News: 8th Wall Beats Google & Apple to Market with an AR Platform for Web
Google and Apple are working to enable augmented reality content for the web, but startup 8th Wall has managed to launch a web AR platform that works on mobile browsers now.
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How To: 5 Legitimately Hidden Features in Android Pie
With every new Android update, hidden features are lurking under the surface. Google hides these options to prevent unnecessary tinkering by average users, leaving them in place for power users to discover. These secrets range from silly to really useful, with the latter opening up new ways to manage your phone.
News: Magic Leap Reservation Page, Images Hint at Impending Release
The Magic Leap One: Creator Edition has been teased for months now, and while we still don't know exactly when the sales will begin, it can't be long now because we've discovered a couple of new hints that the device's launch is imminent, hiding in plain sight on the company's website.
News: Magic Leap Mobile Companion App Revealed, iOS & Android Supported
Among a treasure trove of new developer information on the Lumin OS that Magic Leap recently published on its Creator Portal appears to be the official confirmation of the Magic Leap Mobile Companion App.
News: New York Times Leads Readers on an AR Journey Through the Cave That Trapped the Thai Soccer Team
One of the more compelling human interest stories of the summer has been the plight of the Thai Wild Boars soccer team, who were trapped in a cave for weeks.
News: Challenge Serena Williams in Augmented Reality Tennis via Snapchat's Interactive 3D Bitmoji
With the opening round of Wimbledon, one of professional tennis's four major tournaments, beginning on Monday, Snapchat is serving up an augmented reality tennis mini-game.
News: Every Picture-in-Picture Compatible Android App
For those of us who love to multitask, picture-in-picture mode is a godsend. The feature, introduced in Android 8.0 Oreo, lets you enjoy videos in a floating window overlaid on top of another app. However, while the OS does have native support, only a select number of apps support the feature.
How To: Completely Revamp the Lock Screen on Your Galaxy S8 or S9
Samsung's Good Lock app has has breathed much needed life into its TouchWiz UI by giving us the ability to customize our Galaxy phones in ways that previously would've required root or a custom ROM. One companion app in particular even lets you personalize your lock screen to set it apart from the rest of the crowd.
How To: Talk to Google Home Normally Without Having to Say 'Hey Google' Each Time
At I/O 2018, Google showcased features that would make the Google Assistant easier to communicate with. While some people were impressed with (and maybe creeped out by) Google Duplex, one feature that was well received was the ability to talk to the Assistant without the constant "Hey Google" before each question.
News: Adobe's Project Aero Takes on Unity & Unreal for AR Content Creation Supremacy
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.
News: HoloLens Can Now Wirelessly Tap Rendering Power of Any Desktop PC via UWP Apps Built in Unity
Looking to inject a little more processing juice into your HoloLens? Unity can fix you up with the Standalone Universal Windows Platform Holographic Emulation.
How To: Stop Uber from Tracking Your Location in the Background on Your iPhone
Uber as a service is great, but using it requires you to hand over your location data to the company. What's worse is that you may be giving them precious access to your GPS even when don't have the Uber app open. This is both a major privacy issue and a drain on your battery. Fortunately, some of you can fix this.
News: DigiLens Gets $25M Boost from Continental for Automotive Augmented Reality
Waveguide manufacturer DigiLens has closed a $25 million Series C round of funding from automotive technology company Continental, which uses the technology in its heads up displays.
News: ANTVR Goes Modular to Shrink the Size & Expand the Field of View of Its AR Headset
China-based virtual reality headset maker ANTVR has decided to enter the augmented reality space, and to do so it's launching its headset on Kickstarter. The company claims that its new Mix AR device has a field of view that surpasses the Meta 2, the HoloLens, and others within a smaller form factor and at a fraction of the price. But there's a catch.
News: Epson Adds Biometric Authentication from Redrock to Its Smartglasses
Users of Epson's smartglasses can now tell their devices to "talk to the hand" when it comes to passwords and authentication.
News: Lenovo's Star Wars — Jedi Challenges Now Lets You Battle Other Lightsaber Users in Augmented Reality
On this, the most cherished day for Star Wars fans, May the fourth, Lenovo has released a significant new update to its Star Wars: Jedi Challenges app: real person versus person lightsaber battles.
News: Magic Leap to Launch Twitch Channel Featuring Developer Tutorials, Updates & Interviews
Although Magic Leap's founder Rony Abovitz has a lot to say about his product, what people really want are visuals, and it looks like we're about to get a lot more of those in the coming weeks. In a post on Magic Leap's official announcements forum page, the company revealed that it plans to begin a monthly livestream series on Twitch.
How To: Turn Off Facebook Lite's Call & Text History Logging on Android
The Android world exploded when it was discovered that Facebook was logging the call and text histories of many of its users, although the company claims those users had explicitly given Facebook permission to log that data. The case remains that many users were unaware of this activity, which occurs on both Messenger and Facebook Lite. Luckily, it's very easy to disable.
News: Magic Leap Teases Cross-Platform Augmented Reality Experiences with iOS Developer Job Posting
Why would Magic Leap, a company preparing to launch its first augmented reality headset this year, need a developer for iPhone and iPad apps? It's not as crazy as it sounds.
How To: Hide the Navigation & Status Bars on Your Galaxy S9 — No Root Needed
Putting your Galaxy S9 in Immersive Mode lets you truly enjoy the gorgeous display that Samsung is so famous for. You can't have it set on at all times, however, so you'll still have to deal with the status and navigation bars that cut the phone's aspect ratio down to that of a standard phone. But if you're willing to dig a little deeper, there are ways to go full Immersive Mode on your S9 for good.
