The range of LED products continues to expand, which opens up a great deal of business opportunities especially in the solid-state lighting sector. Struggling for market share, major Chinese LED manufacturers have been cutting down prices of their goods, making it even more difficult for Taiwanese makers to compete.

The future of Prairie Village, a city in Johnson County, Kansas, may look even brighter later this year. The Prairie Village City Council recently approved the plan to purchase 1,736 new LED street lights from Philips Lighting that will be installed citywide.

Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Spring Edition), Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) and the International ICT Expo, will kick off at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in April.

Cree, Inc. today announced that it signed a cross license agreement with Ledvance, Inc. under which Cree will receive ongoing royalty payments and a royalty-free license to Ledvance’s patent portfolio. In exchange, Ledvance will receive a license to Cree’s extensive portfolio of patents related to LED light bulbs and LED luminaires.

Samsung at this year’s CES officially changed the name of its high-end TV lineup from “SUHD” to “QLED,” thus creating market interest on the development of the Quantum Dot (QD) display. WitsView, a division of market intelligence firm TrendForce, expects TV sets with self-emitting QD displays will arrive on the market after 2020 because of technological hurdles and environmental problems related to the recycling of the QD material. WitsView further points out that Samsung’s current QLED TVs represents just the beginning in the development of QD displays.

Chinese M&A boom has faced regulatory hurdles and crackdown at home and abroad. According to the latest report by global law firm Linklaters, as many as one third of Chinese overseas M&A deals by value were cancelled in 2016.

Taiwanese LED chip maker Epistar Tuesday reported financial results for both the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2016. Although net loss for the year widened, operating profit margin for the last quarter jump to 6.7%, the highest in nine quarters. The gain is significant considering the number was -33.14% in 4Q15.

VTRON, a chinese LED video display manufacturer under the Wei Chong Group, recently launched the VLED-II video wall, in which VTRON adopted COB (chip-on-board) technology encapsulating LEDs right onto the PCB to result in a smooth surface.

Taiwanese touch panel maker TPK Holding Co, a key supplier for Apple’s iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, announced Tuesday its decision to form a strategic alliance with longtime Chinese rival Shenzhen O-film Tech. The two companies will own shares of each other and provide integrated services as competitions in this sector intensify.

Ever since Micro LED emerged, LEDinside has been pouring endeavour into studying Micro LED and we have a solid grasp of most advanced insights and analyses regarding the technology. LEDinside's ongoing effort, 2016 Micro LED forum in particular, has taken the industry by storm and successfully brought to light Micro LED, the monumental technology opening up a whole new dimension in LED industry that companies around the globe look forwards to. Its application can already be seen in displays and wearable devices, yet it is just the first step.

Originally designed to offer safety for music listeners on a run, Spark Headphones has evolved into a fashionable accessory.

Researchers have developed a cheap, portable camera that can photograph the retina without the need for pupil-dilating eye drops.

Xiaomi has made its brand known in the technology industry with a multitude of products for applications over mobile phones and laptops to IoT technology and connected electronics. It would not sound as a surprise at all now Xiaomi launches its smart lighting products–Yeelight LED bulbs. In terms of personal wireless LED lighting, Xiaomi claims Yeelight LED bulb offers same quality as that of Philips Hue with more competitive CPI. The light is priced at USD 20 and is even available at discount prices on online shops such as GearBest.

In order to improve energy efficiency, the Zimbabwe government has enacted a new law banning all manufacture, trade and use of incandescent bulbs. The ban will come into effect on May 1st. It is estimated to save up to 40 megawatts of electricity.

Lighting Science®, a specialist in next-generation LED lighting solutions and a pioneer in providing retail private label LED solutions, has announced a joint venture with Chinese LED manufacturer and lighting company MLS Co., Ltd.

Starting from 1st May 2016, Energy Efficiency Certificate and Label must be included as requirements for shipments of lighting products to Saudi Arabia under the scope of SASO 2870. Now importers and manufacturers have to comply with this standard and register with SASO. WELLMAX as the strategic partner with the leading testing and certification institute SGS can help you with applying the EEI label, so your business will not be affected by this new regulation.

