How To: Test Your Chromecast's Network Connection
At its core, the Chromecast is essentially a web browser on a stick. When you cast content from your computer or smartphone, all you're really doing is telling the Chromecast which website to load.
Dual Core Search Results
How To: Add Custom ROM Features to Your Stock Google Play Edition HTC One M8
The switch from Dalvik runtime to ART in Android Lollipop has rendered the Xposed Framework useless until a new version is released, but Xposed isn't the only way to mod a phone.
How To: Give Your Friends Access to "Inbox by Gmail" Without Any Invites
Google's new Inbox by Gmail service offers a new take on email with a particular emphasis on productivity. But, as an invite-only service at this stage, not many people can access Inbox just yet.
How To: Transform Your Android into a Sony Xperia Z3
Sony's latest flagship, the Xperia Z3, comes with some pretty high-end hardware, but what really draws me to it are the aesthetics of its ROM, Xperia UI. Even though my HTC One M8 can still go toe-to-toe with the Z3 in a performance matchup, there is something about Sony's UI that is simply missing from my HTC.
How To: Breathe New Life into an Older Nexus Device (Without Rooting)
Remember the feeling you had the moment you removed your shiny new Nexus device from its packaging and booted it up for the first time? You swiped through the app drawer at lightning speed and thought to yourself, "This is the last Android phone I will ever need, they just aren't going to get any better than this."
How To: Make the Volume Slider Less Annoying When Playing Videos on a Nexus 5
Let's say you're watching a video and everything's going great, but you feel the need to raise the volume a tiny bit. You hit the volume button on your Nexus 5, and all of a sudden, a giant volume slider appears that obscures half of your video for 3 seconds.
News: Amazon Launches Fire TV to Compete Against Apple TV, Chromecast, & Roku
Amazon just announced its entry into the set-top streaming content marketplace with its new Fire TV box. Competing directly against Apple TV, Google's Chromecast, and Roku, Amazon is betting on big processing power and voice controls to stand out from the competition. Features include the following.
News: Everything You Need to Know About the New Xposed Installer (Version 2.5)
Allowing us to easily get features that would otherwise be available only through flashing mods and custom ROMs, Xposed Installer has been a godsend since its development, simplifying the sometimes tasking and potentially harmful process of changing the core components of Android's operating system.
How To: Create a Beautiful Edible Apple Swan
We will show you with easy step by step instruction how to create a beautiful edible apple swan. This swan is easy to create and can be done in under 5m. Makes for a great centre piece during a special dinner.
How To: Add More Steps to the Volume Slider on Your Nexus 7 for More Gradual Control
A great aspect of using Android is having the ability to change and tweak aspects of the user experience to your liking. You can easily change things like home screens, widgets, and icons on your Nexus 7 tablet, but also core system settings if you want, like volume settings. Most stock systems come standard with a "15 step" volume control. That means simply that you have 15 levels from mute to the loudest volume settings. Whether your an audiophile or just someone who wants a little more con...
How To: Install the Xposed Framework on Your Nexus 7 for Insane Customization
Customization of our Android devices, outside of what Google and mobile carriers allow us to do, used to mandate that our devices were rooted and running a custom ROM.
How to Hack Wi-Fi: Cracking WPA2-PSK Passwords Using Aircrack-Ng
Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers. When Wi-Fi was first developed in the late 1990s, Wired Equivalent Privacy was created to give wireless communications confidentiality. WEP, as it became known, proved terribly flawed and easily cracked. You can read more about that in my beginner's guide to hacking Wi-Fi.
How To: Monitor System Resources Right from the Notification Tray on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
Anyone who uses a computer on a regular basis probably knows how to access the task manager to check system resources and usage stats. However, on a Samsung Galaxy S3 or other Android device, it may not be so obvious. There's no equivalent to Control-Alt-Delete, but it's still fairly easy to monitor running processes and battery usage.
How To: Connect Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to Your TV for the Ultimate Viewing Experience
As we all use our smartphones for more and more things, we constantly want to share and view those items on a larger screen, especially when it comes to media. While phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and tablets like the iPad do make watching Netflix on a portable device pretty legit, bigger is always better. Newer iPhones may have Retina displays, but watching Avatar on your phone is like being forced to drink a delicious mango tango smoothie with a coffee straw. Plus, if you want to sho...
How To: Play Practically Any Old Game on Almost Any Platform with the RetroArch Emulator
Just about anyone who's been gaming for a long time occasionally feels nostalgic for the simpler consoles of yesteryear. I don't play much anymore, but my grandmother (yes, grandmother) got me started on NES when I was about three years old, and most days I'd still take that over the 360 or PS3.
