Getting your hands dirty while growing plants might soon be something in the past. Aeroponics is an efficient and effective way to grow plants in an air or mist environment without soil and with very little water. It is portable and is suitable for people with limited growing space.

With about six months left before Apple unveils its next generation iPhone, the rumor mill has gone into overdrive. An article from the Wall Street Jounral suggested that Apple would adopt a curved OLED display for one of its three smartphone models this year. 

AT&T and Current, powered by GE, have announced an exclusive agreement to connect cities across the United States and Mexico to the Internet of Things (IoT). Together, the companies will unlock a realm of possibilities to improve the way cities operate, communicate and meet the needs of citizens.

The trend towards urbanization is continuing and it is projected that by 2050 nearly 70 percent of mankind will reside in urban areas. Such demographic changes will impact on a city’s infrastructure, driving requirements for smarter, more secure and energy-efficient solutions. Infineon Technologies AG and eluminocity GmbH have jointly developed an intelligent streetlight to tackle these requirements. In promoting e-mobility, helping to save energy and enabling a connected infrastructure, the streetlight can serve as the backbone for the city of the future.

Internet of Things pioneer Echelon Corporation is expanding its successful deployment of “white tunable” connected street lighting in White Bear Lake, Minnesota with weather adaptive capabilities powered by its collaboration with IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT).

Taiwanese IC driver manufacturer Macroblock recently announced its collaboration with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to develop ultra-small pitch LED (Micro LED) digital display module. The company's board of directors has approved the decision.

Researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) Cyber Security Research Center have demonstrated that data can be stolen from an isolated "air-gapped" computer's hard drive reading the pulses of light on the LED drive using various types of cameras and light sensors.

Osram Opto Semiconductors’ new SFH 4787S infrared LED (IRED) for iris scanners illuminates the eyes so evenly that the software identifying the iris pattern now hardly needs to correct artefacts. 

Philips Lighting and Ericsson jointly introduced today a new smart pole, Philips lightpole site slim, targeted initially at European cities. Philips lightpole site combines Philips’ energy efficient LED lighting with Ericsson’s leading small cell technology for high-speed broadband connectivity.

According to the latest evaluation, the US $29.6 billion global LED lighting market is expected to reach up to  US $ 33.1 billion by the end of 2017. The credit for the appraisal goes to the regional lighting development as LED lighting accounts for 23% of total lightings in Europe, which is the highest across the world. Also, North America and China are the second and third highest absorbing regions respectively.

LG Innotek  announced that the company has developed the world's first 70mw UV-C LED for sterilization applications. As its sterilization performance is 1.5 times higher than the competitor’s 45mW module.

AXT, Inc., a global manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year, ended December 31, 2016. The results beat Wall Street expectations. 

At the 2017 Smart City Summit and Expo, held in Taipei, Taiwan, connected lighting is one important trend that cannot be overemphasized. Philips Lighting, the Dutch lighting giant, presented an integrated smart lighting solution to showcase its resolution to compete in this market.

LEDinside, a division of the global market research company TrendForce, has recently published the report 1Q17 Micro LED Next Generation Display Industry Trend, in which trenchant insights and analyses regarding the Micro LED market will be illustrated in depth.

The next major iPhone release will certainly be one of the most anticipated events in the global consumer electronics market in the second half of 2017. TrendForce’s recent findings on the 10th anniversary iPhone release reveal that Apple’s latest refresh of the device series will include three new models, with one of them having significant hardware and design upgrades such as an AMOLED display.

Apple’s next-generation iPhone is not the only thing that the market is excited about. The Apple Watch 3 is reportedly coming out later this year and is expected to have major upgrades.

While InGaN-based LEDs (normal LEDs for Lighting and backlight) continue to face oversupply, IR LEDs have been in the limelight in 2017 with various applications boosting demands. 

Apple is apparently going all out for its next-generation iPhone. Latest reports suggest Apple has bought Israeli startup RealFace who specializes in facial recognition technology, adding weight to recent rumors claiming that the new iPhone will boast facial recognition.

Global demand for LED chips has been picking up strongly, and is expected to finally exceed supply in 2017. In addition, Apple has recently patented a new smartphone solution that would use a range of Micro LEDs for fingerprint recognition. As a result, prices of LED products have been on the rise.

While the public fixed their eyes on Osram’s deal with the Chinese consortium, another acquisition secretly took place in Europe. Philips, the Dutch lighting giant recently focusing on healthcare technology, last year privately bought Luciom and relocated it from France to Eindhoven, Netherland, reported LEDs Magazine.

Crossing the road safely is an important rule that everyone should bear in mind. There are also signs everywhere to remind us of road safety. However, smartphone zombies, namely pedestrians who are obsessed with their phones and do not pay attention to their surroundings while walking, have taken over the world. They even cross the roads with their eyes glued to their phones, to the extent that they become a hazard to themselves and others.

Japanese Nobel Laureate Shuji Nakamura, known for his invention of blue LED manufacturing technology and several subsequent LED innovations, disclose the history of blue LED and shared with the public his insights concerning the future of the LED industry on 8th Feb. at Academia Sinica. As general lighting has lately come to the stage of maturity, which hindered the LED industry, LED manufacturers are now seeking potential markets where they could recuperate and thrive. In his speech, Nakamura 'illuminated the industry’ by unveiling three future LED applications: Micro-LED, laser lighting, and the Li-fi technology.

Apple’s 10th anniversary iPhone has already caused quite a stir. There have been rumors that the company will roll out three new phones this year, including one with an OLED display. With this huge market opportunity, companies are now striving to join Apple’s supply chain.

Philips Lighting, with sales of EUR 7.1 billion in 2016 and 34,000 employees worldwide, has been focusing on developing new smart lighting solutions to cater to smart city trends around the world.

LEDs have become mainstream lighting applications. In recent years, market penetration rate of LED lighting has increased rapidly, and in 2016 the downtrend in prices became less noticeable. However, market growth has slowed, suggesting that global demand has become uneven.   

There have been rumors that Apple will switch to OLED screen for its iPhone 8. Those rumors seem to carry more weight after Apple reportedly ordered an additional 60 million OLED panels from Samsung, bring the total number to 160 million. This means that Samsung may become the main supplier for iPhone 8 displays.

First revealed by AppleInsider, Apple has been awarded a US patent on Tuesday, suggesting that the company is exploring display technology that embeds Micro LEDs and an IR diode to read users’ fingerprints without a dedicated Touch ID sensor. This new design feature may shed lights on its iPhone 8.

Apple is said to release a low-priced iPad and will partner with Chinese players to reduce production costs, boosting this new product’s competitive edge.

Due to recent pollution crackdown by Chinese authorities, the steel industry in China has halt production and undergone consolidation, leading to a dramatic price surge in steel products. As a result, prices of LED chip and packages have also increased, further resulting in a price hike in LED end products.

Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that Apple intends to introduce a new 3D Touch thin film sensor to the new iPhone to be released this year to replace current 3D Touch technology, reported Appleinsider.