At CES 2023, a startup hardware company called Displace launched the 55-inch Display Flex, a “wireless” $3,000 4K OLED TV that sticks to the wall without traditional mounting. This announcement caused a sensation at the time. Today, founder and CEO Balaji met Krishna at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. He said more versions of the screen and new features inside it are coming.
First, the new Display Mini will be a small 27-inch TV designed for kitchens and bathrooms.
Krishna also hinted at new, yet-to-be-disclosed technology built into the device, including an “AI-powered shopping engine” and contactless payment readers that would allow consumers to buy products from ads. .
The company says the Displace device also has a built-in thermal camera, enabling potential health applications, such as reading thermal maps inside the body to detect inflammation.
TechCrunch wasn't able to verify all these new features, so we'll have to wait until shipping products start using these new features.
“We stopped accepting pre-orders after CES because we wanted to actually fill pre-orders. We plan to start shipping mid-year,” Krishna said. “We made a lot of changes to the design and simplified a lot of things, including making it lighter.”
He added that the company is aiming for a “small Series A” funding round of $5 million.
He said most of the interest in the device came from art studios, museums and even “embassies.” Most consumers are fine with a traditional TV setup, but businesses need the ability to mount their TVs on a wall or even in a window, like Displace does.
How does a TV actually work? It's also mounted on drywall using a vacuum suction system, and also uses a replaceable battery to power the screen. This TV is portless and, like LG's OLED M, streams all content from a base station.
Not only can Display Flex be applied to ceramic or glass, it can also be left on the wall for up to 10 months using a vacuum system. If that fails, the screen will gradually lower down from the wall using a zipline, much like a spider's web.
