Katarzyna Petru
Millions of people around the world spend their entire days staring at a computer screen. But what if instead of a black sheet of plastic, you had… transparent glass through which you could see the world outside? Sounds like science fiction, but the startup Visual Instruments claims that’s exactly what they’ve done – created the world’s first fully transparent monitor, named Phantom. And what’s most interesting: it doesn’t use OLED.
Not OLED, but… pure optics
Transparent displays are nothing new. LG has already launched the Signature OLED T, and Xiaomi revealed the transparent Mi TV LUX back in 2020. The problem is that these panels have never been 100% transparent – the light transmittance was around 40%, so the effect was more like looking through fog than glass. Phantom solves this differently. The screen is made entirely of glass, and the image is not displayed in pixels, but rather projected onto a specially coated surface.
The light source is located in the base of the monitor and projects the image upwards, so it reflects off the glass panel at the perfect angle. The effect? The graphics literally “float in the air”, allowing the user to see a connection between the digital and real worlds.
It’s a bit like a hologram – you can look at the screen and through it at the same time, for example, at a window with a view behind your desk.
Transparency on Demand
Interesting fact: transparency can be turned off. Phantom allows you to adjust the level of "transparency" just like dimming windows on an airplane. If you need to focus, set it to 0% and you have a classic, opaque screen. The company claims that the transparent mode reduces eye strain because it allows you to shift your gaze to the background every so often – unlike standard monitors that force your eyes to constantly focus at a close distance.
Technical Specifications
Size: 24 inches, 16:9 format
Resolution: 4K UHD
Brightness: up to 5000 nits in HDR mode
Colours: 100% sRGB colour gamut
Connections: USB-C, DisplayPort, HDMI
(no information on HDMI version and refresh rate – so probably not for gamers)
Price and Availability
Initially, only 10 units in Founders Edition will be produced.
Currency | Price |
|---|---|
🇺🇸 USD | $1,599 |
🇦🇺 AUD | A$2,470 |
🇪🇺 EUR | €1,485 |
🇬🇧 GBP | £1,270 |
🇵🇱 PLN | ≈ 6 800 zł |
*Indicative rates (November 2025): 1 USD ≈ 1.54 AUD / 0.93 EUR / 0.79 GBP / 4.25 PLN.
What’s the point?
Does a transparent monitor really make sense? Hard to say. It’s definitely a flashy gadget that will catch attention in the office or design studio. It might actually help the eyes to relax. But it could just as easily be a beautiful experiment.
One thing is for sure – Phantom shows that the future of monitors doesn’t have to be dark. 🌫️
