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News: Apple Brings 3D Scanning to macOS Monterey with Object Capture
As brands and content makers create more augmented reality experiences, the demand for tools to create 3D content grows in kind.
News: The First Beta for iOS 15 Is Now Available to Download on iPhone
Apple officially announced iOS 15 at WWDC Monday, June 7. With that announcement, we got our first look at brand new features like redesigned notifications, FaceTime screen and music sharing, and Focus modes in Do Not Disturb. All of these new iPhone features are available to test out today, thanks to the iOS 15 beta.
How To: Stop Your iPhone from Making Irrelevant Suggestions
Siri Suggestions is one way Apple makes your iPhone work better for you. These recommendations offer helpful actions and shortcuts based on how you use iOS. Still, they can frequently get things wrong, suggesting irrelevant shortcuts to apps, contacts, and other items repeatedly. Here's how to stop them.
News: Apple Delivers Competitor to Google Lens & Google Maps AR Features in iOS 15
Mobile augmented reality for iOS typically comes through apps via ARKit, but Apple is borrowing a few pages from Google's playbook and bringing AR directly to iOS 15.
Market Reality: Facebook Debuts Shared AR for Video Chat, Magic Leap Teams with AMD, & Lego Takes AR to the Theme Park
It's (virtual) developer conference season, and this week was Facebook's turn with F8 Refresh. Like Google and Snap, Facebook had some new AR capabilities to show off.
News: Facebook Chief Mark Zuckerberg Talks Immersive Remote Video & AR Smartglasses Following Major Reveals from Snap & Google
The last few weeks were fairly busy in the realm of augmented reality and remote meetings developments. Most of that activity was generated by some mammoth announcements from Snap and its Spectacles AR smartglasses, and Google, with its Project Starline experimental holographic video conferencing system.
How To: See All the People Who Tapbacked on an iMessage
Apple's Tapback is a great way to react to iMessages you find funny, surprising, confusing, and anything in between. However, in group chats, keeping track of who reacted with which Tapback can be difficult; iOS often just shows you how many people reacted but excludes many of the names. Luckily, there is a way around this — it's just a bit hidden.
How To: This App Gives You Thousands of Free Custom Fonts for Your iPhone's Stock Keyboard
Since iOS 13, your iPhone's come equipped with a fonts manager that lets you install custom fonts for use in Apple apps and supported third-party apps. To add fonts, you need to use a font provider app that'll load them on your device and register them system-wide, and one of these apps shines above all else.
How To: Start Making Your Own Apps Today with This $20 Bundle
Apps went from a novelty to the main way we control the functionality of our phones and tablets in what felt like an instant. Apps are ubiquitous, and you can find one for virtually every need. However, what's right for someone else isn't always right for you, and what's right for you might be right for more people.
News: Facebook Focuses on Shared AR Experiences Over Video via Spark AR
After introducing a pair of new Spark AR capabilities last week, Facebook had one more trick up its sleeve to unveil at its virtual F8 Refresh developer conference.
News: Magic Leap Working with AMD on Processor for Next-Generation Enterprise AR Headsets
After tapping Nvidia for its first AR headset, Magic Leap is calling in reinforcement for its future enterprise-focused efforts.
News: Apple Releases iOS 14.7 Beta 2 for iPhone
Apple seeded the second beta for iOS 14.7 today, Wednesday, June 2. The update (build number 18G5033e) comes two weeks after Apple released the first 14.7 beta, and nine days after the company released iOS 14.6 to the general public.
How To: Scroll Hands-Free Through Long Webpages on Your iPhone to Read Articles at the Perfect Pace
You can't always have your hands on your iPhone, which is why Apple developed Siri. When Siri can't do your hands-free bidding, there's Apple's newer Voice Control feature. But if you don't like barking commands at your iPhone, there's another option — at least, when it comes to scrolling through webpages in Safari.
How To: Check Your Android Security Patch Level to See if You're Protected Against the Latest Vulnerabilities
Numerous potential exploits are found for every operating system each month, and Android is no exception. Trouble is, lots of Android devices don't receive timely updates — but many are now getting regular monthly security patches to at least shore up these vulnerabilities.
