News: The Magic of Microsoft's HoloLens 2 Hand Interaction on Display in Mixed Reality Toolkit v2 Demo Video
Describing how and why the HoloLens 2 is so much better than the original is helpful, but seeing it is even better.
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News: Niantic Offering In-Game Rewards to Pokémon GO & Ingress Players Who Pitch in on Earth Day Cleanup Events
Location-based gaming company Niantic knows its business model is inextricably tied to the outdoors, so it is in its best interest to help preserve that environment to give players a place to play.
Exclusive: ODG Filing Points to Magic Leap Acquisition of Auctioned Patent Assets
In case you thought the long and unfortunate story of ODG was over, hold on, there's one last chapter to tell.
How To: Make Buying Stuff Easier on Instagram with the Checkout Feature
Instagram wants to bridge the gap between advertising and shopping for a more central buying experience. The app has long been a platform for advertisements, with both companies and creators using it as an outlet to link to products, so it's only natural for Instagram to allow users to buy content featured in posts without ever leaving the app.
News: Google Turns Annual Android Partner Walk at MWC into Showcase for ARCore
Last week at Mobile World Congress 2019, Google put an augmented reality twist on its annual Android Partner Walk via its ARCore toolkit.
News: Vuzix Reveals First Smartglasses Running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR1 with the M400
Smartglasses maker Vuzix has emerged with the first hardware powered by the Snapdragon XR1 chip, roughly nine months after Qualcomm introduced the chipset designed to drive augmented reality wearables at the Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara.
News: Medical Software Maker Medivis Closes $2.3 Million in Funding to Bring HoloLens to Surgical Platform
The HoloLens has made enough of an impact on the healthcare industry for Microsoft technology partner Medivis to convince investors to pledge $2.3 million in funding for its surgical platform.
How To: Get Over 100 New & Unique Themes for Gboard on Android
Gboard has come a long way from its roots as the "Google Keyboard" in the earlier days of Android. It's now the most popular, feature-rich, and useful keyboard app on the market. Google even includes quite a few themes right out of the box for Gboard — but what if you could have even more?
News: DigiLens Vision of Cheaper Smartglasses Becomes Clearer with Crystal Reference Design
If waveguide display maker DigiLens has its way, enterprise businesses and consumers will soon be able to purchase smartglasses for less than $500 — as long as they can supply their own computing and battery power.
News: The 5 Most Innovative Augmented Reality Products of 2018
In 2018, augmented reality went from the vague promise of interesting things in the near future to tangible developments in software and hardware, proving that immersive computing is indeed the future.
News: Walmart & Target Unwrap New Augmented Reality Features to Bring in Holiday Shoppers
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.
News: AR Optics Maker WaveOptics Strikes Alliance with China's Goertek to Produce Smartglasses for Consumers
WaveOptics, makers of diffractive waveguides, has inched closer toward getting products featuring its technology to market through a production partnership with a consumer electronics company whose clients include Google, Microsoft, and Sony.
News: Mojo Vision Raises $50M to Replace Smartphones & Devices with 'Invisible Computing' AR
On Thursday, Mojo Vision, a startup comprised of former engineers from Apple, Amazon, Google, and other Silicon Valley mainstays, emerged from stealth backed by $50 million in funding for a hands-free augmented reality platform that runs without smartphones, tablets, or other devices.
How To: Add & Activate an eSIM Line on Your iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR
All of the new iPhones from 2018 were released with dual-SIM support, but none of them were capable of actually using the eSIM in iOS 12, only the physical nano-SIM. But on iOS 12.1 and later, you can finally take advantage of eSIM so you can have, say, a business and personal plan on your iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR at the same time.
News: Moschino & H&M Harness the Power of Magic Leap One to Intro Augmented Reality to the Fashion World
Magic Leap has already entered the realm of entertainment and enterprise, but on now it has blazed its way into a new augmented reality frontier: fashion.
News: Snapchat Originals Blend Augmented Reality Scenes into Scripted Shows & Documentary Series
Snapchat is joining the ranks of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube, and Apple in the trend toward streaming original programming, but with a twist that rings true to its roots.
News: Investors Bank $30M on Varjo for VR/AR Headset with 'Human-Eye Resolution'
A Series B round of funding, totaling $30 million, will enable Helsinki-based startup Varjo to launch its industrial-grade augmented and virtual reality headset capable of "human-eye resolution" before the end of the year.
NR30: The Augmented Reality Investment Leaders of 2018
People say that money makes the world go 'round. And it's no different in the world of augmented reality.
How To: The 5 Best Apps for Transcribing Lectures & Converting Speech to Text on iPhone or Android
The transcribing app can be an invaluable tool, especially if you're a student or are in a profession that relies on audio journals or interviews. These apps can convert important recordings like lectures and meetings into text for you to carefully read through to better comprehend.
News: Microsoft Launches Its First Mixed Reality Capture Studio in Hollywood
Microsoft is adding another important piece to its growing immersive computing arsenal by putting its newest Mixed Reality Capture Studio in the center of the movie business: Hollywood.
Market Reality: Magic Leap Launches, L'Oréal Friends Facebook, & Nickelodeon Takes TV to AR
The long, long, loooong wait finally ended this week for the augmented reality community as the Magic Leap One was finally released. The Florida-based company has loomed over the industry for years promising something big, and now the AR cat is finally out of the bag. Now we get to see if it will live up to expectations, but early reviews are a bit skeptical.
