German television manufacturer Loewe (pronounced something like “lo-eh-veh”) has revealed the Bild X, an astonishing screen that’s as much a work of art as it is a television. Loewe’s mission with the Bild x is to showcase its approach to blending screens in with our surroundings. Samsung has hidden screens inside frames like a painting, and LG’s displays can be so paper-thin they appear to be a window rather than a screen. Loewe has used magnets to suspend its screen inside a minimalist stainless steel frame, for a bezel-less, high-art visual experience.
The stainless steel frame comes in either matte black or amber gold, and like the OLED screen itself is incredibly thin. To stop it from toppling over, a disk is placed over the frame on the floor to ensure everything stays upright. It’s not a lump of weighted plastic, of course, but a piece of polished black marble. Alternatively a support in the shape of a cross, and made from steel, can be used.
But placing the Bild X on the floor isn’t the only option. The OLED screen is light and flexible, and the frame can be detached from the stand to be placed on the wall, where the magnets will hold the screen itself in place. The screen doesn’t reach the edge, and instead looks like it’s floating in the middle of the frame. The slender design means the Bild X fits snugly against any wall.
At this point, you may be questioning where all the equipment a television needs to operate is hidden. Where are the speakers? Where are all the cables? What we’re seeing here is the latest stage in the Bild X’s journey toward release, and the final design is still being worked on. Loewe says the TV is modular, and the firm is experimenting with cable management and with where to place all the components necessary to make it work.
Does this mean the Bild X, as seen here, will never be released? We put the question to Loewe, who told us mid-2018 is possible, and that it may become the next generation of its existing, and stylistically similar, Bild 9 TVs. The Bild 9 starts at more than $9,200, which gives us an idea of how much the Bild X may end up costing. The brand has been producing beautifully designed televisions for decades, making it highly likely the Bild X will go on sale in the future.
