Smart home lighting solutions from Ledvance have a new name as of September: Osram Smart+ . The brand-new portfolio of network-compatible products is controlled either via ZigBee Lightlink or with Apple's HomeKit Accessory Protocol.

As the nation prepares to celebrate Labor Day Weekend, a time for recognizing the hard work of American workers, the maker of SYLVANIA light bulbs in the United States is announcing it has invested millions of dollars to keep and add local manufacturing jobs and increase U.S. production of something we all depend on – the light bulb. This initiative transitions 200 jobs from making traditional lighting products, whose demand has been declining, to new LED technology and also adds 20 new jobs.

The wait is over. The highly anticipated HomeKit™-enabled SYLVANIA SMART+™ A19 Full Color Light Bulb is now available for pre-order (MSRP $44.99) with delivery expected in September and additional products coming out soon after.

This summer, Ledvance is launching its current range of mobile and functional luminaires, offering a huge number of smart functions and useful design.

Early in March, the Chinese investment consortium- with IDG Capital,LED packaging manufacturer MLS CO., LTD. and Yiwu State-Owned Assets Operation Center as the members- completed the acquisition of LEDvance from Osram. Originally a general lighting business unit of Osram, LEDvance, with the support of its new owners, extended its product line from standardized and traditional light sources to advanced LED lamps and intelligent products for smart lighting.

Both of Ledvance’s new products, exclusive to Apple HomeKit, will hit shelves September 1. Consumers can connect the Classic A60 LED lamp and flexible LED light strip for indoors to the Apple Home app in just a few simple steps. They can then use either the app or – even easier – Siri to control the lights. Even better, no gateway or bridge is needed for the standard functions. With Apple TV or iPad (iOS 10 or later) acting as a home hub, owners can control their lights remotely or include them in automations.

Simple installation, reliable quality, long lifespans and high lumen levels with simultaneously low power consumption and good price-performance ratios – these are the success factors of the ready-to-connect LED luminaires of the Ledvance brand, available to electrical contractors and lighting professionals. These products have featured some of the highest growth rates for Ledvance in the wholesale sector during the past twelve months. As a result the portfolio will be successively expanded this year. 

Ledvance publishes an international advisor study for the lighting branch with recommendations for action for electrical wholesalers.

Ledvance, the fully-owned Osram subsidiary, is bringing the flagship of its current Substitube portfolio to market in February that enables energy costs to be reduced by up to 90 percent compared to applications with traditional fluorescent tubes. The LED replacement for T5 tubes is also new to the portfolio, featuring real glass that prevents undesired expansion and sagging of the lamps.

Highlights this week: Apple has dropped Osram Licht from its list of top 200 suppliers and added Royal Philips to its supply chain, ahead of the release of the iPhone 7.