Although more and more smartphones are introducing portrait modes with their cameras, there are still plenty of devices out there — especially devices older than one or two years — that do not. While your particular smartphone might not offer you that bokeh effect, Instagram can, as it gives all smartphones software-based portrait modes.
It hasn't been a great year for Facebook. Recently, Android users had to discover on their own that the company was logging their calls and texts in Messenger. However, according to Facebook, all users did approve of the data collection, and as such, all affected users can disable logging as well.
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.
We are slowly approaching Huawei's "See Mooore" event where the P20, P20 Pro, and P20 Lite will officially be revealed to the world. With the event being held in Paris, France, attending won't be an option for most of us. Fortunately, there are ways to enjoy the event online.
Augmented reality hardware maker Avegant has reportedly laid off between 20 and 30 employees, with founder Edward Tang returning to the CEO role at the company.
Location services provider Mapbox is giving developers a means for building location-based AR apps and multi-user experiences with its new Mapbox AR toolkit.
Because it sources a majority of its vital data from actual drivers on the road, Waze is easily one of the best navigation apps to use if you prioritize safety. Benefits such as crowd-sourced traffic data, police trap locations, and road work avoidance, when combined, help you anticipate traffic conditions with unprecedented accuracy and make adjustments accordingly.
We knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when. Apple has just announced iOS 11.3, a new update for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, and it will include a brand-new set of Animoji for the iPhone X.
Scary movies seem to be a natural fit for augmented reality experiences, with the latest example coming from the Insidious film franchise.
Move over, Hype Williams, it looks like Snapchat is about to take some of your music video-making business, and pop rock group Maroon 5 is the proof.
One of the downsides to iOS is the lack of a true dark mode. While Apple has offered a workaround, third-party developers have taken it upon themselves to implement dark themes in their apps. While big names like Twitter and Reddit have led the charge for some time, it appears YouTube is the next app to join the party.
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL launched in 2017 with three colors: Clearly White, Just Black, and Kinda Blue. For those who wanted to stand out from the crowd a bit, Kinda Blue was the clear choice. Verizon, however, had other plans in mind, and Kinda Blue became exclusive to the carrier. That is, until now.
This year's CES seems particularly obesessed with VR, but augmented reality is offering a few surprises as well. One of those surprises arrived on Monday in the form of China's Rokid Glass.
Now, when the weather outside is frightful, Pokémon GO players can expect it to be just as unpleasant in augmented reality.
To create a destination for coffee connoisseurs, Starbucks has ordered up a venti cup of augmented reality to make the visit more interactive.
Lately, any subject in the realm of politics is a figurative powderkeg primed to explode on the nearest social media channel. Now, one app wants to use your iPhone and AR to strike a match.
There are a lot of holiday tech deals starting to trickle out as Black Friday approaches. We've already rounded up some of the best deals for Android, iPhones, and headphones, but Google just dropped a big announcement for users of their Project Fi MVNO service. Now through December 17, you can earn yourself a free Moto X4 or Chromecast by referring your friends and family to Project Fi.
Online glasses retailer Warby Parker built its reputation by selling fashionable yet affordable eyeglasses, so it perhaps a surprise that it's one of the first developers to take advantage of the technology in the least affordable iPhone yet.
Current shipping estimates for the iPhone X are 5–6 weeks, but is there a chance you'll get yours tomorrow?
A partnership between augmented reality company Zappar and IoT services provider EVRYTHNG will bring AR experiences to consumers while supplying market data to brands.
If you're a regular reader of this site, there's a good chance friends and family turn to you as their volunteer technical support staff.
As a long-distance runner off and on for the past, I absolutely detests hills. While there are many apps that can measure elevation and slope for certain routes, understanding spatial data on a line graph or even an elevation map can be difficult.
With the official release of iOS 11, the availability of an app that uses the much-hyped ARKit platform to place virtual furniture in one's home was expected.