How To: Hide All Your Browser Tabs with One Click in Chrome, Safari, Opera, and Firefox
At some point or another, we've all been in that awful situation when someone walks up behind you while you're looking at something you don't want them to see. Whether you're tweeting during class, shopping for gifts online, or looking at something a little more NSFW, there are times when it would be nice to just click a button and have all your open tabs disappear.
How To: Upgrade to Mountain Lion from Leopard (OS X 10.5 to 10.8)
Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8) is out today, available in the Mac App Store for just $20. Unfortunately, installing Mountain Lion requires that you already have a Mac running Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) or Lion (OS X 10.7). If you're currently running a Leopard system, you're out of luck, and need to pay $29 to upgrade to Snow Leopard, and then an additional $20 to upgrade again to Mountain Lion. That sounds like way to much trouble to me. But why exactly is Leopard incompatible? Turns out it's not—m...
How To: Send Spam & Spot Fake Emails (Email Spoofing 101)
Spammers are the bane of every email user. No matter what you do, junk mail always breaks through the spam filters. And some of the best ones seem to come from legit companies, and that's because they aren't legit companies— they're spammers masquerading as legit companies.
How To: Make an all-natural dryer ball from yarn
Tired of static cling? You can make your very own dryer balls that will prevent your clothes from having static clean and it only takes some yarn and pantyhose. You can even make scented dryer balls using this method.
News: HTC Vive Project Proton Concept Devices Offer Potential Future High-End & Mobile AR Wearable Options
Part of the fallout from the canceled Mobile World Congress is that a range of products, ideas, and designs slated for reveal in Barcelona are now being showcased without the framing and context of the massive tech gathering.
News: Amazon's Best Black Friday Deals on Headphones
Let's face it, most of us do most of our shopping on Amazon these days. So why should Black Friday shopping be any different? The online retail giant always cooks up some great deals on high-demand items, like headphones. If you're looking to save some dollars on a new pair of Beats, Skullcandy, or Bose, you're going to want to check out Amazon.
News: Google Brings Persistent Content Support to Cloud Anchors, Expands Augmented Faces to iOS
With Android 10 hitting the streets (at least for those mobile devices that get quick updates) and the public release of iOS 13 dropping on Sept. 19, Google is releasing an update on Thursday to ARCore that adds some fantastic new benefits to its cross-platform capabilities.
News: Apple iOS 13 Public Beta 3 Available, Includes Updates to 3D Touch, Photos, Icons & More
The wait wasn't so long this time. Apple released public beta 3 for iOS 13 on Thursday, July 18, just one day after the release of developer beta 4. For context, Apple took five days to seed public beta 2 after releasing dev beta 3, so it's a pleasant surprise that the latest public beta dropped so soon.
News: Apple's iOS 13 Developer Beta 4 Available for iPhones with Small Changes to Home Screen, Icons, Photos & More
We're pumped for iOS 13 and all of the fresh features and changes that come with it. Developer beta 3 came with new features in the double digits, including AR eye contact in FaceTime and mouse cursor size customization. Developer beta 4, released today, has a few more additions and changes as well.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 13 Public Beta 2, Includes FaceTime Attention Correction, Cursor Sizing Options & More
The third developer beta for iOS 13 has been out since July 3, and while devs have had fun exploring all the new features, those of us on the public beta have sat on the sidelines running the public version of dev beta 2. But we don't need to wait any longer, as Apple just released iOS 13 public beta 2 and all the goodies that come with it.
News: Apple's iOS 13 Developer Beta 3 Available for iPhone, Packed with New Features & Changes
On July 3, Apple pushed out iOS 13 developer beta 3 for iPhone, and there's a lot found hidden within. A new FaceTime setting, more Arcade details, full-page scrolling screenshots everywhere, a noise cancellation option in the Control Center, and a new markup tool — and that's just a few of the new features.
Our 3G Tower Is Broken: The Trials & Tribulations of Staying Connected on a 3-Month Bike Trip Across Central Asia
Silence spreads over these mountains like nothing I've ever felt. If I didn't have Moby blasting in my earphones, there'd probably be no other sounds around. Well, except for someone, Phil probably, murmuring in a nearby tent just low enough to make his words indiscernible.
