Display Week 2024 | LG Display showcases smartwatch display with 3D rendering using light field technology and OLED

At Display Week 2024 in San Jose, LG Display presented a 1.3" display that enables a certain 3D effect on smartwatches. The South Korean company has combined a 4K OLEDoS (on Silicon) display with light field technology. The result is a 3D display on the smartwatch that does not require 3D glasses. LG Display calls it a holographic-like display.

During a short test at Display Week, this worked quite well. However, it was susceptible to interference from the bystanders around it, who often triggered a corresponding warning message. Of course, this was for demonstration reasons. LG obviously wanted to avoid the display producing incorrect images. In practice, it is rather unlikely that several people look at a smartwatch at the same time.

The concept was clearly perceptible and not too over-the-top in its presentation.

Interestingly, the recognition of bystanders also ensured that the effect could not be filmed with a smartphone during a small test. Each time we attempted to film, a warning popped up. The display was also extremely bright in the slightly darkened room. This was pleasant for the eye, but it was a problem for a camera in the hustle and bustle of the trade fair. 

LG Display is currently working on several small OLED displays. For the AR/VR market, for example, the company showcased a micro OLED display that achieves up to 10,000 candela per square meter and offers a pixel density of 4,000 PPI. This is made possible by small lenses in the micrometer range (Micro Lens Array, MLA), which capture light on the chip and transport it to the eye, which would otherwise be lost due to scattering.