There are sometimes technologies where you don’t really know what they are supposed to be good for—but they are simply absolutely fascinating. Transparent televisions definitely belong in this category, and Samsung showed a perfect example at CES with the first transparent micro LED TV.
Of course, transparent televisions are almost old hat. Xiaomi sold its transparent television Mi TV Lux for roughly $7000, at least in China for a while. However, the sinfully expensive Xiaomi TV relied on a transparent OLED panel, and when we tried it out with the relatively highly reflective display glass, it didn’t really seem suitable for everyday use—at least not as a daily driver.
The micro-LED TV now being shown by Samsung at CES is really in a different class. The picture is simply bombastically sharp and colorful. Thanks to the completely frameless display, the splashes of color in the demo video almost look like holograms simply standing in the room. After Samsung also exhibited a transparent OLED TV at its “First Look” event in Las Vegas, the difference was particularly clear to see.
Well, you probably won’t have a transparent micro LED TV in your living room any time soon. There is no market-ready product yet, and even the non-transparent Micro LED TVs are still insanely expensive. Samsung USA is selling a 110-inch model for 150,000 US dollars*—and, as I said, it’s not even transparent.
As soon as you can grab your chin from the floor, the initial question comes up: What’s the point anyway?
At least in a private household, I can hardly see how a transparent TV would make sense. During the day, the woodchip wallpaper illuminated by the ambient light would ruin any black level, and even in dark rooms, the TV would have to be positioned at some distance from the wall so that its own luminosity does not illuminate it and disturb the picture again.
And so the transparent TVs will probably remain conspicuous exotics that spice up sales rooms for expensive luxury items. Remember our first impression on the Xiaomi Mi TV Lux transparent OLED:
Or have you already reserved a place in your living room for the next transparent TV? Speak up: Where would you place such a device?
