Sapphire substrate related manufacturers are unable to meet increasing demands as the LED lighting industry enters peak season and Apple prepares to launch the new iPhone 6. Prices for upstream ingot and downstream substrate increased in 3Q14, with ingot prices up 5-10 percent. Rise in price has driven up business performance for sapphire substrate related manufacturers.

Epistar has finally decided to acquire FOREPI, and will be announcing the details of the deal later today, according to several Taiwanese media reports.

Roshow Technology (Roshow) reported a dramatic drop in profits earned in the first half of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013 on June 29, 2014. 

Looking at the current lighting market, smart lighting has already become a new product that manufacturers such as Philips are rushing to release. It was a hot topic not only at the Light+Building exhibition in Germany, but also in the recent Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition earlier this month. The smart lighting market is still in its early stages of development, but manufacturers are eager to expand. The market anticipates to enter into a rapid growth period within one to two years. 

For the Zumtobel Group the 2013/14 financial year was marked by the fundamental redirection of the international lighting group. In a phase of dynamic change, particularly with regard to the technology shift to LEDs, the Group’s new CEO Ulrich Schumacher, who took office on 1 October 2013, has chosen to focus on a consistent multi-brand strategy, intensive collaboration within the Group and flat, efficient organisational structures. The new structures that were implemented on 1 December 2013 support the stronger entrepreneurial management of the Zumtobel Group, the optimal utilisation of production and sales synergies and the strengthening of the Group’s innovative power.

Ire-Tex, a Malaysian company specializing in protective plastic packaging for electronics has announced plans of entering LED market, after acquiring an automation, electronic design and packaging company Zoomic Automation and Zoomic Technology, according to a recent report by Malaysian media The Star.

LG has launched two new 4K curved OLED TVs in the UK, available in 77in and 64in screen sizes. The OLED TVs will be available in the UK by October 2014 at US $ 10,000 and US $34,000 respectively.

GE today unveiled Link, a new and affordable connected LED bulb that lets consumers remotely control their home lighting from anywhere in the world and sync with other connected devices. Enabled by the new Wink app, Link eliminates the need for expensive add-ons typically associated with connected devices, making it an easy and cost-effective way for consumers to light up their smart homes.

LED technology and a compact design make this lamp an excellent replacement upgrade option for paint booths and hazardous locations where flammable chemical vapors are present.

Apple fans out there will probably be overjoyed to learn that the new iPhone 6 will be set for mass production next month, and expected to hit shelves sometime in September 2014, according to a Chinese media report. LED backlight manufacturers will probably also see a beacon of hope, as Apple announces it will be using the technology in future MacBook keyboards. In the LED technology sphere Japanese researchers come up with new sputtering method to form GaN LEDs on glass substrates, while Taiwanese government is pitching into AlN substrate technology. 

Established in 1983, few people aside from Everlight Chairman Robert Yeh could have envisioned the Taiwanese LED package manufacturer’s radical transformation. The company that started off with a capital of NT $ 5 million (US $170,000), and a factory of only 120 square meters, has become one of the top package leaders in Taiwan and an LED industry game changer.

Apple has applied for a new patent for the development of an LED based keyboard, according to Patently Apple. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office published the company’s patent application on June 26, 2014. 

LG Chem and Ab Rogers Design have collaborated on a project to apply OLED light to an architectural installation, the OLED Tree Bar. The design was installed at May Design Series furnishing fair which was held May 18–20 this year. Along with LG Chem, Ab Rogers has been seeking to create applications only possible with OLEDs. The result of the endeavor was blooming petals of thin OLED light panels that illuminated the bar area built for the exhibition. LG Chem`s circular type OLED light panels (N6OA30) were used for the project. 

LG Display has announced plans to invest US $788.1 million in its OLED panel production line to meet growing global demand, according to Korean news source Yonhap News Agency. 

LED Roadway Lighting and its partner Silver Spring Networks, Inc., today announced they have been selected by Glasgow City Council to deliver the Intelligent Street Lighting requirements for their innovative Future City Demonstrator initiative. The project will leverage LED street lighting from LED Roadway Lighting's NXT range of luminaires and Silver Spring's IPv6-based smart city networking platform to integrate LED street lights, traffic cameras, and sensors into two adaptive lighting systems in the city center and along the River Clyde's "Clyde Walkway." The adaptive lighting systems will monitor vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic and dynamically dim and increase illumination accordingly, increasing energy efficiency, urban sustainability and improving citizen safety.