News: Which Wireless Carriers Support eSIM? The Always-Up-to-Date List for iPhone XS, XS Max & XR
With an iPhone that includes a digital eSIM option aside its standard Nano-SIM card, you can have two cellular service accounts. One can be your primary line with your main wireless carrier, and the other can be from your main carrier or another provider. The eSIM account can be prepaid or postpaid as well as data-only, which is great for traveling. But which wireless providers support eSIM?
News: Snap Shows Us the Future of AR Smartglasses Through New Styles of Spectacles 2 Camera Glasses
While they don't do augmented reality just yet, the latest styles of Snapchat's Spectacles 2 camera glasses serve as a peek into the future of how mainstream AR wearables may look.
News: ANTVR Goes Modular to Shrink the Size & Expand the Field of View of Its AR Headset
China-based virtual reality headset maker ANTVR has decided to enter the augmented reality space, and to do so it's launching its headset on Kickstarter. The company claims that its new Mix AR device has a field of view that surpasses the Meta 2, the HoloLens, and others within a smaller form factor and at a fraction of the price. But there's a catch.
News: Not Digging the Notch on the Leaked OnePlus 6? Don't Panic Yet
Last week, the first possible image of the upcoming OnePlus 6 leaked. It was met with mixed reactions, most notably for its apparent iPhone X-style "notch." OnePlus fans seem concerned that the company is implementing a design choice based on what it thinks is trending, not necessarily what's best for the product. If you're one of those uneasy about OnePlus' future, don't be. At least not yet.
How To: Get the Galaxy S9's Landscape Home Screen on Any Android Phone
Samsung's Galaxy S9 was recently announced with features like AR Emoji and Dual Aperture, but great functionality lives underneath them — such as the ability to have your home screen auto-rotate to landscape mode. It's a nice feature, but with a little work, you can already do this on any Android phone.
News: How to Watch the Galaxy S9 'Unpacked' Event on Replay
|UPDATE: The event is now over and we've learned all there is to know about the new Galaxy S9 and S9+. But if you're still interested in watching Samsung's presentation, we've left the replay video embedded below.
News: How the RED Hydrogen One's 4V 'Holographic' Display Works
RED has apparrantly been blowing minds with the revolutionary technology inside its upcoming Hydrogen One. Like the Razer Phone in late 2017, most of the cool tech lives inside its screen — which, also like the Razer Phone, is unlike any other on the market today. RED, too, is poised to make some major waves in the coming months, as its phone should be arriving in stores this summer.
News: ThirdEye Aims for Crowded Enterprise Market with X1 Smart Glasses & App Store
A few months ago, we gave you a small peek at a new entrant in the race to deliver augmented reality smartglasses to the masses, and now the device is finally ready for the public. ThirdEye Gen is now accepting preorders for its X1 Smart Glasses, which will also provide users with an AR-centric app store.
How To: Use Portrait Lighting Mode on the iPhone X & iPhone 8 Plus
Apple introduced Portrait Mode with the iPhone 7 Plus, a feature which utilized the iPhone's dual cameras to create a shallow depth of field around a subject. This effect replicates the look of DSLR cameras, making your photos look more professional. Apple, of course, carries Portrait Mode to the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus in iOS 11, however, with it comes a twist — Portrait Lighting.
AWE 2017: Rounding Up All the News from the Augmented World Expo
The Augmented World Expo (AWE), the biggest event for augmented, virtual, and mixed reality companies, developers, customers, and connoisseurs, is happening right now. You know what that means for us here at Next Reality? Companies presenting and exhibiting at AWE are releasing news like crazy.
How To: Root Android Oreo on the Nexus 5X & 6P
The first developer preview of Android Oreo 8.0 was only out for a couple of days before Chainfire created a new root method for it. For the time being, only the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P are supported by this first SuperSU ZIP, as the Pixel's dual-partition layout has created some hurdles, though Chainfire is surely working on overcoming those at some point soon.
News: Good Luck Getting the iPhone 8—Limited Quantities for September
Apple's anxiously awaited iPhone 8 with a 5.8-inch OLED display is all set to launch this September, alongside the iPhone 7s variants. However, according to MacRumors, which cites information from a number of Barclays analysts, stock will be very limited, and most won't ship until late in the fourth quarter.
How To: Install ViPER4Android on Your LG V20 for Better Sound Quality
ViPER4Android is a revolutionary audio equalizer for Android, something that I personally can't live without. That's the reason why porting V4A to the LG V20 was the first thing I did when I got the phone. There are two variants of ViPER4Android: FX and XHiFi. XHiFi is an older version which isn't developed anymore, but has amazing audio reconstruction capabilities. FX, on the other hand, has at least three times as many options and features as XHiFi without the audio reconstruction.