With the holidays fast approaching, our smartphones are more important than ever — keeping in constant contact with family, organizing trips and gatherings, and online shopping is only a taste of what we put our smartphones through. All of that means a big strain on your smartphone's battery. That's why portable chargers are so necessary, and what better time to pick one up than on Black Friday.
While AR apps by Modiface and Perfect Corp. have made it easier for people to shop for makeup without setting foot in a store, MAC Cosmetics wants to give its brick-and-mortar customers the same experience.
Just days after announcing the launch of two new mixed reality studio facilities, Microsoft is extending its mixed reality reach even further with the announcement that the HoloLens will now be offered in 29 new markets.
In many ways, the latest version of the MakeSpace iPhone app, now updated with ARKit, makes it the bizarro world IKEA Place; instead of measuring your living space for new furniture, it measures your furniture so you can move it into storage.
While some companies like IKEA and Lowe's zig towards ARKit to entice shoppers, Target has opted to zag to broader appeal with an augmented reality see-before-you-buy tool for its mobile website.
Not that long ago, Snapchat was an app with only one purpose — to send and receive self-destructing picture messages. The app has clearly grown since, adding many features that both adhere to its original function as well as ignore it. One of these new features is Context Cards. You may have heard about them, but what exactly are they?
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.
The standing desk movement has gained momentum over the past few years as research has pointed to the detrimental health effects of sitting at a desk all day.
Niantic pioneered location-based augmented reality gaming with Ingress and popularized it with Pokémon Go, but others have attempted to replicate the model without reaching the level of success that Niantic has garnered.
A Jedi does not seek adventure or excitement, but Star Wars fans can seek Jedi with the Find the Force augmented reality scavenger hunt promoting the launch of merchandise for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Unlike the iOS App Store, which is a one-stop shop that lets you search for and instantly download apps on your iPhone, jailbreak apps found within Cydia are far more fragmented and not as easy to source. In fact, Cydia only comes stock with a fraction of the apps and tweaks that are available on its official Apple counterpart. That's where Cydia repositories come in.
If you live in New York City and are itching to sell your Yeezys, you're at risk of falling victim to thieves. A devious duo is searching Facebook to find people selling the popular sneakers and then robbing them at gunpoint when they meet up in person.
Snapchat is rolling out some awesome new features in their update today. The major update comes just two weeks after the company's premiere of backdrop, snap shopping, and voice clip features. They rolled out two new features this time, Multi-Snaps and the Tint Brush.
As my fellow cheapskates know, Groupon is an oasis. From discounted vacations to reduced-price massages, it has — nearly — anything and everything. It's great for discounts on dining and travel, but I've never thought of it as a place to shop for smartphones ... until now.
Free beer and AR? What could be better? Amstel, a Dutch beer brand, has launched an innovative sampling campaign using an AR app called "Snatch." Snatch is a treasure hunt gaming app, and if you win the game, your prize is 10,000 free pints of Amstel beer, redeemable at Mitchell & Butler pubs.
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger and fashion label Anrealage have teamed to produce the world's first augmented reality sneakers. The shoes — called the Anrealage Monte Z — look like a regular pair of sneakers until you view them through Anrealage's new AR app. Once viewed through the app, they become unlike any pair of sneakers that have ever existed.
Bixby — Samsung's voice-activated digital assistant — has been delayed again because the software still can't recognize English. Although Samsung claims Bixby can execute 15,000 tasks, it appears it's inability to master English is a major obstacle that's preventing its full release in the United States.
Finding the perfect lip color can be a difficult task, to say the least. Thankfully, we're living in a world with augmented reality, where it's possible to try on lipstick from different brands at home.
From Instagram bot farms in China all the way to vending machines in Moscow that promise to sell you fake followers — the Facebook-owned empire is attracting the attention of the world around. When it comes to Russia especially, the country seems to be developing a little crush on the glorious IG queen.
Another entrant — Aryzon — has joined the competition to be crowned as the "Cardboard of AR." The Netherlands-based startup launched their Kickstarter campaign Monday (May 29) and the campaign has already surpassed its funding goal. The company expects to ship units to backers in September.
While the numbers may not always seem to agree, the message remains the same: augmented reality is a growth segment. This week's edition of Market Reality starts with two new reports outlining the expected good fortunes for the industry and concludes with an example of a company capitalizing on their own growth.
Android lovers out there might be sad to hear that a high-end version of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage won't be released in the US, but rather, in China.
