Samsung Display at CES 2026: Playful demos and mysterious prototypes
Samsung Display is part of its giant parent company that makes OLEDs, LCDs, and other displays for Samsung devices and anyone who can afford them. This year, we’re betting everything on the OLEDs of the future. And that meant things like foldable displays with invisible creases, robots throwing basketballs at ultra-durable OLED panels, and OLED displays packaged in confusing form factors for no good reason.
Folds
The “seamless” foldable display that could be part of a future foldable iPhone disappeared from the booth during our visit, reappearing as we were leaving. (This is an image provided by Samsung Display.) The device was labeled as an R&D concept, but it somehow hid the crease in the center of the main screen, making the (unlabeled) Galaxy Z Fold on the left look like a messy first iteration foldable. There’s still a crease there. Will it actually be part of Apple’s foray into foldables, or just part of the Z Fold 8?
Why not both?
Put an OLED on it
This isn’t a record player you’ll ever buy. You don’t need an OLED screen on the side of your wireless earbuds, but you could have them. I liked the pretty OLED pendants; a customizable button badge in the near future, but a lot of it is just devices to make them.
The booth tour featured a small segment dedicated to OLED handheld gaming, adding more possibilities, whether it’s a viewfinder for FPS games or an additional HUD for the most important information.
The brightest OLED TV in the world
Reaching a brightness of 4,500 nits, I had to squint while sitting in front of this beastly OLED. For reference, consumer TVs typically peak at around 2,700 nits. Compared to other display technologies, OLED achieves deeper contrast and more accurate color reproduction, but it often lacks the brightness of competing TV technologies. Not for this prototype. Let me grab my sunglasses.
Kobe!
I didn’t consider OLED displays to be more fragile than other display technologies, but that didn’t stop Samsung Display from installing a robotic arm that throws a basketball at a hoop with a back panel made of 18 bendable OLEDs. With a bang, making the nearby Samsung Display executives and engineers more and more anxious as the days of CES progress.
Foldables have come a long way
After Samsung finally solved the weight and thickness problem with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it made life difficult again with the TriFold, with a 50% more foldable screen. But it’s worth seeing how Samsung’s foldable devices have evolved over the past few years. A solid reminder that the first Galaxy Fold (2019) was tough.
The next big thing in gaming displays
Samsung Display has started mass production of its 360Hz QD-OLED panel, featuring new “V-Stripe” RGB pixel structures. Within each pixel, subpixels are vertically aligned, which appears to improve the clarity of text edges and other small contrasting objects. While it was touted at the booth as a boon for office workers, one corner was dedicated to gaming apps.
Screens on your sedan
Digital cockpits are the lifeblood of a CES show floor, and Samsung Display’s version is, predictably, loaded with even more OLEDs. The centerpiece is a “Flexible L” screen that flows into the dashboard. A dedicated 13.8-inch screen on the passenger side also slides out of the dashboard.
This article was originally published on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/samsung-display-ces-2026-playful-demos-and-mysterious-prototypes-220407696.html?src=rss