Regarding the performance of LED industry in Taiwan, due to low season, demand for InGan (blue) LEDs has dropped in the first quarter, while that of AlINGap (red) LEDs is still strong. Thus, institutional investors estimate that business operations of LED manufacturers will significantly improve in the second quarter. For fiscal 2017, the overall industry profitability is expected to increase, and price competition in the blue LED segment will be less intense. 

Light Polymers, a nanochemistry startup with R&D operations in Silicon Valley, Taiwan and Korea, recently announced a Series A investment of $24.3 million led by a consortium of private investors.

Taiwan-based Integrated Service Technology (iST), a joint venture of German inspection company DEKRA, recently opened a new LED lighting lab in Shenzhen, China. The new lab meets the ever-growing demand for product testing and certifications within the local LED industry, providing one-stop services for China-based manufacturers. 

The term organic LED, or OLED, has now become synonymous with consumer electronics and automotive market. The latest range of next-generation devices, such as televisions, monitors, smartphones, notebooks & tablets, and automotive screen displays boast of OLED screens, which are the current rage. The organic light emitting diode technology has gained swift approval from all quarters in the electronics industry, and this has led to an emergent market for OLED market.

LED lighting takes a huge share in the lighting market and the prevalence of LEDs reflects the industry has grown fairly mature. A multitude of LED types are being developed and introduced to not only illumination but other various applications. All that tells the need for LED light measurement will increase; and accurate, effective, and reliable methods are desirable when it comes to testing LEDs’ optical parameters. Here, Vektrex, a LED measurement system provider, releases three videos expounding how to improve LED light measurement by providing sustained power to LEDs, reducing junction heating to achieve a higher accuracy, and maintaining time stability.

Ledvance publishes an international advisor study for the lighting branch with recommendations for action for electrical wholesalers.

Organized by SEMI and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), LED Taiwan and Taiwan International Lighting Show (TiLS) will be collocated and held on April 12-15, 2017 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1, showcasing a wide range of technology innovations and solutions in six themed pavilions.

The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) recently initiated the Smart City project, attempting to transform Chandigarh into a city not just aesthetic but smart, by introducing intelligent, eco-friendly and efficient solutions for the city’s consumption of water, power, space, and the Internet, according to the Indian Express. 

On 10 March, over 2,000 guests from design, business, culture, politics and the media from over 40 countries celebrated the winners of the iF DESIGN AWARD 2017 at the BMW Welt in Munich. A total of 5,575 contributions from 59 countries entered the competition, and 75 of them won the coveted iF gold award, including the following three lighting products.

After the detrimental Galaxy Note 7 recall, Samsung is hoping the upcoming flagship Galaxy S8 lineup can revive its smartphone business. Meanwhile, rival Apple is prepared to launch its first OLED iPhone in September. Analysts are now saying the S8 may lose the battle against the next iPhone due to a lack of eye-catching selling points.

After its average selling price (ASP) dropped by 25% in 2016, Phecda Technology, specializing in LED patterned sapphire substrates (PSS) manufacturing, could possibly experience a turnaround this year. On one hand, in terms of revenue, Phecda Technology topped in the industry with the amount of NTD 530 million, rising from NTD 340 million in 2015. On the other, it ended the disappointing profit slump at the end of 1H16 and slowly recuperated in 2H16. The Tier 1 giant’s financial results reflected how down the market was in 2016, according to several juridical persons.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer BRTLED recently announced it has received a four-to-five-year-order from an US commercial airline for SMD LED lighting module, which is expected to be a major growth driver for the company.

In the eternal search for next generation high-efficiency solar cells and LEDs, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory and their partners are creating innovative 2D layered hybrid perovskites that allow greater freedom in designing and fabricating efficient optoelectronic devices. Industrial and consumer applications could include low cost solar cells, LEDs, laser diodes, detectors, and other nano-optoelectronic devices.

Following launching the 10mW UVC LED products and the flowing water disinfection module at 2016, Jason Electric today announced that they have made a new breakthrough and will launch the product of 100mW UVC LED. This new product is very compact with dimension of 68mm*68mm, and can emit 275nm UVC light of 100mW. It makes it possible for designing the solution to deal with the mass flowing water and air purification application.