Samsung's New Display Tech Can Toggle Glasses-Free 3D on 2D Screens

Samsung has remained dedicated to glasses-free 3D displays much longer than most. A recent research paper from both Samsung and POSTECH suggests that its next generation of glasses-free 3D monitors may be able to switch between 2D and 3D output at will. This is possible thanks to a new metalens-focused design that includes a polarization control layer. With the layer enabled, a sharp, high-resolution 2D image intended for everyday tasks is displayed. With the layer disabled, some resolution is lost in exchange for glasses-free 3D viewable at a wide enough viewing angle (100 degrees) for multi-user glasses-free 3D to become feasible.

As Samsung says, it's a breakthrough for end users "that could eventually enable them to choose between high-resolution 2D for everyday tasks and immersive, multi-view 3D for video" and "provide both the clarity of 2D and depth of 3D simultaneously."


The benefits of a metalens-enabled design don't stop at a dynamic 2D/3D, either. One notable limitation of Samsung's current-gen glasses-free Odyssey 3D monitors (and other contemporaries, like the Abxylute 3D handheld) is an adherence to IPS panels. While IPS panels are admittedly a lot better than TN and VA panels in terms of color accuracy, viewing angles and gamut coverage, they are limited when compared to VA and OLED's deeper contrast or TN and OLED's superb motion clarity. Meanwhile, metalens-enabled 3D technology has already been validated for use with OLED panels, which could have huge implications for next-gen 3D displays across smartphones, tablets, and commercial systems.

This advancement is not limited to just monitors or TVs, but is scalable enough to work with smartphones and other handheld devices. Samsung and POSTECH's work, while most obviously applicable to Samsung's own 3D monitors, is also targeted at Samsung's much wider display market.