LED lighting technology specialist LG Electronics has unveiled next-generation smart lighting advancements with greater flexibility and connectivity options. The super-efficient new LG "Simple Choice" LED high bay lights and LG "Sensor Connect" application were introduced at LIGHTFAIR International 2018.

Philips Lighting will roll out a major update to its Philips Hue app for iOS and Android-based devices this month. Consumers will enjoy new features as well as enhancements of existing app capabilities, so they can easily and quickly personalize and control the Philips Hue lighting system for the home.

While more companies join in the development of Micro LED, only a few are able to manufacture RGB Micro LED chips. Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn is reported to acquire shares of Epileds, a Taiwan-based LED wafer and chip maker, from Catcher Technology, specialized in light metal technology and originally a shareholder of Epileds.

Current, powered by GE is unveiling a series of new products at LIGHTFAIR International in Chicago that expand the company’s portfolio of retrofit, connected and specialized LED and controls offerings. The business is displaying several proprietary technologies that spotlight its continued focus on the digital transformation of lighting infrastructure.

Cree announces an expansion of the XLamp High Current LED Array family with new CMT LEDs that extend Cree’s latest metal-based chip-on-board (COB) LED technology to the most prevalent COB form factors.

Tuya Smart, a China-based global AI/IoT platform company, is expanding its business with the opening of a U.S. sales and R&D office in Silicon Valley. The company is bringing its one-stop shop solution to device manufacturers so that any standard ‘dumb’ device can be transformed into a smart one, ready for production in less than two weeks.

On May 7, 2018, Epistar filed a patent infringement lawsuit against V-TAC USA Corp. (“V-TAC”) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on May 7, 2018. The complaint asserts that V-TAC’s LED filament bulbs infringe seven Epistar patents and seeks injunctive relief to halt further sale of the infringing products.

Firefly LiFi, a manufacturer of Visible Light Communications (VLC) and Infrared Light Communications (ILC) LiFi products, announced that it is bringing affordable backhaul connectivity to 5G Smart City networks and the security camera market, using LED technology.

Samsung Electronics is now offering LED component solutions that have been optimized for horticulture lighting. The company’s new horticulture LED lineup features a newly developed “red LED” package, as well as additions to key existing Samsung “white LED” package and module families to include horticulture lighting specifications.

ERP Power LLC (ERP), a provider of small, smart and connected LED drivers for the lighting industry, announced its compact constant voltage drivers for indoor and outdoor LED signage applications will be demonstrated May 8-10 at LIGHTFAIR International 2018 in Chicago. The new VGM Series drivers are available in 60W/12V and 100W/24V models that deliver double the power density of industry competitors and achieve 90% efficiency from 50-100% of load with power factor greater than 0.9 and THD less than 20%.

Epistar yesterday announced it has agreed with Kaistar Lighting on the licensing of LED filament patents. The LED filament bulb products manufactured by Kaistar and its subsidiaries (including Bridgelux, SINOTRON Lighting, and Interlight Optotech) are licensed under Epistar’s filament patents.

The FSP Group, one of the world’s major power supply vendors, will be presenting its latest smart lighting technologies at this year’s LIGHTFAIR International (LFI) that will be held in Chicago from May 8 to 10. Solutions that FSP will bring to the event include intelligent programming for smart lighting controls and high-efficiency lighting products, both of which are central to the company’s committed strategy to stake out a position in the growing market of the Internet of Things (IoT).

The prices of high-power LED products in the Chinese market remained stable, while mid-power 3030 LED package products saw slight price drop in April 2018, says LEDinside, a division of TrendForce.

The significant drop in light output (green gap phenomenon) exhibited by green LEDs has often been the cause of efficiency problems and high costs in customer applications. For its indium gallium nitride (InGaN)-based green LEDs, Osram Opto Semiconductors has now succeeded in reducing the typical forward voltages by around 600 mV drastically. With a simultaneous increase in optical output power, customers instantly benefit from improvements in efficiency of up to 40 percent compared to predecessor products across the entire UX:3 portfolio from Osram. 

