News: Apple Delivers Competitor to Google Lens & Google Maps AR Features in iOS 15
Mobile augmented reality for iOS typically comes through apps via ARKit, but Apple is borrowing a few pages from Google's playbook and bringing AR directly to iOS 15.
Delivering Spectacular Search Results
How To: Learn How to Write & Deliver High-Quality Software with This Bootcamp
Frequent readers of Null Byte are no strangers to the basic elements of app and web development. Whether you're a seasoned programmer who works extensively on front-end designs or an aspiring app-builder who's working on expanding your portfolio, you're likely familiar with at least a few go-to programming languages and platforms that are popular within your field.
How To: View Animals, Spaceships & Products in Augmented Reality with Google Search
While much of the world is currently in some form of quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, augmented reality (AR) gives us all the opportunity to see virtual content while stuck in our homes.
How To: Get the Pixel's Google Camera App on Your Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra
Samsung put some of the industry's most advanced camera tech in the Galaxy S20 series. However, their image processing still lags behind the Google Camera app found on Pixel phones, so the end result is good but not great. Luckily, you can install a mod to pair that beastly hardware with arguably the best camera software.
News: The Best Microphones for Your Podcast & Voiceover Recordings
The landscape of podcasting has exploded in recent years, with everyone from dedicated longtime podcasters reaching the mainstream spotlight, to traditional media personalities moving from TV, radio, and newspapers to grab a slice of the listening pie. The good news is that the barrier to entry is relatively low, so even if you're not a celebrity or media luminary, you can still get your voice out there by starting a podcast.
News: Apple & Tim Cook Back Civil Rights Augmented Reality Experience & Tech Education in Alabama
As a native of Alabama, Apple CEO Tim Cook has a special place in his heart for the state. He also empathizes with the struggles that African-Americans have historically faced in the state, particularly during the 1950s and '60s civil rights era.
Market Reality: HTC Vive Concept Smartglasses, Coronavirus Hits Apple, Holographic Celebs, & Snapchat Ground Effects
The coronavirus continues to disrupt the tech industry, including the augmented reality segment, with Apple and the iPhone the latest to feel the impact.
News: Apple Releases iOS 13.3.1 for iPhone, Fixes Security Bug in Mail App
After three rounds of beta testing, Apple finally released iOS 13.3.1 today, Jan. 28. It's the latest update to iOS 13, coming exactly seven weeks after the release of iOS 13.3. So, what's new?
News: Startup Phiar Prepares Beta Launch of AR Driving Navigation App for iPhone
Google pushed a new kind of augmented reality walking navigation to the mainstream last year, and now startup Phiar is hoping users will use its AR app in the same way for driving navigation.
News: Apple's Tim Cook, Google's Sundar Pichai, & Snap's Evan Spiegel Deliver Strategic Insights into AR in 2020 & Beyond
The words of three of tech's most important executives in the last 48 hours are providing some valuable insight into the near term future of augmented reality and the cloud infrastructures that support it.
News: BMW Augmented Reality Windshield Concept Adds Gaze Detection for Natural Interaction
While the automotive industry is moving towards adopting AR displays in future models, BMW is already shifting into the next gear with its vision of the technology.
News: Unity Previews Immersive Art Experiences for Mobile AR, Magic Leap One, & HoloLens at Upcoming Sundance Festival
The Unity 3D engine is not only responsible for facilitating the creation of 60% of AR and VR content but it also plays a significant role in producing the immersive stories that increasingly push the boundaries of cinema.
News: This Viral Instagram Augmented Reality Filter Will Tell You Which Disney Character You Really Are
One Instagram creator's augmented reality homage to Disney's deep bench of animated characters has earned him fifteen minutes of fame.
Market Reality: Google Lens Pairs with L'Oreal, 8th Wall Riffs on Pink Floyd, & Magic Leap Delivers Holiday AR
In his famous 1996 "Content is King" essay, Bill Gates predicted that content is where tech companies will make money on the Internet. The adage clearly holds true in the current phase of augmented reality experience.
News: Snapchat, Facebook, Google, 8th Wall, & Immersion Bring Holiday Cheer via Augmented Reality
Sending Christmas cards via snail mail is so passé. Why spend the time and money for a bougie photoshoot, saccharine card design, and postage when you can use augmented reality to instantly dress up photos and videos to send to friends and family instead?
Hands-On: Launching Space Rockets in New York's Central Park via Magic Leap's Boosters App
We're a few weeks away from the fireworks associated with New Year's celebrations, but that doesn't mean you can't start a little early — in augmented reality.
News: North Focals 2.0 to Arrive in 2020, First Generation Sales Halted
While Apple, Facebook, and Snapchat are still working on their first-generation AR wearables, startup North is already preparing to bring its second-generation smartglasses to the world in 2020.
News: Facebook Adds Image Tracking Effects & Slider Controls to Spark AR for Instagram
After opening up its Spark AR platform on Instagram for all creators, Facebook is already expanding the platform's capabilities on its Snapchat killer.
Hands-On: Sotheby's Curate App for Magic Leap Lets You Reimagine Your Home & Office in the Most Realistic Fashion via AR
It might sound odd to call interior decorating exciting, especially if you're not a professional within that industry. But that's exactly what it is when combined with augmented reality.
