Apple has continued filing patents that enable flexible displays, but this time with a twist of sapphire. The U.S. consumer electronics giant has added to its range of patents a “killer invention” that enables flexible wraparound displays in potential future iPhone and other devices, according to a recent report by Apple Patently. 

Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (also known as Foxconn Technology Group) will begin developing a kind of high-precision OLED panels designed for current smartphones and tablets with narrow frames and mass produce the new panels in 2015, a OFWeek report quoted sources saying. The report noted Innolux Display Group, the world’s third biggest panel plant is a subsidiary of Hon Hai. Hon Hai’s entry into the OLED panel market is expected to intensify competition.

Currently 80 percent of sapphire applications are used in sapphire substrate while the other 20 percent is for non-substrate materials, according to Chinese-language online media Finance.com.cn estimations. Sapphire that is used in substrate is mainly applied in LED lighting and Si On Sapphire (SOS) related products, with LED lighting accounting  for over 90 percent. Therefore demands from LED lighting directly affect sapphire substrate and is the market’s main focus. 

An earlier report by Women Citizen projecting Apple’s smartphone dominance is to be challenged by Samsung’s AMOLED technology has been proven wrong by a recent Bloomberg report. Apple has no intention of being left behind by Samsung in the race of developing curved smartphones, according to the Bloomberg report. Citing an unnamed source familiar with the new project, the report noted Apple is developing a new generation of smartphones with curved glass and enhanced sensors.

GT Advanced Technology (GTAT) announced that it has entered into a multi-year supply agreement with Apple Inc. to provide sapphire substrate materials for US $578 million (NT $17 billion). Feeling the effect, Chinese sapphire substrate listed company stockholders yesterday start preparing to make a move. Shanghai and Shenzhen have 8 related concept stocks and aside from Crystal Optech stocks which is under trade suspension, all others increased.

The company also announced that it has entered into a multi-year supply agreement with Apple Inc. to provide sapphire material. GT will own and operate ASF® furnaces and related equipment to produce the material at an Apple facility in Arizona where GT expects to employ over 700 people. Apple will provide GT with a prepayment of approximately $578 million. GT will reimburse Apple for the prepayment over five years, starting in 2015.

An anonymous industry insider recently leaked to The Chosun Ilbo that Apple’s upcoming iWatch will use a flexible OLED display.

The newest addition to the Apple family, the iPhone 5S/5C will be launched later this month. The addition of fingerprint recognition technology incorporating sapphire crystal has greatly benefitted substrate manufacturers. Crystal Applied Technology hit record highs with their August revenue at NT$194 million (US$6.5 million) with a monthly growth of 26.79 percent. Crystalwise Technology revenue for August was NT$170 million, an increase of 3.6 percent.

With information pouring in about the launch of new iPhone and iPad products this September, the whole world is watching to see if Apple will be able to perform as well as they did 3Q. It is rumored that the new iPhone will come with dual-LED flash which will increase the phone’s flash power. With the iPad mini, the new generation will use a 0.6t double die packaging but the number of LEDs used in backlighting will remain the same making the new device lighter and thinner.

According to relevant reports, the US PTO recently published a new patent from Apple (filed in 2012) that describes how to use sensors to compensate for ambient lighting and lifetime brightness degradation in OLED displays. The patent describes that photo-diodes can be placed inside the OLED array or above and below it. Apple didn't use an OLED display in any of their products yet, but the company has been trying to improve the OLED technology, for example, the OLED color changes due to the long service time. This new patent includes many advanced technol...

It has been reported that Apple's next iPhone will be shipped in September, and the news comes from the industry that Apple's biggest coating plant Bern optical has begun shipping to Apple and actively picking up goods from Sapphire suppliers, as the release of Apple's next iPhone is just around the corner and the shipment of LED lighting is in blessing season, sapphire is expected to increase in both price and volume in Q3, Taiwan-based Plants like ACME Electronics, Crystalwise Technology, ACTC will benefit more than others. Sapphire material has b...

According to reports, Apple recently applied a trademark “iWatch” in Japan after having applied the same trademark in Russian regions. According to one patent official familiar with the situation, Apple submitted the iWatch trademark application on June 3, but Japan Patent Office website chose to release the patent on June 27. Just days before Apple kicked off its 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference, CEO Tim Cook spoke to Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg at AllThingsD’s D11 Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., where he discussed A...