EPISTAR announced it has reached agreement with KAISTAR lighting (Xiamen) Co., Ltd.(Kaistar). The LED filament bulb products of Kaistar and its subsidiaries are licensed under Epistar’s filament patents. 

As a popular product in the LED display industry, Micro LED is regarded as a leader of next-generation display technology. A large number of manufacturers at home and abroad have paid attention to Micro LED, which has promising market prospects.

According to TrendForce’s latest report New Display Technology Cost Analysis, Micro LED has emerged as the most discussed topic in the display industry. The capital market and the supply chain are all looking forward to this next-generation display technology. However, from the technical perspective, the mass production of Micro LED still face many challenges, including the yield rate of mass transfer and LED uniformity, etc. Some manufacturers have thus shifted their development focus to Mini LED, whose architecture is similar to that of current LCD and LED displays. No major change in the design is needed. Commercialization of Mini LED is only a matter of time, therefore, companies are all expecting it to become a transitional product before Micro LED is ready for mass production.

The WiZ Connected program launched in March allowing OEM partners to integrating the WiZ Connected Controller into their LED driver, to offer their customers full control of their lighting experience through WiFi connectivity and Bluetooth Low Energy capability via the world-class Android and iOS WiZ consumer and WiZ Pro apps, and through cloud web services for greater interoperability and scalability together with flexible multi-user control capability.

LG Innotek today announced it will participate in RadTech 2018, North America's largest UV fair in Chicago, Illinois, on the 7th to 9th of this month.

Delivering LED industry transformation for over 15 years, Bridgelux is taking bold new steps to address customer requests for human centric lighting and connectivity for the Internet of Things (IoT) by expanding its industry presence and product portfolio.

Philips Lighting announced that it has repurchased 154,000 shares in the period May 2, 2018 to May 4, 2018. The shares were repurchased at an average price of EUR 26.54 per share and an aggregate amount of EUR 4.09 million.

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. will demonstrate its comprehensive offering of horticulture LEDs and diverse lighting application products as well as relevant lamps, such as horticulture luminaires and fishing lamps at LIGHTFAIR International 2018.

Universal Display Corporation reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018. It also announced that its Board of Directors approved a second quarter cash dividend of $0.06 per share on the Company's common stock.

The LED lighting industry has seen a paradigm shift, propelled by the exponential urban expansion expected over the next decade and the drive towards ever bigger energy efficiency.

As time is moving forward to the second quarter of 2018, more and more rumblings and updates about Micro/Mini LED emerged and have been circulating in the industry. In February, LEDinside collected and revealed information of Micro LED development from nearly 50 companies around the globe. Here, we would like to share some progress updates released after that from 10 companies.

According to the latest report of LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, while conventional LED components are used for backlight, Micro LED and Mini LED technology have been gradually used for self-emitting in displays of consumer electronics. Every LED will then stand for a pixel, increasing the number of LED wafers used.

Osram is taking the next step in its development of intelligent plant growth solutions by acquiring Fluence Bioengineering, Inc. of Austin, Texas. Fluence specializes in LED-based horticultural systems, using Osram LED chips, for a wide variety of applications including vertical farming, especially in urban areas. Potential crops range from salad greens and herbs to medicinal plants. Osram and Fluence have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

As buildings become increasingly more connected through the Internet of Things (IoT), owners and operators require an intuitive platform for their building intelligence solutions. To meet this need, Cree is expanding its SmartCast Intelligence Platform™ to include connected wireless capabilities that enable smart building solutions, such as building automation and control network (BACnet) connectivity, advanced lighting control, and building analytics.

According to the latest report from LEDinside, a division of the market research firm TrendForce, LEDinside TV and Gaming Display Market Trend of 2018, backlight and self-emissive display technology will compete together in the near future.

After the launch of constant power output LED Driver~ LDC-35/55/80(35W/55W/80W) with 3 in 1 dimming function and design, MEAN WELL now releases the ones with DALI control technology to satisfy the application needs of LED Troffer /Trunking and Linear lighting market.