Samsung Electronics kicked off CES 2024 with a bang, premiering a transparent MicroLED display at its First Look curtain raiser that created a great deal of buzz in Las Vegas. Transparent screen technology is poised to extend virtual experiences into the world’s living rooms, and Samsung says that its MicroLED tech — the result of six years of R&D — is better than competing OLED and LED options, claiming the clear, glass-like display offers superior brightness and clarity to competing options. To illustrate its claim, Samsung’s demo lets visitors compare its transparent MicroLED display next to transparent OLED and LCD screens.

CNET’s reporter concluded “the MicroLED version did indeed look the best, especially in terms of brightness and color.” Likewise, Engadget writes that “compared to the others, not only was the MicroLED panel significantly brighter, it also featured a completely frameless design and a more transparent glass panel that made it easier to see objects behind it.”

While transparent OLED “and even LCD-based screens” have been around for some time, the medium hasn’t really found its killer app.

While “a transparent TV that effectively disappears when not in use” could be cool, CNET writes that “Samsung’s first demonstration of transparent MicroLED focused on more commercial applications,” including displaying fireworks at a soccer match “meant to mimic the experience of sitting in a luxury box at a game, where the windows looking on the field were transparent MicroLED” with scores and highlights appearing on the “window,” subtly enhancing the game experience.

The Samsung Newsroom has posted a video demo of the MicroLED’s immersive effect on “everything from sports to movies.”

Engadget says the image on the transparent MicroLED screen “almost looks like a hologram as it floats in mid-air,” noting that “the demo unit was freestanding and measured only about a centimeter thick, which adds even more to the illusion of a floating screen.” Due to the high pixel density of MicroLEDs, Engadget notes “the images looked incredibly sharp.”

Samsung claims the MicroLED displays “are less impacted by ambient light because they have higher brightness compared to transparent OLED panels,” per TechRadar, which called the demo “impressive,” but said the image “gets a bit grainy and yellow-ish up close.”

“Samsung says the MicroLED tech that goes into these new panels utilizes ‘a modular design that allows viewers to personalize the shape, size, and ratio of screens to fit any space,’” according to Digital Trends, which recreates the “live microscopic looks at the panels themselves” offered by Samsung to show “the difference in how MicroLED works versus OLED and traditional LCD options.”

Pricing and availability were not disclosed. Tom’s Guide calls the technology a “proof of concept,” adding that “this this first time we’ve seen a transparent MicroLED display fashioned as a somewhat real-looking TV. If TVs had glass-like, bezel-free designs.”