For a long time, manufacturers have shown a clear tendency toward developing increasingly thinner products. Both computers and smartphones seem to have no limit in sight, but the story might be different with televisions. LG recently presented a prototype of an OLED screen that is less than a millimeter thick, and so light that it can be mounted on a wall using magnets.
It's likely that manufacturers are still wondering why 3D failed so resoundingly in homes, and when they will see an acceleration in 4K content distribution that justifies buying a whole new generation of screens. Even so, we can't deny that they have completely mastered some tricks, such as drastically reducing the thickness of screens. One of the big goals is to reduce weight, which would make installation on walls and other vertical surfaces easier. The web is full of horror stories about poorly installed TVs that end up victims of gravity, but there is a chance that in the future those stories disappear... assuming that LG's new development reaches the market.
The Wallpaper screen
It doesn't have an official name, and according to LG it's a proof of concept, but the specialized press has given it the nickname 'Wallpaper', and I think it suits it very well. Technically, it's a 55-inch OLED screen weighing 1.9 kilograms, which allows it to be hung on the wall using nothing but magnets. Its resolution was not disclosed, and OLED technology hasn't completely overcome its production problems (LG indicated that its technique reached an 80 percent yield), which anticipates a rather high cost... but all doubts disappear when we see its thickness, just 0.97 millimeters. I thought it was a typo, however, after checking four different sources, and the official publication by the South Korean news agency Yonhap, I discovered there is no mistake. The thickness of the screen is less than a millimeter.
LG's intention is nothing more than to demonstrate to the industry that OLED technology has a bright and attractive future, despite its current drawbacks. LG believes it can sell about 600 thousand OLED units during this year, while the goal for 2016 is one and a half million screens. If LG has truly managed to secure its OLED production technique, prices should drop enough to make these brand-new screens an attractive option.
