Market Reality: Apple's AR Toolkit Is Slowly Catching on While Google & Snap Invest in More AR Development Tools
The business of enabling the development of augmented reality experiences appears to be as lucrative as AR app development itself.
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Market Reality: Magic Leap & Apple Stockpile Funds & Talent as Samsung Reveals AR-Focused Smartphone
This week, two companies preparing the most anticipated augmented reality devices for consumers were the subject of reports regarding strategic moves to put them in better positions to move those products forward.
News: This AR Toothbrush App Turns Learning Good Dental Hygiene Habits into a Game for Kids
Who said brushing your teeth can't be fun? It certainly isn't Kolibree, a company that's introducing the world to the first augmented reality toothbrush for kids at this week's CES tech conference in Las Vegas.
News: Fake 'Cuphead' App Shows iOS Is Also Vulnerable to One of Android's Biggest Gaming Downfalls
Cuphead may have taken the indie gaming scene by storm, but its "introduction" to the iOS App Store is what everyone in the smartphone world is talking about. There is no official Cuphead game available for iPhone, and that's what is so surprising — a fake version was approved and released for iOS devices, and at this scale, incidents like this just don't happen for Apple.
News: Samsung Pulling Latest Oreo Beta Update After Critical Bug
The Android Oreo Beta for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ has been available for nearly two weeks. Samsung started rolling out the Beta 2 update late last week in the UK, and just yesterday in the US. Unfortunately, the US version of the update firmware (G955USQU1ZQK6) experienced a critical bug with the phone app at launch. As a result, Samsung has completely pulled the US Beta 2 update for the time being.
News: Snapchat Sponsored Lenses Are Now More Helpful to Advertisers Through Context Cards
Snapchat's popular AR lenses just got a lot more useful for businesses, as the company has now opened its Context Cards platform to sponsored content.
News: Epson's AR Drone Simulator Lets You Get Your Virtual Wings Before Crashing the Real Thing
With smartglasses designed for navigating drones and an AR drone racing game to its credit, Epson has just added another credit to its pioneering efforts in the AR-meets-drones space with the launch of a drone simulator app.
News: LG's POLED Issues Are Affecting the Pixel 2 XL
Update 10/23: The hits just keep on coming. We're now seeing reports of a "smearing" effect when scrolling through apps on the Pixel XL 2. We'll expand on that at the bottom of this article, but it's still worth reading the background information on issues with LG's new POLED displays.
News: Waymo Patent Shows Plans to Replace Steering Wheel & Pedals with Push Buttons
Waymo just received approval on a patent for a push-button console that replaces not only a steering wheel in a car but the brake and gas pedals, too. This reflects Alphabet's driverless arm could remain true to its original mantra of developing cars that pilot themselves without human intervention.
News: Rare Raccoon Parasite Causing Blindness & Severe Brain Damage Could Be More Widespread Than We Knew
So cute, so furry, and so chock full of parasites. While raccoons are fun to watch, they are neither friendly nor clean — and they can make you sick in more ways than one.
Today's Top News: Tesla Quietly Upgrades Autopilot Hardware
Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk has repeatedly said this year all Tesla models made since October 2016 have the requisite hardware for "full self-driving" capabilities, yet the company has reportedly begun to add a second graphics processor (GPU) to its computer platform for Autopilot — without officially saying why.
News: HIV Prevention Ring Passes Safety Testing Clinical Trial
Young girls, especially those who live in areas where HIV is epidemic, like sub-Saharan Africa, are particularly vulnerable to becoming infected with HIV. A vaginal ring containing the antiviral agent dapivirine has been shown to decrease the chance of developing HIV-1 in adult women over 21 and now in the first step for use in adolescents, the ring has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated in that younger age group.
Today's Top News: China Is Cracking Down on US & Euro Driverless Mapping with New Restrictions
The Chinese government's tight restrictions on gathering data by foreign firms for 3D mapping, the lifeblood of machine-taught driverless systems, could at least slow down access to the market by Waymo, Tesla, General Motors (GM), Ford, and other players hoping to make inroads there.
