This year's holiday shopping season is shaping up to be fertile ground for augmented reality to show its worth, as both Walmart and Target have crafted immersive experiences designed to engage shoppers in the coming weeks.
In a move sure to stir up even more speculation about the future of Snap Inc., the company's vice president of content, Nick Bell, is leaving the company after five years.
With would-be unicorns Magic Leap and Niantic among its investments, Google is an active investor in augmented reality technology. This week, the search giant experienced both ends of the investment cycle, with an exit via Lyft's acquisition of Blue Vision Labs, and a funding round for Resolution Games.
Using the ARKit 2.0 announcement as its springboard, software maker Adobe is looking leap up to the level of Unity Technologies and Epic Games, the companies making the go-to tools for creating augmented reality experiences.
As expected, Apple revealed today at the WWDC keynote that ARKit 2.0 will support multiplayer gaming support and persistent content, which will arrive this fall with iOS 12.
With each year that we anxiously await Apple's next big version of iOS, there comes the sad reality that the eldest iPhones will not continue to receive support. That's not the case with iOS 12, however, as the software is compatible with all iPhones currently running iOS 11, going back as far as the iPhone 5S.
Confirming a previous report from last week, Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon X1 platform designed for augmented and virtual reality devices during an event at the Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara on Tuesday, with Meta and Vuzix among the first manufacturers to adopt it.
Whenever you attend or remotely watch a major Apple event, you're likely to see Phil Schiller, the company's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, unveiling a brand new product on stage. Outside of an official event, Schiller is the second most likely person (after Apple's CEO Tim Cook) you'll find delivering a rare tidbit of new Apple info or perspective to the public.
In case you didn't already know, augmented reality is here. It's no longer just an idea in a cyberpunk novel. And while augmented reality has been around for a long time, the actual technology is finally catching up to the idea.
Augmented reality headsets with larger eye boxes than any device currently available could make their way to market by the end of next year if current timelines hold true.
For a company who hasn't released a product and has a reputation for being secretive, Magic Leap sure has a tendency to make waves. Over the past few weeks, they've refreshed their website design, released an abstract YouTube video, and announced a partnership with Madefire to offer mixed reality comics on its device whenever it launches. Next, they are gearing up for another round of funding.
A survey by ABI Research revealed that only 25 percent of businesses have implemented augmented reality technology in some form or fashion.
An update to the iFramed social media gateway app for iOS adds an augmented reality feature called JuxImage that gives its users Snapchat-like photo and video effects.
Augmented reality sells, but who's buying? Over the past week, two companies made executive hires to capitalize on the growth of augmented reality as a service to sell to other businesses. Meanwhile, two companies joined forces to offer augmented reality tools to headset makers and content providers.
A report by PwC highlights that immersive experiences in augmented and virtual reality represent the fastest growing segment of the entertainment and media industry over the next six years. News from two companies working in the industry, Fox and NetDragon, underscore the growth forecast.
After 6 years of development, the big banks seem to be ready to combat Venmo on the money sending frontier, but now it might be too late.
As the world goes into a frenzy over the latest strain of WannaCry ransomware, it might be a good time to remember to update all your devices. Yes, those little reminders your phone and computer throw at you every now and then to update your junk can be really annoying, but not without merit.
This week's Brief Reality is led by a pair of stories with an eye to the future of the augmented reality industry, first in terms of standards for the industry, then with regards to its future applications in the automotive realm. Finally, one company looks to boost its future sales with an executive hire.
A Seattle development team is putting the "ARRRR" in AR with the maiden voyage of Captain Blimey, an augmented reality game for iOS and Android devices that puts a pirate premise on Pokémon GO.
This week in Market Reality, we see two companies capitalizing on technologies that contribute to augmented reality platforms. In addition, industry mainstays Vuzix and DAQRI have business news of their own to report.
Verizon launched the $80 unlimited prepaid plan this week and we've found that it actually isn't as limitless as they would have you believe.
In this Tuesday's Brief Reality report, there's a trio of stories from the healthcare world where augmented reality is helping out with surgical microscopes, asthma treatment, and other diagnostic and treatment tools. There's also something for all of you AR/VR storytellers out there.
If you want to finally pick a winning horse at the racetracks, then watch this video tutorial to learn the tricks of the horse racing tipster's trade. This is an easy tip to improve you horse racing odds. Betting on horses is easy, but winning is the hard part.
Android smartphones have all sorts of connectivity chips built in, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC, and mobile data. But what about AM or FM radio, two of the most common methods of wireless communication?
Okay, net sleuths — this one's for you. If you've ever wanted to spy on other people on their computers, this video will show you how to use Google to hack unprotected webcams. All you have to do is enter the following into Google's search bar:
Some Chinese dishes that sound healthy are surprisingly fat-laden. These tips will help you avoid diet land mines.
Learn how to pick a horse at the racetrack. Sure, you could just go with your gut. But if you want better odds, make your decision based on these factors.
We bet you never thought you could use a cold brew—can and all—to make a moist, tender delicious chicken.
The Peace Corps -- have you ever thought of it? It crosses everybody's mind at one point or another, but mostly college students. The Peace Corps offers many benefits, like life experience, student loan repayment, and travel. If you are ready for 27 months of hard but rewarding work, a job with the Peace Corps might be for you. These steps will help you on your way toward an unforgettable experience.
The rumors have been circulating for months, but now there's a source attached to the notion that Magic Leap is looking to sell itself off after a rough couple of years following the launch of its Magic Leap 1 augmented reality device.
While the rest of the world is scrambling to figure out how to adopt augmented reality and VR tools for remote meetings, one company is building its war chest to serve the growing space of corporate clients who need this kind of immersive computing training.
This week's news that Magic Leap's patents had entered collateral limbo, now in the hands of JPMorgan Chase, threw a dark cloud over the company.
Microsoft has unveiled practically every detail of the HoloLens 2 except for when eager developers and enterprise customers can expect to receive the device.
While Modiface, YouCam, and others have been playing in the virtual make-up marketing pool for a while, here comes Google ready to splash down with a cannonball.
It's always great to see a company pull off a bit of augmented reality magic, but what we see is not always what it's cracked up to be.
The future of smartglasses for consumers seems ever dependent on Apple's entry into the market. Coincidentally, the exit of Apple's long-time design chief Jony Ive has shed some light on that eventual entrance.
After North cut the base price of its Focals smartglasses, Vuzix is now testing the waters of a lower price point for its Blade smartglasses.
Snapchat isn't the only tech company transforming landmarks with augmented reality for Pride Month. About four miles southwest of New York's iconic Flatiron Building, which is getting its own Pride makeover via Snapchat's Landmarker AR, Stonewall National Monument is also receiving some augmented reality treatment by way of the Stonewall Forever mobile app published by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center (better known as The Center) in partnership with Google.
Investors continue to bet on augmented reality, both for short-term returns and long-term plays. This week, Niantic reportedly picked up another round of funding from Samsung and others, based on the success of PokémonGO and the prospects for future revenue. Likewise, investors see value in WaveOptics, whose waveguide displays could make consumer smaller AR smartglasses possible within the next year.
Last month, Leap Motion's vice president of design and global creative director, Keiichi Matsuda (a member of the NR30), suddenly left the company. Just days later, a story leaked that revealed that Leap Motion had twice failed to lock in a potential deal with Apple.
