LAS VEGAS—Portable televisions have come a long way since the tiny CRTs of the 20th century. Displace is a modern take on take-anywhere TV in the form of a battery-powered, completely wireless OLED panel.
I checked it out at CES, and at first glance, the Displace looks like a plain, glossy black slab with sharp right angles and no discernible frame or bezel. Turn it on with the included touchpad controller and it turns on like any other TV, ready to stream video from online services no matter where it’s placed. Displace has its own web-based smart TV platform with an AI assistant and support for most major streaming apps, so there should be no shortage of things to watch on TV. There’s also a built-in tray where you can plug in a stick-sized media streamer to use your platform of choice without marring the TV’s flat, untethered profile.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)
As for where you can put Displace, this is where the TV gets really smart. For starters, it has a pair of short, built-in legs sticking out of the bottom. These legs are standard on all Displace models and are suitable for placing the TV on a table or counter. The Displace Pro model has another option: tool-free wall mounting. A suction mechanism on the back of the Displace Pro securely attaches the TV to any surface that is sufficiently hard and smooth, such as a glass window or even a refrigerator. The mounting process is automated, with on-screen alignment guides to help you level the TV before the suction engages and mounts it to the wall in 10 seconds.
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The suction system kept the Displace Pro models I saw at CES securely attached to their Plexiglas demo panels, and the assembly and disassembly process seemed simple and easy. Of course, you’re still counting on a large motorized suction cup to keep an OLED panel from hitting the floor and breaking. What happens if the battery dies and the vacuum mechanism cannot maintain? Displace promotes a “landing gear” system that kicks in as soon as it detects a battery failure. The system slowly lowers the TV to the ground with a series of cables that unfold, but I didn’t get to see it in action, and it appears to be a long and controversial gimmick. Even with the landing gear, I would probably recommend keeping the TV off the wall when not in use.
According to Displace, the 55-inch version of both the Basic and Pro versions of the TV have a 10,000 mAh battery that can last 40 to 60 hours between charges (both models are also available in 27 inches, but the company has only offered a rating for 55 inch screens). That’s just for the display, though, and the Pro also comes with a soundbar and a pair of satellite speakers that add an extra 40,000mAh of power when connected directly to the TV for up to 150 hours of viewing.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)
The convention show floor isn’t the best environment for judging picture quality, but the Displace displays I saw at CES certainly seemed to have the vivid colors and deep blacks expected of an OLED TV. They’re nice-looking TVs, though we won’t know exactly how wide and accurate their colors are, and how bright the panels can get, until we get them to the lab for testing.
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Ready for Prime Time
Displace debuted at CES two years ago and has been showing off its wireless TVs ever since, but the Basic and Pro models I saw this year appear to be significant redesigns that are almost ready for buyers. Previous versions of the Displace used multiple hot-swappable batteries, which have been replaced by integrated cells that can be charged directly via USB-C and free up output sections where the batteries can be removed for connectivity and device storage. The Displace smart TV interface is also new, although it’s debatable whether it’s really necessary; numerous smart TV platforms are already available and fully developed, and creating one from scratch doesn’t seem to offer much benefit, whether it has an AI agent or not. However, landing gear is not new; Displace has been promoting its terrifying wall-pulling security feature for almost as long as it’s been showing off its TV concepts. Whether or not it is reliable remains to be seen.
The TVs are available for pre-order now with retail prices starting at $2,499 for the 27-inch Displace Basic to $5,999 for the 55-inch Displace Pro. Displace expects to begin shipping in March.
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About Will Greenwald
Principal Analyst, Consumer Electronics
