currently costing $150,000 for a 110-inch model, it’s going to be a decently long time until these new displays become anything close to affordable.

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.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-debuts-the-worlds-first-transparent-microled-screen-at-ces-2024-042634398.html?src=rss