Philips Photonics announced that the company has reached a milestone of shipping one billion VCSELs thanks to strong growth in smartphone 3D sensing applications. With strong drives from the trends of proximity sensing and 3D facial recognition technology in consumer smartphones, the company also unveiled its plan to increase production capacity. According to Philips Photonics, it has doubled its production capacity by early 2018, which was in line with the company’s plan. Now Phiilips Photonics plans to further expand its production at the facility in Ulm, Germany...

Fingerprint recognition will soon become outdated in smartphone applications, in its place iris recognition will emerge as the new trending technology, and might even drive mobile payment developments, according to ABI Research’s latest report.

As flash LEDs became a standard spec in smartphones instead of a market gimmick to sell phones, many LED manufacturers are vying after this potential market.

Researchers at the Hanover Centre for Optical Technologies (HOT), University of Hanover, Germany, have developed a self-contained fiber optic sensor for smartphones with the potential for use in a wide variety of biomolecular tests, including those for detecting pregnancy or monitoring diabetes. The readings of the sensor can run through an application on a smartphone which provide real-time results. When properly provisioned, the smartphone-user has the ability to monitor multiple types of body fluids, including: blood, urine, saliva, sweat or breath. In case of medical applications, the sensor readings can be combined with the GPS signal of a smartphone and users can then be guided to the next drug store, hospital or the ambulance.

A China Times report has highlighted five major LED market trends in 2015:

Apple’s iPhone 6 is finally here. The company’s CEO Tim Cook unveiled the phones at Apple’s Special Event which took place during the twilight hours in Taiwan on Sept. 10, 2014 (Taipei time). Some of the rumors about the iPhone 6 specs proved true, such as the phones coming in two different sizes. The smaller 4.7-inch phone has been coined iPhone 6 by the Cupertino company, while the larger 5.5-inch has been named the iPhone 6 Plus.

Loyal Apple fans have probably started the countdown to Sept. 9, 2014, when the company will be unveiling the much anticipated iPhone 6 at Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, California, U.S. Staying true to its secretive nature, the company’s press conference invitation uses the catchy phrase “Wish we could say more.” With less than one week left on the clock, many in the industry believe Apple will be showcasing the iPhone 6, 12.9-inch iPads and iWatches at the event. 

Large smartphone manufacturers were under the spotlight at the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) on Jan. 24, 2014. Samsung and HTC launched their flagship smartphone models at the show. Samsung’s S5 and HTC’s M8 both incorporated dual flash LED designs. Dual-color flash LEDs are projected to become standard specs in high-end smartphones.

In the sapphire substrate industry, GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) has reaped benefits from its multi-year partnership with Apple, but other sapphire substrate manufacturers have seen revenues drop. Veeco’s latest financial reports showed losses in 4Q13, reflecting a dire need to change business strategies, while Rubicon’s yearnings were below financial analyst estimations. With smartphone applications on the rise, manufacturers that enter the smartphone market early will be the biggest benefactors. 

Just one day after Samsung released its new LED product portfolio for smartphone applications, the company will be packing one of these products into its new smartphone Galaxy S5, according to a CNET report.

Apple OEM partner Foxconn’s Lunhua factory in Shenzhen has begun test assembly of sapphire substrate display cover iPhones, according to Chinese-language Apple Daily report. Foxconn has packaged 100 sapphire substrate display cover phones. Despite the small number assembled it is a huge development for Foxconn. Foxconn has declined to comment on individual client conditions.

Sapphire substrate concept stocks have soared lately on China’s A-Shares market, but major international sapphire substrate suppliers stock prices have plunged, according to a China Securities Journal article. Out of the major sapphire substrate manufacturers, U.S. company GT Advanced Technology (GTAT) stock prices were down 10 percent over the last three days, another U.S. company Rubicon also fell 7 percent during the same period, while Korean Sapphire Technology Company has dropped 8 percent over the last five days.

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.