Although CES 2021 will be completely virtual this year, that does not prevent LG from being an extra extra with its OLED demos. This year the company has not one, but also two three flashy demos of its 55-inch transparent OLED screen.
Of the three, the most current demo is an extensive setup of the sushi bar. The show also serves as a contactless, physical barrier between chef and guest, as well as a way to browse through the menu or watch videos. At the same time, it does not completely obscure your view of the chef preparing your meal – which is the coolest thing to eat at a sushi bar. Suitable, given the impact of the pandemic on the dining room inside.
The company also plans to demonstrate how the screen can be useful in subway cars. More specifically, the replacement of train windows by a transparent screen so that riders can see information such as metro maps, weather and news while also taking in the sights. It’s a cool concept, though it’s probably better suited to areas with beautiful scenery and not NYC’s crusty subway tunnels. LG demonstrated something similar in Beijing and Shenzhen earlier this year.
LG also creates a ‘smart bed’ with its transparent OLED in a frame that can be placed at the foot of the bed. The idea is that you can press a button, and the screen can poof out of the frame to ‘show information or TV content in different screen ratios’. It does not rather as much sense as the sushi bar or subway setups, but it’s aimed at people who want to watch TV or a movie in bed while also wanting to see the rest of the bedroom. However, the framework is technically portable, so you can theoretically transfer it to other rooms where transparency may be more useful. (Yet, as with Xiaomi’s Transparent TVs, it’s unclear who exactly wants transparent TVs in their homes.) LG is also plugging in what he calls Cinematic Sound OLED (CSO) in the framework to eliminate the need for external speakers.
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LG is not ashamed to implement its leading display technology – and we have has seen its transparent OLED before. It’s more like this time, LG is trying to make a case on how transparent OLEDs can fit into everyday life. The thing about transparent exhibits is that while you expect them to work Minority Report, things like ambient light can wash out images. However, LG claims that the transparent OLED does not need lightning and that it offers 40% transparency – an increase in the 10% transparency that LG believes is typical of current transparent LCDs. This is legally cool technology, though it is ridiculously expensive by $ 18,750 on LG’s website. Either way, LG is at least not the $ 87,000 you should pay for. its 65-inch rollable OLED TV.
It’s a chase that we will not get the chance to see these demos in person. LG’s CES screens have historic was pretty amazing. The good news is that almost everyone, including the general public, can see the demos from 11 January.