More details are unveiled about Apple’s new iPhone 6 and iWatch this week. Apple is rumored to be launching limited sapphire glass cover iPhone models, while low LG Display AMOLED yield rates are expected to postpone iWatch launch date to 4Q14. Conventional luminaire manufacturers are required to meet higher energy efficiency regulations with DOE’s proposed new standard for GSFL and IRLs. LEDinside analyst Figo Wang gives an in-depth game theory model analysis on San'an Opto's production expansion strategy. 

Apple’s much anticipated iWatch launch date might be postponed to 4Q14, as the company runs into AMOLED manufacturing issues, according to Chinese-language China Times report.

With the backing and endorsement by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, the Nanoleaf LED bulb has received a lot of attention from the media and consumers. Li believes that more attention should be paid to innovative technology to help cut energy consumption in order to alleviate poverty and boost the economy. 

Dow Corning’s Chinese subsidy has recently filed an organosilicone patent infringement case in Shanghai First Intermediate People's Court against Beijing KMT Technology, according to a Chinese language OFweek report. In the complaint, Beijing KMT Technology was accused of selling Dow Corning’s patented organosilicone products as its own.

Global 40W equiv. LED bulb Average Selling Price (ASP) dipped slightly by 1.3 percent in March to US $14.9, with price decrease most evident in China, according to latest LED bulb retail findings for March 2014 from LEDinside, a division of research organization Trendforce’s. ASP for 60W equiv. LED bulbs basically remained flat at US $ 20.8. 

A breakthrough in speed and distance by red laser based data transmission has been made by a research team headed by electro-optical engineering professor Lu Hai-han at the National Taipei University of Technology in Taiwan. The development was announced by the ROC Ministry of Science and Technology on April 16th.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy under the Department of Energy in U.S. has recently proposed a new lighting standard to make general service fluorescent lamps (GSFLs) and incandescent reflector lamps (IRLs) more energy efficient.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) published a white paper, NEMA LSD 40-2014 Failure Modes for Self-Ballasted Compact Fluorescent Lamps—A NEMA Update.

Researchers from Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University in Japan find in this latest study that broccoli aging after harvest can be delayed by red LED lights, but blue LED lights had no effect on countering the yellowing process. The study conducted by Gang Maa, Lancui Zhanga, Chandra Kurnia Setiawana, Kazuki Yamawakia et al. has been published in Postharvest Biology and Technology journal.

Intertek Hong Kong marks another milestone in LED testing today with the Grand Opening of its LED Technology Center. It is the most advanced and comprehensive commercial third party LED testing center in Asia which offers a complete end-to-end solution on LED testing.

Revolution Lighting Technologies, Inc. (Revolution Lighting), a leader in advanced LED lighting solutions, announced it has closed its acquisition of Value Lighting Inc. and certain affiliates (Value Lighting).

After five years of intensive research in the field of printed organic electronics, the "PrintOLED - Printed Organic Light-Emitting Diodes" project has been successfully concluded. The project received around € 5 million (US $691 million) in funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). 

On San Francisco’s northern waterfront lies the world-renowned historic fishing district, Fisherman’s Wharf. Home to an abundance of restaurants, hotels and attractions, the city’s most popular tourist destination attracts more than 10 million visitors a year who at the gateway can glimpse a nearly 16-foot iconic symbol of the area’s rich history and vibrant culture—the “crab wheel.”

Pathway Connectivity™ and Parsons The New School for Design - one of the most prestigious art and design universities in the world - established a partnership to advance students' appreciation for the role lighting can play in design. Pathway donated the use of a Cognito™ lighting console and provided technical support to help the students build an interactive lighting installation. The installation will be featured at lighting, architectural and technology events across the globe.

LumaStream announced that it has expanded its Trinity line of remote power drivers for LED lighting, adding an analog model with as many control zones as power channels to give lighting designers and system integrators ultimate design flexibility. Lighting applications where 0-10V controls are most common, but where only small numbers of LED fixtures are grouped together on one switch, can now have the same variety of lighting configurations as a digital, low-voltage system at the lower analog system price point.

