LG is bringing transparent OLED displays to subways in Beijing and Shenzhen. The 55-inch, see-through displays show real-time info about subway schedules, locations and transfers on train windows. They also provide info on flights, weather and the news.
Riders will see the tech first on Line 6 in Beijing and Line 10 in Shenzhen. LG plans to expand the OLED displays to other subway lines, which will require working with railroad companies and train glass manufacturers.
Transparent displays have long been a concept shown off at trade shows. Samsung brought its smart OLED windows to CES way back in 2012. That same year, Samsung teased a transparent showcase at IFA. But this latest see-through tech from LG shows a real-world application, and one that actually has some utility.
There’s a good chance we’ll soon see more practical uses of transparent display tech beyond the trade show walls. LG has also put transparent OLED TVs in Harrods’ storefront windows, and Xiaomi recently showed off its $7,200 see-through TV.
“The application of transparent displays will become more diverse,” said Dr. Chang-ho Oh, a senior vice president at LG Display. His division “aims to supply products to a wide range of industries in line with its vision as the leading display solution provider.”
This week’s best deals: Amazon Echo devices, iPad mini and more
If you aren’t set to go back to school (either physically or remotely), a number of this week’s sales can help. Amazon discounted a bunch of its Echo and Fire TV devices and you can get Apple’s latest iPad mini for $50 off. A few TCL 8-series Roku TVs are half off, too, and you can stock up on some digital Nintendo Switch games in the company’s latest eShop sale. These are the best deals from this week that you can still buy today.
Amazon “off to college” sale
It’s a good time to grab an Echo or Fire TV device now that Amazon has discounted most of them in its latest back-to-school sale. Of note is the Echo Plus, which stuffs a smart home hub inside the standard Echo design, on sale for $75 and the Echo Studio, the best sounding smart speaker that Amazon makes, on sale for $170.
Both of those deals are being matched at Best Buy, too. If you’re looking for even more affordable (and possibly smaller) devices, the Echo Dot is discounted to $30 and the Fire TV Stick 4K is on sale for $35.