News: 8th Wall Escalates Race for Volumetric Video Content with Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Support
As demonstrated by holographic experiences for the Microsoft HoloLens and the Magic Leap One, volumetric video capture is a key component of enabling the more realistic augmented reality experiences of the future.
News: Sportscasters Can Bring the Game into the Studio with Vizrt's Viz Engine 4
Norway-based production tools company Vizrt is putting the real into augmented reality with its broadcast AR solution that's designed to keep sports fans (and other audiences) watching.
News: Smartglasses Maker North Brings Its Focals Showroom to Your Home via iPhone's TrueDepth Camera
Wearables startup North has made a smart move to get its Focals smartglasses into the hands of more consumers.
News: Puma Uses Zappar to Bring Web-Based AR Experience to Retail Store
When it comes to the athletic footwear retail game, it's just not enough to just sell shoes anymore.
News: Augmented Reality Simplifies Driving the New Double 3 Telepresence Robot
Until Star Wars-style 3D hologram projection technology becomes commonplace, the near future of certain kinds of remote work is in robotics. Now, a new dynamic is using augmented reality to give this kind of telepresence a kind of superpower.
News: 6D.Ai Launches AR Cloud & Supplies 3D Maps to Nreal Light & Qualcomm Snapdragon Devices
Roughly six months after emerging from stealth, AR cloud company 6D.ai is now ready for public consumption, and it has a big name partner to help it kick off its platform.
Market Reality: Microsoft Debuts HoloLens 2 AR Clones, Samsung Posts Smartglasses Patent, & Intel Depth Cams Get Cheaper
The longer it takes Apple, Snapchat, Facebook, and other tech giants to build their own version of augmented reality headsets and smartglasses, the longer runway of practical experience Microsoft gains with the HoloLens and its sequel. The latest example: AR cloning.
News: Google Arts & Culture Offers 'Pocket Gallery' Augmented Reality Museum Featuring Picasso, Van Gogh, & More
After debuting its virtual Pocket Gallery last year with the works of Johannes Vermeer, Google Arts & Culture has released a sequel that brings even more artists into your home via augmented reality.
News: Startup Form Launches Underwater Smart Goggles for Swimmers
Sports technology company Form is testing the waters for augmented reality wearables with a product aimed at a very specific user group.
Hands-On: Hands-On with the Looking Glass Pro, An Easy Alternative to AR for Interacting With Virtual Content
Here at Next Reality, our typical approach to all things augmented reality involves vision combined with remote control, either via a handheld device, gaze control, or hand/finger tracking.
News: Qualcomm & Bose Back RealWear's Enterprise Augmented Reality Wearables in $80 Million Funding Round
Some investors play the short game, placing their bets on industries that show the quickest return on their investment, and, in the augmented reality space, that means the enterprise sector.
How To: Top 10 Browser Extensions for Hackers & OSINT Researchers
While modern browsers are robust and provide a lot of functionality, they can be unlocked to do some pretty spectacular things with browser extensions. For hackers and OSINT researchers, these tools can be used to defeat online tracking, log in to SSH devices, and search the internet for clues during an investigation. These are a list of my top ten favorite browser extensions for hackers — and how to use them.
How To: Prevent Others from Sharing Your Telegram Account Link When Forwarding Your Messages
Forwarding messages is a helpful Telegram feature that makes it easy to share funny and entertaining content with other contacts. However, for the privacy-centric, forwarding poses an issue, as messages of yours that are delivered elsewhere carry a tag back to your account. Luckily, you can make your messages anonymous, so anyone receiving messages of yours that are forwarded won't be able to see you originally sent the message.
News: AWE Partners with Accessories Project to Deliver the Ultimate Augmented Reality-Powered Swag Bag
I'm here at the annual AWE event in Santa Clara, California, and the venue is just as packed, if not more so, than last year.
News: Looking Glass Pro Workstation Offers Glasses-Free 3D Computing, but at Premium Price
With Microsoft taking direct aim at enterprises for its HoloLens 2 with a $3,500 price tag, one startup is betting that business will be willing to pony up for glasses-free 3D displays as well.
News: Meta Rises from the Ashes Under New Ownership, Along with a New CEO
Almost half a year after we broke the story about the demise of Meta Company, there's good news for fans of the augmented reality startup — a rebirth is at hand.
How To: Disable Read Receipts in WhatsApp So Nobody Can See Those Blue Check Marks in Chats
WhatsApp, like other popular messengers on iOS and Android, shows when recipients have read your sent messages with a blue double check mark indicator. On the flip side, for those of you who are bad at replying promptly or don't feel like replying at all, you can disable "read receipts" so the senders won't know when or if you even read their messages.
News: Magic Leap Acquires Augmented Reality Telepresence Startup Mimesys
Just months after we previewed the augmented reality, volumetric video conferencing powers of Mimesys, the company has undergone a major change — it's now a part of Magic Leap.
Exclusive: Inside Magic Leap's Secret Headquarters
The long guarded veil of mystery surrounding Magic Leap for years was finally lifted last year when the company revealed its Magic Leap One device.
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: Preorder the New Apple AirPods on Amazon for Faster Delivery Than the Apple Store (Update: It's Now the Slowest)
Compared to the original AirPods, Apple's second-generation AirPods have better battery life, Hey Siri support, a more stable connection, faster switching between devices and call connections, less latency for gaming, and an optional Wireless Charging Case. If you plan on preordering the new model, you might want to skip the Apple Store and opt for Amazon instead to get it at your door quicker.