Today's Top News: Ex-Uber CEO Pleads Ignorance, Driverless Grocery Deliveries, Missing a 'Trillion-Dollar Opportunity'
All the Driverless news you need to know from the past 24 hours, bundled together in a tightly written package, about Uber, London delivery services, capital investments, and kangaroos.
Market Reality: Business Interest High, Adoption Low for Augmented Reality
A new survey shows that the majority of companies have an interest in using augmented reality, though adoption remains low. Meanwhile, two companies with support roles in the augmented reality industry are seeing positive financial results.
News: Revamped Video Tab Testing Shows Facebook Really Wants to Compete with YouTube
More video content is making its way to Facebook as the social network relentlessly tries to get its video platform up to par with YouTube. Now, they seem to be making more of an effort to improve their video tab, as new features have started to appear on some Android phones.
News: Legionnaires' Risk Growing in NYC as Weather Warms
The number of Legionnaires' cases in New York over the last couple weeks has led to concern and recommendations of caution for those at risk.
News: Bed Bugs Are in a Lot of Hotel Rooms — Here's How to Spot Them
Bed bugs are brown and creepy. Could you spot one in your hotel room? A new study reveals most people are freaked out by bed bugs, but only about 35% could identify one.
News: Snap Could Be Including Augmented Reality Features in New Spectacles
According to a source at TechCrunch, a new version of Snap's 'Spectacles' could include augmented reality.
How To: Send & Receive Apple Pay Cash via Messages on Your iPhone
You can send and receive money from your iPhone using Venmo, Square Cash, Facebook Messenger, and even Snapchat. There's also Zelle, which offers quick-pay solutions in major banking apps such as Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo. However, Apple has a built-in system to transfer money, with person-to-person payments being available in the Messages app ever since iOS 11.2.
News: What Does Britney Spears Have to Do with Russian Hackers? More Than You Think
My message to Russian hackers is this: LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! Russian hacking collective Turla has been targeting governments and military operations in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East for the past decade. Now, it appears that the group is targeting everyday citizens — specifically Britney Spears fans.
News: Samsung Scraps In-Display Fingerprint Scanner for Galaxy Note 8
Reports of Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 having an in-display fingerprint scanner have been circulating for the past few days. Fans have been excitedly discussing the potential of the phablet possessing this technology, as it would be the first phone released with these capabilities. Unfortunately, a Samsung official revealed today to Naver — a South-Korean web portal — that Samsung has decided to forgo incorporating the feature into the Galaxy Note 8 due to technical limitations and time constraints.
News: T-Mobile Galaxy S8 Update Breaks SafetyNet & Android Pay
Everyone feels a little safer with Android's security updates, which are welcome and often necessary protective measures. But what happens when the update that's supposed to safeguard your phone actually ends up wreaking havoc with its security system?
News: Uber Ordered to Give Potentially Incriminating Documents to Waymo
When will the drama end? The lawsuit between Waymo and Uber is back in the news with no signs of stopping. Today the court denied yet another request from Uber to shield itself with the fifth amendemnent, securing a small victory for Waymo.
News: iPhone 8 May Release on Time After All, Just Without a Key Feature
As with any new smartphone (but especially with Apple), the iPhone 8 is generating rumor after rumor. This newest rumor, however, rocks the boat a bit, as BGR reports that the iPhone 8 may release at Apple's standard time in the fall, but the 3D camera will be pushed to the 8s.
News: Former Google Self-Driving Car Boss Receives Funds for New Project
Google's former driverless car boss Chris Urmson raised considerable funds to get his new startup company Aurora Innovation up and running. Axios initially reported that Urmson raised over $3 million to fund his brainchild in the wake of his Alphabet exit, according to an SEC filing.
News: Uber Admits to Finding Stolen Waymo Document on Employee Device
In a twist in the tumultuous lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, Uber revealed today that they found a document on an employee device, allegedly stolen from Waymo.