•         Available at Apple stores from October 30th •         Enables you to control light wirelessly, create and personalize light with an app on your smartphone or tablet   Building on its innovation capabilities, today Philips unveils hue, the world’s smartest web-enabled LED home lighting system. Philips hue signals a new era in home lighting both in the way we think about and experience light in our homes. It allows you to create and control the light using your smartphon...

LED Tech Development LLC has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. The patent infringement lawsuit concerns four granted patents that they claim Apple's iPad 3 and MacBook Pro infringe upon. Charles Lemaire, one of the original inventors noted on all four patents in this lawsuit has also been credited with patents for Lockheed Martin, Nuance Communications and other major companies.      LED Tech, whose place of business is Tyler Texas, has filed a formal complaint with the court in Delaware against Apple for patent infri...

Proview known as Apple’s Chinese IPAD trademark foe, has intended to attract over 100 million yuan (£10m) in funding to launch an LED lighting and bio-energy firm. Proview invested a whopping $155m (£99m) in its LED manufacturing base in Shenzhen in 2008 and expanded to a Wuhan plant soon after, shortly before the bottom fell out of the business. The Shenzhen subsidiary was forced into bankruptcy and delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange a couple of years ago. The Shenzhen plant is now in ruins, but Yang Rongshan, the firm’s charisma...

According to Lextar Chairman David Su, Apple is to certify its Bluetooth LED lighting products for use with iOS devices in one to two months. And Lextar is expected to become the first provider of iOS-based control of LED lighting for Apple’s certification. Certification from Apple is necessary because iOS devices require special authentication for Bluetooth Serial Port Profile devices. Certification will allow Lextar's products to include "Made for iPhone" and "Made for iPad" logos.   Therefore, currently, Lextar is...

Reportedly, Taiwan LED maker Epistar has acquired Apple’s order for LED backlights for use in iPad. Benefiting from increasing LED applications in TV, notebook PCs and lightings, Epistar confirmed that its production lines have been fully booked by contract orders till this June. This secures the firm strong growth momentum in sales and shipments in the first half of 2011.  ...

As Apple announced an upgraded MacBook Air,  featuring 11.6-inch panel, it is hoped that several manufactories in Taiwan would become one of the suppliers in the supply chain for the machine, such as Foxconn Electronics, Quanta Computer, AU Optronics (AUO),Chimei Innolux (CMI) and so on.

Apple launches its 27-inch LED Cinema Display. The LED display boasts 2560x1440 resolution, a 178-degree viewing angle, and a built-in MagSafe charger. The device connects to computers via a Mini DisplayPort. And there are three USB 2.0 ports on the back.

Apple® updated its popular MacBook® with a new, durable polycarbonate unibody design featuring a brilliant LED-backlit display, a glass Multi-Touch™ trackpad and Apple’s innovative built-in battery for up to seven hours of battery life. Inheriting technology and design features from the MacBook Pro line, the new MacBook is an ideal consumer notebook for students and new Mac® users, and is available for $999.

The iHome iH15 LED speaker has a boxy, modern design. As simple as it looks, there is no radio, no GSM-shielding for iPhone, no alarm, no remote, and the brilliant design is in the color-changing: you can customize your favorite color or set it to run through a “rainbow” of seven colors. With the LED lights on, you’ll find the $59.99 cube really cute! Perfect for parties and fun occasions.

It’s reported that Apple has started shipping early orders for its 24-inch LED Cinema Display. The new screen looks strikingly similar to the current-generation iMac and is about half as thick.

The biggest obstacle of improving LED NB's penestration rate is the high cost of LED backlight modules. The price of LED backlight modules is still 70% higher than CCFL backlight. The reason why a LED backlight module remains highly priced is the issues of its brightness and patent. Therefore though LED NB has created a big market, not every LED maker can take advantages from it. LED VS.CCFL

Though in 2008 the penetration rate of LED NB is lower than expected, but in order to make their notebooks lighter, thinner and more energy-saving, many big branded manufacturers speed up to bring LED backlight into their NB. LEDinside projects the penetration rate of LED NB will be as high as 60.3% in 2010. The progress of LED backlight ‘s application on NB is slower than expected

Apple Computer Inc. has launched a 13.3-inch LED-BLU-based MacBook Air, which is only 0.76-inch (19 mm) thick on the hinge side, and 0.16-inch (4.1mm) for the opposite side. Apple mentioned that this super-thin product is the result of LED BLU technology advances, and moreover, the mercury-free, arsenic-free notebook is more beneficial in power

It appears MacBook Pro keyboards will come with OLED touch panels after all, Cult of Mac has leaked photos of the OLED panel enhanced notebooks, which it obtained from an Apple supplier.