News: Lego Transforms Statues into AR Creatures at Legoland Windsor Theme Park via Mobile App
Few brands have been more enthusiastic about augmented reality than Lego, which has now expanded its AR experiences from toys to theme parks.
How To: Watch Apple's WWDC 2021 Keynote Livestream for Sneak Peeks at iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12 & More
On June 7, Apple will reveal to developers what's in store for its upcoming operating systems, but anyone can watch the livestream to see all the new features coming this fall to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8.
AR Snapshots: Celebrate Pride Month with These Snapchat Augmented Reality Lenses
June is Pride Month, an annual celebration of LGBTQ+ communities in commemoration of the Stonewall uprising of 1969.
How To: This Portable Charger Can Completely Recharge Your Laptop
When you're working, in class, or just browsing the internet away from an outlet, the last thing you want is to string your devices along with a portable charger that can't recharge them as fast as you need. The Ultimate Charger: Portable Multi-Device Power Bank is exactly what it says it is — the ultimate portable charger that can power even a laptop at full speed, and it's on sale for $149.99 (it's normally $179.99).
How To: This Trick Lets You Quickly Enable or Disable the Always-on Apple Watch Display in One Tap
When you need to subtly glance at the time or check your workout metrics without raising your wrist, the always-on display (AOD) on your Apple Watch comes in handy. However, Apple makes it seem impossible to disable it temporarily. You either choose to leave it on or off, with no clear way to shut it down for a while. It might not be obvious, but there is a shortcut that can do just that.
How To: The Best-Selling VPN Is Now on Sale
The ability to browse the web in coffee shops, libraries, airports, and practically anywhere else you can imagine is more than convenient, but convenience has risks. Using public Wi-Fi allows others to spy on you easily. Even your own internet service provider can see every website you've ever visited. Don't fall into the trap of protecting your identity, data, and devices after it's too late.
How To: Unlock Facial Detection & Recognition on the Inexpensive ESP32-Based Wi-Fi Spy Camera
If you've recently built a Wi-Fi spy camera out of an ESP32-CAM, you can use it for a variety of things. A baby monitor at night, a security camera for catching package thieves, a hidden video streamer to catch someone going somewhere they shouldn't be — you could use it for pretty much anything. Best of all, this inexpensive camera module can perform facial detection and facial recognition!
How To: Scan Your Saved Passwords in Chrome to Find & Replace Compromised Login Info
If you save your passwords in Chrome or even just use Android's default password manager, Google has some new security tools you'll be interested in.
Market Reality: Snap Spectacles Early Prototype, Volkswagen Drives into AR, Inside Lego Snapchat, & Instagram Updates AR
We're still basking in the afterglow of the HUGE Snap Partner Summit last week, where Snap made Snapchat a much stronger augmented reality platform while also unveiling the AR smartglasses version of Spectacles. This week, we got a peek at how Spectacles AR started and got our hands on Lenses from Lego and Disney featured during the keynote.
News: Facebook Upgrades Spark AR Platform for Instagram with Segmentation & Marker Tracking Capabilities
Ever since Snapchat rebuffed its acquisition attempts, Facebook has morphed Instagram with features from Snapchat, such as stories, chat, and, of course, augmented reality.
How To: These Wireless Headphones Are on Sale for Memorial Day
When you're listening to music, there shouldn't be anything distracting you from total immersion. That means the only cords you should be dealing with are the crystal clear chords of your favorite song. You should be able to listen to high-quality music without the distraction of static, battery failure, or poorly-fitted headphones too.
News: Hands-On with the Lego Snapchat Augmented Reality Experience That Lets You Build With Friends Remotely
The world of Lego is timeless primarily because everyone, regardless of age or background, can build a wide variety of amazing things with the simple component blocks from the classic toymaker.
News: Could These 26 Features Show Up in iOS 15's Upcoming Beta? We Really Hope So
When Tim Cook, Craig Federighi, and other core Apple leaders take the stage for WWDC 2021 on June 7, we'll hear a lot about exciting new things to come. We're likely to see what's in store for watchOS 8 and macOS 12, but more importantly, we'll get a glimpse at what iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 will be like.
