Micro LED, a strong contender to mainstream LCD and OLED display technologies, is regarded as the next generation of display technology and has gained worldwide attention. As manufacturers continue to pour resources into developing related technologies, Wu Jin-rong, General Manager of Taiwan-based IC manufacturer Explore Microelectronics, estimated that commercial applications of Micro LED will appear in 2018. The first major move will be Apple switching to Micro LED display for its next Apple Watch model.

Japan Display Inc. (JDI) announced the commencement of mass production at its newly-constructed low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) LCD line in its Hakusan Plant, located in Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. JDI had been preparing for mass production since Dec. 1, and commenced mass production on Dec. 23.

More than 300 attendees turned up at LEDforum 2016, large numbers of visitors that signed up for the forum last minute queued patiently in front of the registration desk, a sight event organizers have not seen since 2011, said Roger Chu, director of research at LEDinside.

Konica Minolta will be meeting its aim of mass producing and shipping OLED panels in fall, according to a latest report by OLED-info.

Toshiba has started mass producing LED products belonging to its new LED TL1L4 series as of Feb.4, 2015, according to a Nikkei BP report.

Azerbajin, a country located in Central Asia, is aiming to bring LED manufacturing to the country by working with LG, reported Azernews.

Kateeva today announced a key partnership with Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd. (Sumitomo). Sumitomo is a global solution OLED materials leader. Kateeva is a leading provider of novel inkjet printing equipment for OLED mass production. The non-exclusive agreement calls for Sumitomo to pair its world-class inks with Kateeva's world-class YIELDjet™ platform to help speed affordable OLED TVs to market.

Apple’s Chinese suppliers have leaked that the new iPhone 6 will begin mass production next month, reported Bloomberg. Increasing competition from other smartphone makers may have pressured the company into early production. 

LG Innotek (CEO Ung-Beom Lee) announces it has begun mass producing high output UV LED chips that delivers the world class performance.The company has developed UV LED chips that can output 560mW at a drive current of 500mA, which is world class output on a single chip. Applications include industrial hardeners, light exposure systems, and counterfeit bill detectors.

LED technology has made great leaps in 2013. As LED prices continue to fall, large LED manufacturers are focusing on packaging process and material to develop low cost technologies. “Package free technology” has no doubt become the most important technological breakthrough this year that has surprised the industry. Unistars has been using advanced wafer package technology, Chip Scale Package (CSP). The company has released its new CSP series product Mercury 1515 series, and is the first Taiwanese LED packager to mass produce CSP products.