In response to the rising demand for mobile payment, Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone Galaxy Note 7 includes iris recognition as a standard feature that assists in user authentication. The arrival of Galaxy Note 7 is expected to trigger a new round of hardware competition among smartphone brands as they will also likely to incorporate iris recognition into their flagship devices. According to the latest analysis from LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, iris and facial recognition features will gradually become prevalent in mobile devices. LEDinside further estimates that in 2020, global shipments of mobile devices with the iris and facial recognition features will reach 400 million units. By that time, the market value of infrared LEDs (IR LEDs) for iris and facial recognition will total around US$250 million. Thus, biometric recognition has become one of the most potentially profitable applications for IR LEDs.
LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, reports the global average sales prices of 40-watt and 60-watt equivalent LED light bulbs in July fell 0.7% and 0.6% versus the prior month, respectively, to US$9.5 and US$12.9.
Following LCD and AMOLED, micro-LED has emerged as the next-generation display technology that is expected to be deployed widely in various applications. Increasing interests from electronics giants Apple and Sony during the recent period have encouraged further investments in micro-LED and accelerated the timetable for its commercialization. The latest analysis from LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, forecasts that micro-LED displays for smart wearable devices will enter the mass production stage in 2018. The technology will become available for smartphones later in 2020.
German-based lighting manufacturer OSRAM has agreed to sell its lamp business unit LEDVANCE to a Chinese consortium that is led by IDG Capital Partners and includes LED manufacturer MLS and Yiwu State-Owned Assets Operation Center. The sale was announced on July 26 and represents a landmark deal in which Chinese LED manufacturer successfully acquires an oversea target with the help of an international investment group. “The sale of LEDVANCE shows major international lighting companies are exiting the LED lighting business due to its unprofitable outlook,” said Roger Chu, research director of LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. “On the other hand, Chinese LED lighting companies have an overall cost advantage and are assisted by the government, so they can take this opportunity to expand their market shares.”
Lighting LEDs accounted for US$3.9 billion of the US$8.8 billion Chinese LED package industry in 2015, according to the 2016 Chinese LED Chip and Package Industry Market Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. Lighting LEDs’ share in the total scale of the Chinese LED package industry in 2015 also grew 15% year on year to reach 44%. MLS and Honglitronic, the two major Chinese package suppliers, have steadily expanded their market shares in the LED lighting application due to booming demand in Southeast Asia, India and other emerging markets. Consequently, their standings in the industry have gradually risen as well.