The Green Trade Project Office under Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs has continued to deepen its presence in the emerging Southern Hemisphere market, leading a delegation of Taiwanese LED lighting manufacturers to participate in the biennial EXPOLUX trade show scheduled to be held on April 22-26 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in an effort to help Taiwanese companies expand business opportunities.

LEDinside analyst Figo Wang, who has over a decade of experience in the Chinese LED industry, gives a thorough analysis of San’an Opto’s production capacity strategy in this article, and asks whether using this production capacity expansion plan as a threat is successfully deterring competitors.

Two Chinese companies were booted out of the bi-annual Light+Building trade fair this year for patent infringement. China’s intellectual property rights are facing an increasingly harsher environment as the LED industry enters the golden age. Coping with international intellectual rights has become a source of contention for many LED manufacturers, and a difficult issue to deal with for the Chinese LED industry. 

Apple’s new iPhone 6 is anticipated to hit the market in 3Q14, according to the United Evening News. The new model will have a larger screen than past iPhones at 5.5 inches. It has been rumored that the iPhone 6 will be priced at US$100 higher, due to the larger screen size and change in specs.

San’an Optoelectronics (San’an Opto) announced on April 16, 2014 that the company has signed a three year strategic agreement to sell LED chips to Foshan Nationstar (Nationstar). 

The U.S. Department of Energy's CALiPER program has released Report 20.2, which is part of a series of investigations on LED PAR38 lamps. Report 20.2 focuses on dimming, flicker, and power quality characteristics evaluated with a single dimmer.

The Swiss company Forster Rohner AG with its business unit Textile Innovations uses PointLEDs from Osram Opto Semiconductors to make its textiles shine. The products range from curtains with integrated LEDs to lamp shades and haute couture. The PointLED's round shape blends in ideally with the textile materials. This new, extraordinary area of application proves once more that there are hardly any limits to the small light emitting diode's versatility, and that they can be used for more than just general, industrial or automotive lighting.

New version of the first MINI with four doors, a large tailgate, five seats and optional all-wheel drive; new MINI Countryman (combined fuel consumption: 7.1- 4.2 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 165 - 111 g/km) hones its profile as an all-round talent for versatile mobility and an active lifestyle.

Boards for high power UV LED applications such as UV curing, 3D printing, maskless lithography, photodynamic therapy, and fluorescence excitation in life science or machine vision. LumiBright UV Boards offer maximized heat and current spreading to deliver high UV optical power with superior thermal management and open platform flexibility that provides for totally unique and compact UV LED design solutions.

One of America's legendary pickup trucks, and the biggest seller in the USA, is now blazing the pioneer trail in lighting thanks to Osram. The 2015 model of the Ford F-150 will be the world's first pickup on the market with a complete LED forward lighting solution from Osram. 

Hubbell Lighting has launched the first outdoor LED luminaire controlled by using Bluetooth® technology—Kim Lighting’s LightVault® 8. The solid brass fixture, which features leading-edge LED optics, uses high-speed Bluetooth® technology to enable field aiming and dimming while offering control from your iPhone, Android or tablet.

Earlier in the month, id America launched a Kickstarter campaign for their LED light-equipped portable charger, named the L.E.D. 

LED lighting demands are booming this year, according to a report in the Economic Daily News. Sapphire substrate manufacturers saw good operational performance in 1Q14, and remain optimistic as the industry moves into 2Q14. 

There has been many rumors and speculations floating around the internet as to who will be the provider of OLED panels for Apple’s new iWatch. An increasing number of sources have been pointing their fingers towards LG lately. 

Lumenpulse Inc. announced that it has successfully completed an initial public offering of its common shares. In connection with the initial public offering, Lumenpulse issued 6,250,000 common shares at a price of $16.00 for total gross proceeds of $100 million. The Company's common shares will begin trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "LMP”.