Samsung's Transparent Display Looks Like Something Out of Star Wars

I don’t have a single clue about what the hell this latest leaked display is, but reputable Samsung expert Ice Universe describes it in a recent tweet as the “Samsung columnar transparent OLED screen.” It looks like the beginning of the holographic chess game in the Millennium Falcon*

Credit: Ice Universe — (Image credit: Ice Universe)

There aren’t any details about this cylindrical OLED display other than the fact that is totally transparent. Ice Universe only points out that it “can be used for speakers” and that it’s “very sci-fi.”

I can’t imagine the connection between such a technology and speakers. Perhaps it is to make a home assistant that can show visual information no matter where you are? Or, perhaps Samsung is prepping a smart speaker that can play cool holographic visuals in sync with your music.

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What could be more interesting is the use of transparent OLED screens. While Samsung seems totally incapable of make OLEDs that are as big as LG’s, the company seems to be investing heavily in foldable displays for mobile applications.

The Korean company also recently announced a new screen type with a camera hidden under the display. While it seems this technology will not be introduced for two more years, this type of transparent display offers one idea of the how Samsung may achieve this in the future.

* Your Star Wars trivia of the day: the holographic game in the Falcon is called Dejarik.

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Jesus Diaz founded the new Sploid for Gawker Media after seven years working at Gizmodo, where he helmed the lost-in-a-bar iPhone 4 story and wrote old angry man rants, among other things. He's a creative director, screenwriter, and producer at The Magic Sauce, and currently writes for Fast Company and Tom's Guide.