News: Apple's WWDC Invite Tells Us That 2018 Edition Will Be All About Augmented Reality
Historically, Apple loves to drop hints about its major upcoming events through clues included on its invitations. Those invites usually require a good bit of deciphering to connect the dots, but in the case of Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2018 invite, the topic is immediately obvious: it's augmented reality.
News: Finally, You Can Unlock Your S9 Automatically Using a PIN
It's often the smallest details that determine your overall experience with a smartphone. Unlocking your device with a PIN is an example — and iPhones have had a leg up over Android thanks to their automatic unlocking. Thankfully, this era has finally come to an end with the arrival of the Galaxy S9.
How To: Get the New Pixel Launcher from Android 9.0 Pie on Any Phone — No Root Needed
Google just released Android 9.0 Pie, but the Android community is already working its magic. Developer Quinny899 quickly ported the updated Pixel Launcher from the new build, so you can try it out on other phones right now.
News: Google Has Trained a Neural Network to Change Your Video Background in Real-Time Video
The research team at Google has found yet another way for machine learning to simplify time-intensive tasks, and this one could eventually facilitate Star Wars-like holographic video.
News: Now the HoloLens Can Measure Your Heart Rate by Scanning Your Face
Researchers have developed a new method that harnesses the power of augmented reality to detect a patient's heart rate using a Microsoft HoloLens and computer vision.
Dev Report: IBM & Unity Partner to Offer AI Tool That Could Make Augmented Reality Apps Smarter
This month, the power of artificial intelligence will be coming to more augmented reality developers as a leader in the game and 3D software development space and a major force behind the current school of cloud-based AI have officially announced a new partnership.
News: Hasbro Makes Marvel Movie Magic Real with Iron Man AR Helmet
Soon, kids young and old aspiring to imitate Iron Man will only need to learn how to duplicate Tony Stark's snarky wit, because Hasbro will now supply the augmented reality helmet.
News: Gboard Makes Finding Emojis Even Easier on iPhone
If you're looking for an alternative iOS keyboard for your iPhone, look no further than Gboard. The Google-made keyboard is bursting with features like web search, Google Maps, GIFs, and more. Now, Gboard is adding a new feature that'll make it easier to find the perfect emoji.
News: Forget Face Masks, Facebook Is Working on Full-Body AR Camera Effects
Facebook may have shamelessly copied Snapchat and its camera effects for faces (as well as its World Lenses), but it might beat its social media competitor to virtual body augmentation.
News: If You've Ever Wanted X-Ray Vision, Check Out This Combination of Augmented Reality & Ultrasound
Seeing your baby for the first time via ultrasound is an exciting moment for new parents, but a new augmented reality twist on the experience could make the experience even more powerful.
News: Niantic Casts Procrastination Spell on Harry Potter Augmented Reality Game
Harry Potter fans can set down their wands for a spell, as the highly-anticipated augmented reality game from Niantic based on the franchise won't arrive until after July at the earliest.
How To: Check if Your Phone Can Stream HD Video from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video & Other Services
It recently came to light that a number of Android phones are unable to stream HD video through services like Netflix, Google Play Movies, and Amazon Prime Video. If you're worried that your phone may be affected, there's a simple tool you can use to find out for sure if you can actually stream video in 720p or higher.
News: Vuzix Begins Accepting Pre-Orders for Blade Developer Kits
Just weeks after previewing its smartglasses in a pair of videos, augmented reality hardware maker Vuzix announced on Friday that pre-orders are open for Vuzix Blade developer kits.
News: iOS 11.2 Beta 3 Released, Includes Pop-Up Alerts for Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Controls, New Control Center Bar
Apple released iOS 11.2 beta 3 on Monday to developers, with only a handful of changes over Beta 2. Still, it's always recommended you upgrade to the newest version of iOS, so if you are running any of the previous 11.2 betas, make sure to update.
News: How Razer Used IGZO Display Tech to Achieve 120 Hz Refresh Rates
With their first attempt at the mobile market, Razer introduced a device that looks at the smartphone differently. Instead of focusing on minimal bezels or an amazing camera, Razer decided to make a phone for gamers. So how could Razer target the growing mobile gaming market, which is projected to generate $40.6 billion in global revenue in 2017? It starts with the IGZO LCD Display.
Apple AR: Get in the Halloween Spirit with These Spooky ARKit Apps for iPhone
So, it's Halloween time, and you feel like playing around with some augmented reality apps? Well, you've come to the right place — if you have an iOS device.
News: Bizarre AR Experiment Serves Tweets for Everything Your iPhone Can See
A development duo has concocted an iPhone app that displays related tweets based on objects recognized by the device's camera.
News: Scientists Turn Bacteria into Mini Cyborg Solar Panels
Plants all around us capture sunlight every day and convert it to energy, making them a model of solar energy production. And while the energy they make may serve the needs of a plant, the process isn't efficient enough to generate power on a larger scale. So, scientists from the University of California found a way to treat bacteria with chemicals that turned them into photosynthesis machines, capable of generating products we can convert into food, fuels, and plastics.
News: Wonder How Wristwatches Look No Longer with AR App from Formex
Thanks to augmented reality, fashion companies can let customers try on cosmetics, clothes, more cosmetics, and sunglasses from the comfort of their homes and through the non-judgmental eyes of their smartphone camera.
News: Lucasfilm Looks to Lenovo for Star Wars Augmented Reality
The Force is strong with Lenovo, who is working with Disney and Lucasfilm to deliver an augmented reality headset and lightsaber handle for the forthcoming Star Wars: Jedi Challenges game.