News: Google Releases Glass Enterprise Edition 2, Includes Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1Upgrade
As the tech world patiently waits for the advent of mainstream consumer smartglasses, Google is content to stick to the business world (for now).
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News: 7-Eleven Delivers Assist to BodyArmor Drink with Augmented Reality Promotion for NCAA Basketball Tournament
Now that the NCAA Basketball Tournament is underway, 7-Eleven has decided to launch an augmented reality experience to remind basketball fans where they can quench their thirst throughout March Madness.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.2 Beta 6 for iPhone to Developers, Adds New 'Warranty Status' in Settings
Apple just released the sixth beta release for iOS 12.2 today, Monday, March 18. Just as expected, the update to the developer version dropped just past 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT), and comes with new changes and features from iOS 12.2 beta 5 and beyond, including a new warranty status in the "About" page in Settings.
Market Reality: Magic Leap Draws Comics, Warby Parker Tries AR, Facebook Acquires GrokStyle, & LeBron Dunks via Snapchat
This week, the recurring theme in augmented reality can be summed up fairly succinctly: content is king.
News: Magic Leap Launches Cheddar Video News Channel on Magic Leap One
The team at Magic Leap just got a millennial-style boost with the announcement that financial news network Cheddar is coming to the Magic Leap One.
News: Magic Leap Roars into the Auto World via Kia Stinger App from RelayCars
Magic Leap One owners, start your virtual engines, as automotive virtual reality developer RelayCars has published an app to Magic Leap World that lets users customize and test drive a 2019 Kia Stinger.
News: Scope AR Merges Its AR Workflow & Remote Assistance Functions into One App
Enterprise augmented reality software maker Scope AR is bringing the powers of its two productivity apps together like the Wonder Twins into the form of a single app.
News: Coty's Magic Mirror Detects Makeup Products & Then Applies Them to Your Face in Augmented Reality
Cosmetics maker Coty is hanging an augmented reality Magic Mirror on the wall of its Bourjois boutique in Paris that will tell customers which shade of makeup will make them the fairest of them all.
News: Meta 2 Augmented Reality Headset Available to Businesses Through Dell Starting in February
Following up on a preview of the deal we reported during last week's CES, Dell has officially announced the details around its role as the first company to resell the Meta 2 augmented reality headset.
News: Sketchfab Launches Professional 3D Model Store for AR & VR Content Creators
After hosting millions of free 3D models online, Sketchfab is betting that augmented reality and virtual reality developers and creators will be willing to pay for premium 3D content.
News: Flex Headset Could Help More Competition Muscle into the AR Enterprise Sector
On Tuesday, original design manufacturer (ODM) Flex used the CES spotlight to help introduce a smartglasses reference design aimed at companies interested in bringing their own enterprise AR headsets to market.
Apple AR: Wipe Your Room Clean & Fill It with New Furniture in Pottery Barn's New AR App
With the advent of ARKit, apps that can place virtual furniture in a real room have become nearly a universal practice for furniture retailers, with Pottery Barn being the latest to join the fray.
News: Nissan Brings the Force of Star Wars to Its Dealerships with Augmented Reality
The Star Wars saga may have occurred a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but Nissan is using a futuristic technology to bring stormtroopers and droids into its dealerships.
News: Amazon Launches Sumerian, Drag-and-Drop Tool for Quickly Creating & Deploying AR/VR Content
Amazon Web Services (AWS) opened its re:INVENT developers expo with a bang by launching Amazon Sumerian, a new tool that could become the dominant platform for building cross-platform augmented and virtual reality applications.
News: This Creepy Holographic AI Concierge Could Be Following You Around Hotels Soon
Back to the Future Part II missed wildly on many technological advances for the year 2015, such as flying cars and rehydration ovens. However, it connected on several predictions, such as video calling and biometric security, and it was in the ballpark (pun intended) on others, such as the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series.
Apple AR: Lowe's Builds Pair of AR Apps with ARKit
Lowe's Home Improvement has been an early adopter of augmented and virtual reality in their business practices, so it was a bit of surprise that their name was absent from the ranks of companies launching ARKit apps last week.
News: Ericsson Ventures Head Believes AR Market Might Take Five Years or More to Mature
Every year, football fans get excited about the next crop of blue chip prospects joining their teams, from five-star high school recruits graduating to college to first-round rookies drafted into the NFL.
HoloLens Dev 101: Building a Dynamic User Interface
Generally speaking, in terms of modern devices, the more simple you make an interface to navigate, the more successful the product is.
Market Reality: Businesses Invest in the Expansion of AR Services & Content Creation
As augmented reality gains popularity, the demand for delivering related services and generating content increases. This is demonstrated by a pair of investments from the past week, one in the expansion of a technology lab and another in the form of seed funding for a content studio.
Market Reality: Ericsson Ventures Invests in Matterport
Influenced by the growth of augmented and virtual reality technology as well as 3D computer vision, Ericcson Ventures invested in Matterport, whose hardware and software help companies create AR/VR experiences.
News: Tesla Will Need to Upgrade Autopilot Hardware for Level 4 — Despite What Musk Said
Elon Musk has repeatedly said Tesla models in production today have the requisite hardware to offer "full self-driving" capabilities. But for features more advanced than Level 3, Tesla will, in fact, have to revamp Autopilot's hardware to handle the extra computing load.
Market Reality: Greycroft, Zell Lurie Invest in Gaming, While Vuzix and Ubimax Pursue Businesses
Augmented reality can be used to fascinate and entertain, but it can be applied in the workplace. While companies on the entertainment end received their votes of confidence via funding, two companies working with enterprises demonstrated their worth by teaming up to pursue customers.
