BOE Varitronix showcased 5 display demos at the Vehicle Display Interface (VDI) 26 conference in detroit, as detailed below.
Background: Varitronix, a Hong Kong company, was acquired by BOE and now focuses primarily on automotive display business globally, with offices in the US, Europe, and elsewhere.
Demos shown
- UV cell display (LCD) – A new liquid crystal material offering “ultra black” performance, shown side-by-side with a normal LCD. Contrast ratio reaches 2500:1 vs. 1500:1 for standard LCDs. Already commercialized for TVs (shown at the conference last year too), and now enabling ultra-slim automotive display modules — 3.8mm bezel, 0.85kg module weight. All demos qualified for automotive use. The rep declined to share specifics on new customer developments since last year.
- Hidden/borderless display – A 15.6″ LCD with ~40% transmissivity and local-dimming backlight, designed to blend seamlessly into interior trim when off. Shown alongside an OLED counterpart with 80% transmissivity and ~1100 nits luminance, plus low-light contrast and color advantages. The reporter noted a preference for the LCD version’s more textured/integrated look.
- Switchable privacy display – Uses an internal prism layer (not a dual-cell design) to restrict driver-side viewing to under 0.5% at 45°, with gesture recognition to toggle privacy on/off — useful for letting a passenger view content while parked. The rep declined to explain the switching mechanism in detail.
- Under-display camera (UDC) system – A DMS (driver monitoring system) solution with a camera and IR emitters integrated behind a standard-looking automotive-grade screen. The display itself is automotive qualified, though the full integrated camera/IR solution isn’t fully qualified yet, despite using automotive-grade components.
- Rear-seat entertainment screens – Two in-mass-production designs: a 21″ 3K LCD “cinema system” (for a Chinese automaker, unnamed) and a 4K OLED version praised for image quality, brightness, and very thin, foldable bezels.