LG's transparent OLED screens have been around for some time, but only in the form of business signage; now LG has announced new see-through displays, including one that can actually be used at home.

The "smart bed" has a frame that, at the push of a button, reveals LG's latest 55-inch transparent OLED screen, allowing users to view the futuristic TV from under the covers. The smart bed will be detailed at the all-digital CES 2021 in January.

LG's transparent OLED technology boasts 40% transparency compared to existing transparent LCD screens, which are only 10% transparent. This means that areas where nothing is displayed will have a clearer, glass-like quality.

The Smart Bed is part of a broader effort to bring transparent OLEDs into spaces where they can be more easily interacted with than simple signage; LG's CES plans include a "Restaurant Zone" where customers at a sushi bar can use a screen to watch a chef prepare food behind a display. LG's CES plans also include a "restaurant zone" where sushi bar patrons can enjoy themselves using a screen while watching a chef cook behind the display. Presumably, this will be shown in a pre-recorded video or live-streamed show, as there will be no in-person attendance at the upcoming CES.

LG will also demonstrate how transparent OLED screens can replace train car windows.

LG has not indicated pricing or availability of the first form of transparent OLED technology for home use, the smart bed, so consumer models are likely to be closer to the prototype stage than the final product. See-through screens are cool, but in terms of next-generation panel technology that can be purchased in the near future, it might be better to focus on LG's other big display, the company's first QNED Mini LED TV, to be unveiled at CES in 2021.