News: Estee Lauder's Latest Project Uses AR to Find Your Perfect Lipstick
Lazy makeup enthusiasts, this new service is what you've been waiting for! Makeup giant Estee Lauder's latest project incorporates augmented reality to help customers test out their lipsticks without even getting out of bed. The company collaborated with Modiface — a group that creates AR services for the beauty industry — to produce a new Facebook Messenger chatbot that uses customers' cameras to let them virtually try on the brand's Pure Color Lipsticks.
News: Children Can Now Go on an AR Adventure at Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport's most recent arrival isn't a flight, but rather an interactive children's game featuring augmented reality technology.
News: Hilton Customers Successfully Unlocked Their Rooms Over 11 Million Times via App
A few years ago, the Hilton hotel group unrolled the Digital Key, a feature of the Hilton Honors app that allows you to unlock your hotel room with your smartphone.
News: Sprint's New Deal Could Save You a Lot of Money
You can pinch yourself, but you're not dreaming. Sprint is actually offering a year of (mostly) free, unlimited service for anyone who switches to the carrier. The only stipulation is that you must bring your phone with you, and it has to be one of the 27 eligible devices.
News: One Number to Rule Them All! T-Mobile (Finally) Brings 'Digits' to Every Customer
The roll-out of T-Mobile's hotly anticipated 'Digits' service is now underway. For those unfamiliar with what could be the un-carrier's next killer app, 'Digits' is basically a combination of Google Voice and AT&T NumberSync. With it, T-Mobile customers can use their number across any phone, tablet, wearable, or PC. That means you can give out your phone number and answer the call on any device you like.
Brief Reality: ITC Infotech, PTC, Oracle Join Forces for Augmented Reality Service
The common thread between this week's Brief Reality stories is that augmented reality is beginning to prove its worth as a technology that improves workflows and processes. From customer service to healthcare to manufacturing, augmented reality is helping companies improve productivity.
News: Fly Lufthansa? Snapchat Will Introduce You to Your Flight Crew
What companies do you think have a unique and compelling take on social media? Wendy's is certainly confident, to say the least. But Lufthansa Airlines is taking a different approach than most — and it seems to be working — as they give passengers a look behind the scenes through Snapchat Stories.
News: With #VerHIGHzon, T-Mobile Shows Companies How to Do Pot Humor
I was a slap-happy T-Mobile customer before, but now, after hearing that the company sent out a box of rolling papers to certain media sites with memes bad mouthing #VerHIGHzon ... I love you even more, John Legere!
News: Industrial AR Developer Upskill Secures Funding to Improve Workforce Efficiency
Upskill, an enterprise software developer for industrial augmented reality applications, recently received an influx of funding and a major vote of confidence from two of their top customers.
News: Shopping for a New Couch? Amazon Wants You to See It in Your Home (While You're Still in the Store)
Amazon has been toying with the idea of opening physical retail stores for some time now, even opening old-fashioned bookstores in select locations and teasing cashier-less convenience stores. But the online retailer has some new ideas in the works, including implementing virtual and augmented reality into retail home stores.
Breaking: The Meta 2 Augmented Reality Headset Is Shipping
The Meta 2 developer kit has finally begun shipping! Gary Garcia, the senior director of customer success at Meta, just sent out an email that they are shipping out to the first round of preorder customers. Waves will be building from there, up to far higher manufacturing rates near the end of Q1 of 2017.
Rumor Roundup: A New Microsoft HoloLens Could Be Coming in 2017—Here's What We Know So Far
We've been hearing some interesting rumors in the last few days that are stirring up all kinds of speculation about the potential upcoming consumer release of the HoloLens. However, MSPoweruser has speculated a bit further past the consumer HoloLens release to a possible HoloLens 2 as soon as Q3 2017.
News: Meta Delays Shipments of Developer Kits Until the End of the Year—& That's a Good Thing
The future for the Meta 2 augmented reality headset will have to wait. While shipments were supposedly on their way out back in June, Meta revealed today that they need a bit more time to provide the best possible experience—and that's really for the best.
News: Netflix Is Finally Going to Offer High-Quality Streaming on AT&T & Verizon
Netflix has become the subject of heavy buzz this week, and not due to the latest season of Daredevil (which gets two thumbs up, btw). The online video entertainment provider is drawing fire over its admission that it has been throttling video streams for its AT&T and Verizon customers for years.
How To: Boost Performance & Battery Life on Your Rooted Android Device
Performance boosters generally get a bad rap, but that doesn't mean they should all be dismissed—particularly when they're as well thought out as the latest work from developer Danijel Markov. After recognizing a few inefficiencies in the way Android handles memory management and other system-level functions, he created a flashable ZIP that will apply many fixes in one fell swoop.
How To: Boost Performance & Battery Life on Your Nexus 6 by Lowering the Display Resolution
The Nexus 6 is one of the few devices on the market that sports a 1440p "QHD" display. This means that the amount of pixels displayed is higher than almost any other smartphone, which sounds great on the surface, but is not without its drawbacks.
How To: 4 Easy Tweaks for Tastier Grains & Pasta
Cooking rice, pasta, and other grains in water is so boring. There is a much better way to guarantee they will have your mouth chewing something seriously tasty: cook them in something that isn't water. Alternative liquids such as stock, milk, juice, or even tea will give bland dishes a fresh new flavor boost. If you're not sure how your dishes might taste, never fear: we tested them out. Before getting started, be sure to read this article first so that you know why it's important to rinse y...
How To: Google Will Replace Your Damaged Nexus 5 for Free
If you purchased your Nexus 5 from Google Play in the United States, we've got great news for you. In an unprecedented move, Google has started offering customers the chance to exchange their broken or water-damaged Nexus 5 for a new or refurbished unit—free of charge.