News: Volkswagen Offshoot Cupra Born Electric Vehicle Debuts with Impressive AR Features
The electric vehicle space is where a lot of the most cutting-edge technology is used to push vehicles forward (the best example being Tesla).
News: Snap Team Member Reveals Early Prototype of AR Spectacles, Plus Here's Another Way to Get Your Own Pair
When Snap CEO Evan Spiegel pulled off the surprise debut of the augmented reality version of Spectacles last week, it was one of the biggest moments in the company's history.
How To: Never Search for Apps Again with Setapp
When smartphones were first getting popular, apps were much more limited in scope. Because of that, it was easier to find better programs to do what was needed. Now, in the App Store alone, there are nearly two million apps for you to choose from. When you're just looking for an app that will work well for the task at hand, two million is a lot to sort through.
How To: Auto-Play New Podcast Episodes on Your iPhone When Connecting Headphones, Starting a Trip, Tapping an NFC Tag & More
The Shortcuts app can help you play the next unlistened podcast from one of the shows, but getting the latest unplayed episodes from your whole queue of shows in the Podcasts app is a little trickier. There is an easy way to do it on your iPhone, though, and you can even automate it so that Podcasts plays your most recent untouched episode automatically.
How To: Clean Unwanted Tabs & Alerts from Facebook's Nav Bar to Remove Shop, Groups, News, Watch & Notification Dots
In the Facebook app for Android and iOS, the shortcut bar has a few necessary tabs to go home and view notifications and settings. But other tabs can make the interface feel cluttered if you don't use them often enough — or at all. Thankfully, there's a quick trick to get rid of them for a cleaner navigation bar.
How To: Work from Home in Style with This All-in-One Kit
Learning to work from home doesn't just require you to figure out how to do your work remotely. You also have to build a workstation that gets you in the professional mindset. Otherwise, you might start feeling the stress of working at home.
How To: The Secret to Typing in All Caps on Apple Watch
There's no default keyboard on the Apple Watch, but watchOS has another way to let you type text out for emails, messages, music searches, and more on the small display, and that's Scribble. With it, you simply draw letters and other characters on the screen with your finger, then your watch converts that into plain text. However, it's not perfect, and getting the nuances of regular typing can be tough.
News: This Is How You Can Access Disney World's Limited-Time Mickey & Minnie Mouse AR Selfie Lens on Snapchat
Last week, Snap powered through a mountain of important software and (shock!) hardware updates, as well as a few very big business partnerships.
News: Apple Releases iOS 14.6 for iPhone, Introduces Voice Unlock After Restart, Apple Card Family, Podcast Subs & More
Apple released the latest version of its iPhone OS, iOS 14.6, today, Monday, May 24. This latest update (build number 18F72) introduces new features like unlocking your iPhone with Voice Control after a restart, Apple Card Family support for up to five people, and subscription support for shows in Podcasts.
How To: Learn C# & Start Designing Games & Apps
Learning different coding languages can be difficult. You spend so much time mastering one and getting used to thinking along the channels you need for it that learning something new can sometimes be more difficult than starting from scratch. Starting from scratch, notably, is also difficult.
How To: Set Up a Wi-Fi Spy Camera with an ESP32-CAM
The ESP32-CAM is a convenient little camera module with a lot of built-in power, and you can turn one into an inconspicuous spy camera to hide in any room. There's only one issue: it does omit a USB port. That makes it a little harder to program, but with an ESP32-based board, FTDI programmer, and some jumper wires, you'll have a programmed ESP32 Wi-Fi spy camera in no time.
Market Reality: Google Goes Holographic, Snap AR Smartglasses Launch, Facebook Exec Departs, Epic Games vs. Nreal Pt. 2
Google and Snap held their annual conferences this week, and both companies managed to upstage their new AR software features with fantastic new AR hardware.
How To: Save Your Memories Forever with This 15 TB Backup Storage
The memories on your devices are precious, even if you don't often get a chance to revisit them. The worst thing in the world is when something happens to your computer or phone, and you end up losing some of those memories because your files weren't backed up or your microSD wasn't fireproof.