Apple has billed ARKit as a means to turn millions of iPhones and iPads into augmented reality devices. The refrain is similar for Kaon Interactive, a developer of product catalog apps for businesses.
While not specifically an augmented reality conference, IFA 2017 packed a plethora of presentations with AR themes, including devices with AR features from Sony and Motorola, a smartphone-based AR headset from Lenovo, and a new processor from Huawei that will facilitate AR experiences.
Over the weekend at IFA 2017 in Berlin, Huawei introduced the Kirin 970 processor, the first of its kind to include artificial intelligence baked into the chip.
Augmented reality dogs have been a big hit with developers using Apple's ARKit. RoVR hit YouTube a few days ago and people have been clamoring for it ever since. Not to mention the Good Dogs Game created by the people behind the famous We Rate Dogs Twitter.
From all the demos we've seen, we know for sure that the marketing world is going to change drastically thanks to Apple's ARKit.
I'm going to be honest with you. I hate pigeons. They're always in the way and I don't think they're afraid of anything because if they don't want to move, they're not moving no matter who comes their way. So a new game made with Apple's ARKit called "Pigeon Panic" sounds right up my alley.
If you've ever organized an event, you know how chaotic it can be. Event planners are essential, but even so, taking the time to make sure it's organized and everyone is getting what they want can be stressful. Especially when you have to account for what every person is eating at the event, what their toppings are, and how they'd like their meal cooked.
Augmented reality has produced some incredible innovations that have revolutionized modern technology. From helping with live surgery to changing the game in marketing and businesses. But without a doubt, the most important thing that augmented reality and ARKit has ever brought us is an AR version of A-ha's iconic "Take On Me" video.
Buyers can't wait for their Tesla Model 3 to be delivered. But with no clear arrival date in sight, buyers are starting to get a little antsy waiting to see what the Tesla Model 3 will look like up close. Luckily, Tesla accessories seller EVANNEX partnered with technology firm Kinetic Vision to try and satisfy buyers for a while by creating an app that lets you view an augmented reality Tesla Model 3 that's nearly life sized.
Earnings calls can be a mixed bag. If things are business as usual, the meetings can be, well, boring.
Companies are already clamoring to figure out strategies for integrating augmented reality into their advertising platforms. AR is going to become a huge asset to marketers, and Apple's ARKit is only going to help that along. Mixed reality producer Bilawal Singh Sidhu has given us a sneak peek of what the world of advertising could be with the ARKit.
Whether you're hard of hearing, watching a foreign movie, or just like reading along when you're watching a TV show or film on your smartphone, Netflix includes captions and subtitles that you can use. Best of all, if you don't like the way the default captions and subtitles look (color, background, font, or size), Netflix has your back.
Imagine walking up to enter a live event — but instead of pulling out a physical or mobile ticket to get admitted — you pull out your smartphone which lets out an ultrasonic sound tailored for you that lets you into the event.
If there's one thing I know, it's that people hate buying mobile games. I'm the same way — no matter how good a game looks, if I have to pay for it, I have to fight the urge to immediately walk away. That's why it's such a big deal when a great game goes on sale. Right now, that game is 'Reigns.'
Open-source data scraping is an essential reconnaissance tool for government agencies and hackers alike, with big data turning our digital fingerprints into giant neon signs. The problem is no longer whether the right data exists, it's filtering it down to the exact answer you want. TheHarvester is a Python email scraper which does just that by searching open-source data for target email addresses.
Facebook, you either love it or you hate it ... or maybe you're indifferent. The point is, Facebook is everywhere, and the debate is still raging over whether or not it's actually, well, good. That debate may not exist for the various personalities of Facebook much longer, however, as Facebook announced a new app geared directly towards improving how they broadcast their content to their audiences.
Pokémon GO updates will have new deterrents for cheaters, and these seem to use shame more than just prevention. The changes were mentioned by a Pokémon GO support account on Reddit. (There are other updates coming soon to Pokémon GO as well.)
