On April 1st, IKEA takes the next step in the smart home journey by releasing its first completely digital home furnishing product. The TRÅDFRI app allows people to design their lighting the way they want through their phone or tablet. The app is part of the new Smart Lighting collection which includes solutions for dimming lighting, switching from warm to cold light, remote steering and personalization of lighting.

Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting, has today released findings that reveal the impact outdoor lighting has on 'curb-appeal' or the desirability of a home. Outdoor lighting is a key consideration when buying a home for nearly half of Europeans (45%) - beating the type of windows, roof or paintwork of a house, as a consideration. While one third of all Europeans agree that outdoor lighting has a significant impact on the appeal of a home.

Philips Lighting has become the first lighting solutions provider to announce the launch of a ‘chatbot’ on their local Facebook page, allowing users to purchase Philips Lighting’s suite of consumer products conversationally through Facebook’s messenger platform.

This year, Salone del Mobile and Euroluce will take place from April 4th to the 9th. Contemporary Lighting has shared with readers 10 luxury lighting brands which will be showcasing their designs at the exhibition.

Struggling with power shortages, Zambia is planning to convert the nation to 100% energy-efficient LED bulbs. As Thomson Reuters Foundation reports, power outages have hurt pillar industries such as mining and agriculture and the country has been forced to impose rationing on a daily basis.

WitsView, a division of the market intelligence firm TrendForce, estimates that worldwide shipments of LCD TV panels for 2017 will total 255.6 million units, down 1.8% in unit volume from 2016. This year’s increase in the average size of TV panels, however, will lead to an annual growth of 7.3% in total shipment area.

Rome, with its ancient architecture and timeless beauty, is especially magnificent at night when the city is bathed in a golden halo thanks to the yellow sodium street lights. However, this may soon be a thing of the past as LED street lights gradually take over. The new lights have angered local residents, as The New York Times reports.

Finally, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are here. After countless rumors and speculations, Samsung on Wednesday officially unveiled its next-generation Galaxy S flagship models. Although most of the specs have been leaked, the launch of the S8 series was still highly anticipated as it is Samsung’s first major event since the withdrawal of Note 7s.

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.

LG Electronics USA Business Solutions unveiled the new razor-thin, lightweight LG OLED "Wallpaper" commercial display and new flexible, customizable open-frame LG OLED displays at the 2017 Digital Signage Expo (DSE).

Even just a few short years ago, LED lighting was largely viewed as something that would be nice to have, but wasn’t exactly practical for widespread use, due in large part to the cost. Well, the so-called “LED revolution” is over, and light emitting diode lighting is the clear winner. From industrial plants and city sidewalks to home appliances and holiday decorating, LED lighting is now more common than the incandescent and fluorescent lights we all knew in the past.

Samsung Electronics will unveil its latest visual display blockbuster, the new Samsung Cinema Screen. As the world’s first High Dynamic Range LED theater display, the cinema screen delivers unprecedented picture quality and brings movies and other on-screen contents to life with higher vibrancy and accuracy.

Indian LED TV (LED backlight LCD TV) market is now bracing for a price war as global players and domestic makers have launched less pricier TV sets to secure market share in the Rs 22,000 crore (around US$ 3.4 billion) sector.

EVERLIGHT Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading player in the global LED and optoelectronics industry, is dedicated to R&D of automotive LED products and providing a comprehensive portfolio of automotive products for its either interior or exterior applications. 

ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC. ("ChipMOS" or the "Company") (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 8150 and NASDAQ: IMOS) announced the completion of its previously disclosed equity interest transfer to a group of investors led by Tsinghua Unigroup ("Strategic Investors").

The range of LED products continues to expand, which opens up a great deal of business opportunities especially in the solid-state lighting sector. Struggling for market share, major Chinese LED manufacturers have been cutting down prices of their goods, making it even more difficult for Taiwanese makers to compete.

Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Spring Edition), Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) and the International ICT Expo, will kick off at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in April.

VTRON, a chinese LED video display manufacturer under the Wei Chong Group, recently launched the VLED-II video wall, in which VTRON adopted COB (chip-on-board) technology encapsulating LEDs right onto the PCB to result in a smooth surface.

Originally designed to offer safety for music listeners on a run, Spark Headphones has evolved into a fashionable accessory.

Researchers have developed a cheap, portable camera that can photograph the retina without the need for pupil-dilating eye drops.

Xiaomi has made its brand known in the technology industry with a multitude of products for applications over mobile phones and laptops to IoT technology and connected electronics. It would not sound as a surprise at all now Xiaomi launches its smart lighting products–Yeelight LED bulbs. In terms of personal wireless LED lighting, Xiaomi claims Yeelight LED bulb offers same quality as that of Philips Hue with more competitive CPI. The light is priced at USD 20 and is even available at discount prices on online shops such as GearBest.

Light Polymers, a nanochemistry startup with R&D operations in Silicon Valley, Taiwan and Korea, recently announced a Series A investment of $24.3 million led by a consortium of private investors.

LED lighting takes a huge share in the lighting market and the prevalence of LEDs reflects the industry has grown fairly mature. A multitude of LED types are being developed and introduced to not only illumination but other various applications. All that tells the need for LED light measurement will increase; and accurate, effective, and reliable methods are desirable when it comes to testing LEDs’ optical parameters. Here, Vektrex, a LED measurement system provider, releases three videos expounding how to improve LED light measurement by providing sustained power to LEDs, reducing junction heating to achieve a higher accuracy, and maintaining time stability.

Organized by SEMI and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), LED Taiwan and Taiwan International Lighting Show (TiLS) will be collocated and held on April 12-15, 2017 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1, showcasing a wide range of technology innovations and solutions in six themed pavilions.

On 10 March, over 2,000 guests from design, business, culture, politics and the media from over 40 countries celebrated the winners of the iF DESIGN AWARD 2017 at the BMW Welt in Munich. A total of 5,575 contributions from 59 countries entered the competition, and 75 of them won the coveted iF gold award, including the following three lighting products.

After the detrimental Galaxy Note 7 recall, Samsung is hoping the upcoming flagship Galaxy S8 lineup can revive its smartphone business. Meanwhile, rival Apple is prepared to launch its first OLED iPhone in September. Analysts are now saying the S8 may lose the battle against the next iPhone due to a lack of eye-catching selling points.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer BRTLED recently announced it has received a four-to-five-year-order from an US commercial airline for SMD LED lighting module, which is expected to be a major growth driver for the company.

Following launching the 10mW UVC LED products and the flowing water disinfection module at 2016, Jason Electric today announced that they have made a new breakthrough and will launch the product of 100mW UVC LED. This new product is very compact with dimension of 68mm*68mm, and can emit 275nm UVC light of 100mW. It makes it possible for designing the solution to deal with the mass flowing water and air purification application.

A new wave of LED street lights installation has started across India. According to local media, North Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to replace over two lakh (200,000) traditional streetlights with LED lighting across its six zones. There are around 250,000 streetlights in these areas, including park lights and semi High-mast lighting.

Philips Lighting and Cerezo Osaka, the J1 League soccer club, have signed an agreement in which Philips Lighting becomes the club’s ‘official lighting partner.’ The company plans to provide design, consultancy services and advanced LED lighting technology for the club’s stadium and practice pitches.