Tech innovation comes in multiple forms and while AI is flavour of the day South Korean researchers have developed audio output that is delivered directly from an OLED pixel eliminating the need for audio speakers.
Researchers at the Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea have unveiled a prototypical OLED display that is capable of emitting not only visuals, but also full-blown audio without the need for an additional audio output device.
At this stage, the demo is via a 13″ OLED display that can convert electrical signals into full-blown sound vibrations using piezoelectric technology.
In a research article published in Advanced Science in April 2025 Hong and Su Seok Choi outline their innovation claiming “Piezoelectric speakers directly convert electrical energy into mechanical motion via the inverse piezoelectric effect, enabling efficient sound generation with a lightweight, flexible, and low-power design. Their simple layered construction, consisting of electrodes and piezoelectric materials, offers advantages such as low cost, high energy efficiency, and compactness,” write Hong and Choi.
At this stage there is no mention of the audio quality.
Dubbed pixel based local sound OLED technology the key element of the innovation is the embedding of Piezoelectric exciters directly into the frame of the 13-inch OLED panel in question.
This circumvents the need for traditional audio exciters, which take up a substantial amount of physical space to produce sound through the use of a driver, it also removes the need for other speaker internals found in for example a soundbar.
While Piezoelectric tech itself isn’t new it has been trialled in the past with Google trialling the technology with their previous Google Pixel 5’s grill-less front-facing speaker hidden behind its display.
The implementation of pixel-based local sound OLED tech with its pixel-like arrangement will allow for the embedding directly into the OLED panel pixels of audio output directly from the screen.
The end result is an OLED display that can produce audio at a per-pixel level, similar to the way that an OLED pixel can already emit its own light.
According to Hong and Choi, these piezoelectric exciters can be demonstrably integrated into the frame of an OLED display without significantly impacting the shape and size of the panel itself, all while eliminating crosstalk (sound source leakage) and bolstering acoustic precision, positionality, and localisation.
So how far is this technology away from being sold by a retailer?
It appears that the cost, production, scaling, and quality are all barriers that need to be worked through before we see a full scale TV with its own pixel sound system.
Currently OLED panels are already considered best-in-class for their thin and flexible design, their per-pixel control of light emission, and their deep blacks and punchy contrast levels, by adding pixel-perfect audio emission has the potential to bolster the coveted ‘ 3D spatial audio’ or surround sound effects.
Hong and Choi claim that “This technology has the potential to become a core feature of next-generation devices, enabling sleek, lightweight designs in TVs smartphones, notebooks, and automotive displays – while delivering immersive, high-fidelity audio,” writes Hong and Choi in the research paper.
The next stage appears to be proof of concept before it becomes a consumer-ready technology that can be churned out on a production line.