Sony offers a set of free games to its PlayStation Plus subscribers every month, but it's easy to miss out if you're not constantly around your console. Perhaps you're traveling, or maybe you've stayed up one too many nights playing Uncharted, leading to a period of PlayStation detox. No matter what the case is, the good news is that you can use the PlayStation app for Android or iOS to claim these monthly free games without getting up from your seat.
When it comes to ad blocking on Android, there's no better app than AdAway. The popular root mod filters out ads at the hosts file level, so no extra processing power is used, and your phone is literally incapable of loading most ads.
Mixed reality can give you the feeling that you've uncovered a hidden world layered into the physical one you already know. This can happen in so many ways, from a trading card that births a hologram or a first-person shooter with robots blasting through your walls. Xperiel—a California-based augmented and mixed reality company—wants to create a platform to make that a whole lot easier for developers.
Want to actually catch 'em all? Pokémon GO has long-teased the opportunity to hunt for Pokémon in the real world through augmented reality, but few have had the opportunity to actually see it in action.
Google released an amazing swipe keyboard a few months ago called Gboard that has Google Search built right into it; This makes adding pics, GIFs, videos, and links to articles, restaurants, and shops a breeze. It even helps you search for emojis! The only problem is that Gboard is for iOS devices only, meaning only an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch can use its magical powers.
When it comes time to buy a new smartphone, the sheer amount of options on the market can make you feel overwhelmed. There are Android devices of all shapes and sizes with different functionalities and price points, and now, even Apple has three unique iPhone models to fit various budgets.
Logan's Run is one of my favorite movies of all time. The dialog is cheesy, the set design and special effects are wonky, and the main villain looks like he was conceived and built by an eighth grader in shop class—oh, and his name is Box.
By default, the Play Store app on Android is set to automatically update your apps in the background. This definitely makes it easy to ensure that you're always running the latest versions, but it does come with some downsides.
Shopping for a new phone is an entire ordeal. Even when you've narrowed it down to a few choices, comparing the finalists can be difficult, because specs and prices are scattered around on various different manufacturer websites, and if you're trying to do this on your current phone, most of these websites aren't optimized for mobile viewing.
Listen up, children, pregnant women, and lightweights: this particular KitKat variety is not for you. Well, with 0.8% alcoholic content per 2 KitKat bars, it's highly unlikely anyone will actually get drunk on these things. Still...
If you've been visiting websites of ill repute, or if you've been Christmas shopping and don't want to spoil the surprise, it would be a disastrous situation if anyone were to come across your browsing history. Visited sites, cookies, and cache can paint a very clear picture of your recent internet activity, and depending on the situation, you may only have a few seconds to delete your history before someone else barges in.
Google Maps, in conjunction with the Android operating system, is a powerful tool for navigation that is often underutilized. While it's no secret that it can get you to wherever you're going and back, some of you might not know that you can use Google Maps without even having to touch the screen. Not having to touch your display means you can concentrate on other things, you know, like driving or eating that jelly-filled donut.
If you're just starting out with Android—or smartphones in general, for that matter—there are a lot of little things to learn. One of the first terms you'll likely encounter is "Wi-Fi," which is a wireless internet connection served up by a router in your home, office, or local coffee shop. This differs from your smartphone's regular "Mobile Data" connection, which is provided by your cellular carrier and included as part of your monthly bill.
This past weekend, one of the most notorious hacker organizations in the world, Hacking Team, was hacked by some unknown organization. The Hacking Team is an Italian company that sells it software and services to companies and governments (yes, my rookie hackers, there are legitimate companies who sell their services to governments—Vupen, being one of the most famous and lucrative).
To use Apple Pay in iOS 8, you had hold your iPhone to the card reader first, and then you could either switch to a different card or pay with your default one. Now, in iOS 9, you can access your Wallet (which replaces Passbook) on the lock screen before you get to the reader.
Fish is a remarkably useful ingredient, whether you eat it as is or use fish sauce to give your recipes extra depth and flavor. However, if you enjoy a glass of Guinness on occasion, you might be surprised to know that there's most likely fish in that beverage, too.
The Gmail app recently became stock Android's central hub for all of your email accounts. Instead of being limited to just Gmail accounts, the app can now handle POP3, IMAP, and exchange service email accounts, making it a one-stop shop for all of your emailing needs.
Thanks to Verizon Wireless, I pay over $220 a month for my phone bill. It's just me on the plan—no family members, and it's not even unlimited data. So, when I receive that data alert message telling me that I've used up 90% of my plan and that I've still got a few more week until my billing cycle starts over, you know that I'm left scrambling to connect to some Wi-Fi.