News: Blippar Brings Its AR Navigation Capabilities Indoors
Computer vision company Blippar has already dabbled with outdoor AR navigation, but now it wants to make it easier for people to make their way through indoor spaces with augmented reality.
News: Top 9 New Safari Features in iOS 12 for iPhone
If there's one strength of Apple's that iOS and Android fans can agree on, it's the company's dedication to user privacy. With each new iteration of iOS, Apple builds upon these foundations, enhancing and increasing each iPhone's ability to protect its user's data. In iOS 12, Apple has added many new features to Safari, most of which have their own unique way of keeping you safe online.
News: Mercedes-Benz Shifts to HoloLens for Employee Training
Luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz has joined the growing list of automakers adopting augmented reality to provide an assist to its manufacturing operations, in this case, via the Microsoft HoloLens.
News: Magic Leap Sheds Light on Lumin OS, Disney Creates AR's Future, & The New York Times Innovates on AR Strategy
Magic Leap has earned a reputation for overt secrecy, but as it nears the highly-anticipated launch of the Magic Leap One, the company is spilling some of the beans. This week, we get a heaping helping of information on the Lumin OS, as well as a couple of great demos.
How To: Buy Bitcoin Anonymously — A Guide to Investing in Cryptocurrency While Maintaining Privacy
Just like cash, bitcoin is used for everything from regular day-to-day business to criminal activities. However, unlike physical cash, the blockchain is permanent and immutable, which means anyone from a teen to the US government can follow every single transaction you make without you even knowing about it. However, there are ways to add layers of anonymity to your bitcoin transactions.
Market Reality: AT&T Invests in Magic Leap, Facebook & Snapchat Continue AR Duel
As it prepares to ship its first product by the end of the summer, Magic Leap has managed to impress yet another high-profile investor in telecommunications giant AT&T.
News: 'The Walking Dead' Pokémon GO Knockoff Gets a Launch Date, More Details Revealed
While it has been slower to arrive than a walker limping through thick Georgia mud, location-based augmented reality game Walking Dead: Our World finally has a confirmed launch date: July 12.
Market Reality: Snapchat Expands Ad Offerings, Magic Leap Takes Flight with Content, & Microsoft Readies New HoloLens
At present, consumer-facing augmented reality is a mobile world, and Snapchat is making money on it through advertising partnerships.
News: Apple Staffing Up for Augmented Reality Software & Product Development
Between acquisitions, hirings, patent applications, and insider reports, all signs point to Apple building a smartglasses product that could ship as soon as 2020, but the company has not officially confirmed such plans.
News: Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 Will Power New Augmented Reality Headsets from Meta & Vuzix
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.
Market Reality: Apple's Smartglasses Timeline Shifts, Continental Invests in Automotive HUDS, & Target Ships Web AR App
Consumers are chomping at the bit for augmented reality smartglasses from Cupertino's finest, but one market analyst is saying not so fast, Apple fans. Meanwhile, automotive AR is gaining speed, with the latest milestone coming courtesy of a major investment in waveguides by Continental. And although mobile AR apps have already arrived, retailer Target is taking a different approach. So why is Target tinkering with web-based AR? Answers below...
Google Photos 101: How to Use Google Lens to Identify Landmarks in Your Images
When traveling or sightseeing, you may come across a landmark you can't quite identify and want to know what exactly it is and the history behind it. It could be a building, waterfall ... anything. If there are no signs around or they're in a different language, you'll have no idea what you're looking at. Fortunately, Google Photos can be your personal tour guide with the power of Google Lens.
News: Microsoft Unveils Remote Assist & Layout, New HoloLens Apps Aimed at Workforce Productivity
On Monday, at its annual Build developer conference, Microsoft revealed two new apps for the HoloLens apps.
News: Magic Leap's First Twitch Video Show Had Toys, Philosophy, but No New Peeks at the Headset
We watched the first piece of public-facing content Magic Leap has released so you don't have to, and, well, you didn't miss much.
News: PayPal Patents Point to Big Plans for Augmented Reality E-Commerce on Smartphones & Smartglasses
With all the recent activity around augmented reality, the possibilities involving immersive computing and commerce are quickly becoming obvious, and digital payments giant PayPal has no plans to sit on the sidelines
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: iOS 11.3.1 Released for iPhones with Third-Party Display Repair Patch & Security Fixes
Apple released the iOS 11.3.1 update for iPhones on Tuesday, April 24, 26 days after the official release of iOS 11.3 and eight days after the iOS 11.4 beta 2 update. It is the first minor update to iOS 11.3, and the biggest thing in it is a fix that lets displays fixed by third parties work again.
Market Reality: Bareburger & Zara Use AR for Marketing, While vTime Gets a Cash Infusion to Move from VR to AR
Modern "mad men" are buying into augmented reality for marketing, with the two latest examples being trendy burger maker Bareburger and department store chain Zara.
News: Snapchat's Easter Egg Hunt Showcases Potential for Branded Augmented Reality Games
Alongside the usual collection of holiday-themed Lenses, Snapchatters received an extra-special treat from Snapchat over the weekend—a world-spanning Easter egg hunt.