2026 Infrared Sensing Application Market and Branding Strategies

According to the report "TrendForce 2026 Infrared Sensing Application Market and Branding Strategies," driven by brands' strategic planning, five key themes are projected to unfold steadily between 2026 and 2030.

• (1) consumer electronics, including under-display 3D sensing, under-display proximity sensors, and bio-sensing
• (2) smart cockpit / ADAS- driver / occupant monitoring systems (DMS/OMS)
• (3) automotive automation- autonomous driving
• (4) industrial automation and humanoid robots
• (5) optical communication

Various factors are helping to expand the market scale of infrared sensing applications. Based on consumer electronics, DMS/OMS, automotive and industrial automation applications such as LiDAR, TrendForce forecasts that the IR LED, VCSEL, and EEL market scale for infrared sensing applications will climb to USD 2.214 billion by 2030.

Topic One: Consumer Electronics

Under-Display 3D Sensing: Apple is expected to adopt Dual-Junction VCSELs, and introduce under-display 3D sensing in the 2026 model of iPhone Pro using mature processes. Moreover, brands like Apple and Meta are planning to launch AR glasses between 2028 and 2030, leveraging 3D sensing to enable real-time interaction between virtual and real environments, thereby opening up significant business opportunities.

Under-Display Proximity Sensors: By adopting LTPO panels and adjusting timings to avoid the refresh rate of OLED screens (144Hz), smartphone brands can reduce white spot artifacts. This factor also led Apple to cancel the development of its 1,130nm SWIR VCSEL under-display proximity sensor. Meanwhile, in order to improve screen-to-body ratio, the 2026 iPhone Pro will not only use under-display 3D sensing but may also place 1D/2D ToF sensors under the screen. Other brands mostly use 940nm VCSEL under-display proximity sensors, such as Samsung, OPPO, vivo, Transsion, Xiaomi, ZTE, Huawei, Honor, and Motorola.

Bio-Sensing: Apple Watch Series 11 have been incorporated with the new feature of blood pressure detection in 2025 through improvement of algorithms under the existing hardware, while AirPods Pro 3 is now included with skin-detect sensor and heart rate monitoring. Samsung's Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, under optimization on software and hardware, are maintaining the bio-sensing features from previous generations. For the long term, next-gen bio-sensing features, including body hydration, blood lipids, and blood alcohol concentration (BAC), could potentially be incorporated into smart watches of Apple and Samsung in between 2029 and 2030.

Eye Tracking: The advantages of eye tracking include intuitive visual experience, eye-triggered interactive interfaces, automatic interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment, identity verification, and mobile payment are also expected to be integrated with Micro LED displays in AR glasses. Brands such as Apple, Meta, Samsung, Amazon, and Google are likely to adopt these technologies.

Topic Two: Smart Cockpit / ADAS- Driver / Occupant Monitoring Systems (DMS/OMS)

The EU General Safety Regulation stipulates that new passenger cars, trucks, and buses must be equipped with ADDW systems starting from July 7, 2026. Additionally, ADAS / autonomous driving Level 2 and above must be installed in high-end vehicles along with driver monitoring systems to prevent misuse that could lead to accidents and disputes. Carmakers' response to the policy has indeed driven the demand for driver/occupant monitoring systems in the market. However, due to the intense competition in the automotive market, the price pressure in the IR LED market has not eased.

Topic Three: Automotive Automation - Autonomous Driving

Automakers, facing market competition, are actively marketing high value-added products engineered with advanced technologies, such as ADB headlights, and full-width / Mini LED taillights. They have also been applying LiDAR to ADAS / autonomous driving Level 3 (e.g., Highway Pilot), aiming to enhance driving safety and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) performance. Leading players include Volvo, General Motors, Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Hyundai, Hongqi, Changan, Li Auto, AITO, NIO, Toyota, and Nissan. Automotive LiDAR is also applied in autonomous buses, robo-taxis, and autonomous trucks with autonomous driving Level 4-5 mainly for shuttling and point-to-point transportation. This helps address labor shortages and save personnel and transportation costs.

Topic Four: Industrial Automation and Humanoid Robots

Industrial LiDAR is applied in robots, industrial manufacturing processes, logistics, and safety protection. With the rapid growth of the e-commerce industry, distribution and transportation within factories have increased, while consumer demand for fast and convenient delivery services continues to rise. This has made speed a crucial factor in determining success for logistics companies in e-commerce, while also making last-mile delivery more challenging. E-commerce and logistics companies, aiming to reduce last-mile delivery costs and improve efficiency, are increasingly demanding more delivery robots.

The year 2026 will therefore mark a new phase in the robotics industry, characterized by humanoid robots that are driven by AI and focused on practical applications. Humanoid robots rely on various sensors to interact with their surrounding environment. The specific sensors vary according to design requirements. These sensors can be aligned with the simulation of human sensory functions.

Topic Five: Optical Communications

In response to the rise of generative AI, data centers are facing a significant increase in transmission rate demands. According to TrendForce, data transmission rates of less than or equal to 400 Gbps have already been widely adopted in the data centers of Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). Meanwhile, 800 Gbps and 1.6 Tbps will be the main drivers of market demand growth from 2025 onwards and continue into 2026. NVIDIA's goals for SiPh CPO products include: 1. Low cost (< USD 0.1 / Gbps); 2. Low power consumption (< 1.5 pJ/bit); Long distance (> 1 km); Small form factor (>0.5 Tbps/mm2); High reliability (< 10 FIT). Among these, Micro LED CPO is expected to align with SiPh CPO goals in terms of low cost, low power consumption, small form factor, and high reliability.

TrendForce analyzes the market scale, opportunities and challenges, and product specifications and pricing for infrared sensing applications. These analyses are based on brand manufacturers' strategies and the latest developments across supply chains. The report aims to provide readers with a comprehensive insight into business and marketing strategies in the infrared sensing application market.