GE’s new Lumination™ LED Luminaires using Cooledge light sheet technology can shape commercial spaces in ways as unique as the fixtures themselves. From curvilinear to concentric ring concepts, it’s what the future of lighting can be, and it’s on display in GE Lighting’s booth #4208 at LIGHTFAIR® International 2014 (LFI®) in Las Vegas, June 3-5.

Osram and the Vatican Museums are deepening their lighting liaison. Both parties have signed a multi-year framework collaboration agreement regarding possible future projects. Osram is currently already equipping the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel with a new LED-based lighting solution. “We are very glad to continue our collaboration with the Vatican. This follow-up agreement underlines that we are offering high-end quality and innovative lighting solutions and underpins our role as the leading global lighting company”, said Christophe Poméon, head of Osram’s Luminaires Business Unit. “Our art and architecture present the most demanding requirements for light. Therefore, we are using outstanding lighting installations. With the opening of the Sistine chapel at end of October, the public can witness first impressions of this”, said Antonio Paolucci, Director of the Vatican Museums.

Steve Ferrara, Category Product Manager, Philips Healthcare Lighting,is the author of the following Philips Lumec blog post.

Peerless® Open LED luminaires​ from Acuity Brands, Inc.​ have been acknowledged as the sole recipient of the annual Most Innovative Product of the Year award from the LIGHTFAIR®​​​ International 2014​ awards competition. The LFI Innovation Awards®​​, judged by an independent panel of esteemed lighting professionals, recognize the best innovations from more than 500 of the world’s leading manufacturers across the lighting industry.

Designed to replace less-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), MaxLite® launches five- and seven-watt LED PL Retrofit Lamps with GU24, GX23 and G24q pin base options, the latest additions to the MaxLED® brand of energy-efficient lamps and lighting fixtures.

The New Gecko Wireless Two Zone LED Wall Dimmer from Solid Apollo is a completely wireless LED lighting dimmer. Reduce installation time and eliminate excess wiring, just stick and go!

Semrock announced newest fluorescence filter product family with LED Optimized light engine sets. Three initial sets are available for Pinkel and full multiband configurations using popular LED light sources. Designed to be spectrally aligned with the output of popular LED light engines, all of the new filters offer the high performance and value you expect from Semrock filters.

Philips lighting products took top spot for brand image, according to the second round China lighting product manufacturer behavior survey jointly conducted by Trendforce’s research division LEDinside and consumer research specialist AVANTI in May 2014. Opple Lighting and NCV Lighting ranked top among Chinese manufacturers. The survey also revealed that LED lamp usage has increased to 40 percent from 24 percent in 2013. 

China based manufacturers Leyard and Kangde Xin Composite Material (Kangde Xin) are combining their manufacturing strengths to expand the display market by signing a cooperative agreement on June 25, 2014. 

EMC and COB packaging technology is becoming more common in the LED packaging field, with application volume gradually expanding. 

 Walgreens Co., one of the nation’s leading retailers, selected energy-efficient LED lighting by Cree, Inc.  for its Goodyear, Ariz. location, delivering superior illumination while lowering the total cost of ownership compared to fluorescent lighting alternatives. The 14,820 square-foot store now features Cree® LED troffers, linear luminaires and downlights, saving the retailer thousands in annual energy and maintenance costs.

National Harbor, a 350-acre mixed-use, waterfront community in the Washington, D.C., area, recently added a new outdoor LED video display, manufactured by Daktronics Inc. of Brookings, S.D., within its entertainment and retail district.

HELLA will be showcasing innovative lighting solutions using LED technology at the Interforst, the leading International Trade Fair for Forestry and Forestry Technology in Munich July 16 to July 20, 2014. As the partner of the German Center for Forest Work and Technology, known in German as the Kuratorium für Waldarbeit und Forsttechnik e.V. (KWF), HELLA will be exhibiting its products in the Center's special display at the trade fair (Hall B6 / Stand 215). The focus here will most definitely be on the selection of worklights designed for use on forestry machinery. 

Acuity Controls introduces the XPoint™ Wireless​ lighting control system – a zero-latency lighting management system for building wide control. The XPoint Wireless system is ideal for new construction and retrofit lighting projects in covered parking areas, high bay spaces, corridors and stairwells.

Solid Apollo LED Lighting introduces a new range of seven outdoor and landscaping LED Lighting solutions. Each high quality low voltage LED landscaping light comes with a variety of colors, mounting options, and sizes to bring the perfect amount of light to any outdoor project. With summer here, a desire to improve and enjoy our outdoor living areas, such as gardens, decks and patios, is even more important.