News: Apple Developing New iPhone Graphics Chip
Apple is in the process of developing its own graphics processors for future iPhones, according to recent reports.
Truly Driverless: Fully Self-Driving Cars in Illinois Won't Require a Human Operator if New Bill Passes
For all of its drama, Uber's driverless program has states like Arizona excited for the future of self-driving vehicles. But it's not Arizona alone that supports the driverless craze; the Illinois House of Representatives will hear a bill that would allow driverless cars on the road with or without human operators.
News: Unity 5.6 Just Released with New Features for Game Developers
Unity 5.6 was just released on March 31, and it will be the last entry in the Unity 5 cycle. With all of the new features, it looks like Unity 5 is going out with a bang.
News: Waymo Just Moved to Shut Down Uber's Driverless Trials with Court Injunction
The big Waymo versus Uber trial isn't scheduled until May, but the heat between Uber and Waymo is rising fast; Waymo wants Uber's driverless trials shut down by a court injunction, unless ex-Google employee Anthony Levandowski testifies in court.
News: Google's Pixel 3 Stirs Up Competition Between Phone Makers HTC, LG, TCL & Coolpad
Google's Pixel smartphone is striking up some heated competition between phone makers HTC, LG, TCL, and Coolpad, as the Pixel 3 gets ready to release in 2018. Yep, you heard that right—not the Pixel, not the Pixel 2, but the Pixel 3—which shows that Google is really committed to the future of its new flagship line.
News: Snapchat Has Made This App Explode
Bitmoji has experienced explosive success this year thanks to Snapchat. The app allows users to create their own personal emoji and send responses to other friends, and even though it's only two and a half years old, this customizable emoji app is growing at an impressive pace.
News: HTC Rumored to Reveal Snapdragon 835 Flagship with Touch-Sensitive Frame
HTC is working on another flagship device that's expected to be released in mid-April. After the disastrous reception of the recently released HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play, this new model could be the true HTC 10 successor we've all been waiting for.
News: Sixth Outbreak of Avian Flu Confirmed in China
China just confirmed a sixth avian flu outbreak since October. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture stated that there had been another instance of bird flu in the Hubei province, of the H5N6 influenza virus. The outbreak occurred in the city of Daye, which is home to some 900,000 people, but hasn't been linked to human infections yet.
News: Augmented Reality Empowers Indonesian Women to Operate Online Stores
While its direct-selling model echoes brands like Avon and Tupperware, Indonesia's MindStores gives the approach a modern twist—with augmented reality.
News: Latest Research Cements Link Between Climate Change & West Nile Outbreaks
A recent study underscores a connection between climate change and infectious disease, raising concerns about our quickly warming planet.
News: Do the CDC's Suggested New Quarantine Rules Give Them Too Much Power?
When Kaci Hickox, a Doctors Without Borders nurse, returned to New Jersey from working with Ebola patients in West Africa in 2014, she was surprised by her reception. Instead of a quiet return to her home in Maine after four weeks on the front line of Ebola treatment, she was quarantined by the State of New Jersey in Newark. She later filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for violation of her civil rights, false imprisonment, and invasion of privacy.
PSA: If You're Having Auto-Focus Issues on Your Pixel, It's Probably Your Case's Fault
According to multiple users on Reddit, the Pixel and Pixel XL's camera can have some serious auto-focus issues if you're using a certain type of case with Google's new flagships. When the problem occurs, your camera app will refuse to settle on a focus point, making almost everything in the frame blurry. Redditor HeshoMike uploaded a video of the phenomenon, and you can see it in action here:
News: Complex Hand-Tracking Is the Key to Better Mixed Reality Interfaces
Keyboards and mice work fine for computers, but in a holographic environment you'll want to do more than just point, click, and type. While we can still benefit from these input devices, complex hand-tracking methods are necessary for the evolution of mixed reality user interfaces.