Screen are getting bigger and bigger as the years roll by and the CES of 2024 is just one exhibit of such progress. The consumer tech showcase was monopolized by massive screens with blinding colors and sounds.
The most special were the ones however that were almost invisible – sound and colors blinding us only when we need it.
Samsung’s MicroLED screen which makes images appear or appears as a clear piece of glass and LG’s transparent TV have been the two companies leading the change on invisible screens. Other showcases which don’t wow us as much but are still quite creative are the Samsun Frame TV, first released in 2017, that can be loaded with images of art when not in use to make it look like a framed painting. At CES this year, Hisene released its own concept TV called CanvasTV. Other manufacturers have been playing with the idea of roll up screens of which LG made headlines with its extremely pricey rollable television in CES 2021. Projectors have also come into fashion such as the LG CineBeam Qube and the Xgimi Horizon Max.
“It’s all in the effort to try to remove the black hole from the wall that we’ve all been used to forever,” says Paul Gagnon, a consumer electronics industry expert and adviser at Circana who has focused on TVs for over 15 years.
Although the invisible screens by LG and Samsung feature technology that has been used in commercial spaces for years it was too high cost for the consumer market until now.
“I don’t think most TVs are going to end up looking like this,” Gagnon says. “The majority of consumers are just looking for an affordable, high-quality screen that lets them watch the shows that they want to watch.”
Yet, companies are running the race of making screens disappear or at least blend in with the decor of the room.
On the note of the evolution of the TV screen, Gagnon has the following to say:
“We are a long way away from getting rid of the screen as a device that just sits in our homes and we use for TV,” “I would be sad if we ever lost that digital hearth. That’s been the centrepiece of most families’ home entertainment for half a century now. It would be sad to see that go.”
