News: Microsoft Teases Minecraft Augmented Reality Game for Mobile at Build 2019
It looks like Microsoft will finally make good on its promise to bring Minecraft to augmented reality, as foreshadowed via a HoloLens demo in 2015.
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News: North Adds Sports Updates, Language Flashcards, & Trivia Games to Focals Smartglasses
While North has yet to add third-party app support to its Focals smartglasses, the company has been diligent as of late in its efforts to add more functionality to the bare-bones AR device.
News: Facebook Searching for More Troops to Work at Oculus on AR Product Design & Marketing
At its F8 developer's conference in 2016, Facebook went on record with a roadmap that called for augmented reality integration into Oculus within 10 years. Now, it appears as though Facebook is accelerating those plans.
News: Magic Leap Adds New Multi-User & Sharing Features, Improves Hand Tracking in Latest Lumin OS Update
After showing off a prototype of the Grordbattle multiplayer first-person shooter at the Game Developer Conference, Magic Leap has added a new Shared World feature in version 0.95.0 of the Lumin OS update released this week.
News: Magic Leap Teams with HBO & AT&T to Deliver Game of Thrones Experience
In recent months, the Magic Leap One has frequently tied promotions to groundbreaking entertainment properties, but the latest may be the startup's biggest coup yet.
How To: Keep Facebook from Tracking Your Location When You're Not Using the App
When you think of companies that represent pillars like "privacy" or "security," Facebook is pretty far from the top of that list. However, the social media empire is making strides — small strides — to win trust with how it handles your user data. One of those efforts involves a way to prevent Facebook from tracking your iPhone or Android phone's location when you're not using the app.
Market Reality: AR Goes to Court as Meta Infringement Case Unfolds & Epic Games Takes on Nreal for Trademark
Reading the augmented reality news lately has felt a bit like reading a John Grisham novel, as the business side of things has dripped with legal drama.
News: Former Google Augmented Reality Engineering Lead Takes Over Facebook's Portal Hardware Team
It looks like Facebook really likes Google's augmented reality leadership talent, as the social media giant has hired away another employee from the AR and VR team at Mountain View to lead its team for a product that brings Facebook's AR platform into homes.
Market Reality: Lyft Acquires Blue Vision, Google & Samsung Invest in AR, & Epic Games Scores Massive Funding Round
With would-be unicorns Magic Leap and Niantic among its investments, Google is an active investor in augmented reality technology. This week, the search giant experienced both ends of the investment cycle, with an exit via Lyft's acquisition of Blue Vision Labs, and a funding round for Resolution Games.
Hands-On: Hands-On with Magic Leap & Weta Workshop's Dr. Grordbort's Invaders
Over the last few years, the only thing teased by Magic Leap more than the Magic Leap One itself has been the company's flagship gaming title Dr. Grordbort's Invaders. The game, developed by New Zealand studio Weta Workshop, finally got its debut last week during the L.E.A.P. conference in Los Angeles.
News: Insomniac Games Unveils Seedling Experience for Magic Leap One
The game wizards at Insomniac take pride in diving deep when it comes to world-building, and the same is true for the studio's latest title for Magic Leap One called Seedling.
News: The Porgs from Star Wars Are Coming to Magic Leap One
It turns out that Dr. Grordbort's Invaders is not the only Magic Leap demo to become a reality for the Magic Leap One.
Market Reality: Rony Abovitz Perches Atop NR30 AR Hardware Leaders as Angry Birds & Thyng Jump on Magic Leap Bandwagon
This week, Next Reality published profiles on the leaders in augmented reality hardware industry, with Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz topping the list. So, it should be no surprise that two app makers want to align themselves with Magic Leap's flagship product.
News: In a Major Hit to Apple, Rovio to Launch Angry Birds in AR for Magic Leap
Considering Rovio Entertainment quite literally owes its existence to Apple and the App Store, it may ruffle a few feathers that the company has opted to aim the augmented reality debut of its blockbuster Angry Birds franchise at Magic Leap instead.
News: Snapchat Adds Speech-Activated Lenses to Its Augmented Reality Capabilities
Snapchat users are used to raising their eyebrows or opening their mouths to activate augmented reality face effects. Now, they get to use their voices as well.
News: Snapchat Preparing to Upgrade Camera with Visual Search for Amazon, Report Says
A peek inside the code of the Snapchat app has revealed that the company is expanding the search capabilities of its augmented reality camera to include visual search that may link to items within Amazon's massive online store.
News: Apple's ARKit 2.0 Could Make These 10 Mobile AR Apps Even Better
With the announcement of ARKit 2.0 at WWDC 2018, Apple is bringing some powerful new capabilities to mobile augmented reality apps this fall.
News: NBA AR App Launches on Android & Adds Portals to Playoffs
The NBA Finals is underway, and now basketball fans with iPhones and Android devices can get closer to the action for free than they ever could with expensive courtside tickets.
News: Snapchat Adds Sound Recognition to Its Augmented Reality Arsenal
As Facebook, Apple, Samsung, and others offer augmented reality selfie effects and content that challenge its platform, Snapchat has continued to innovate with its augmented reality capabilities.
How To: You'll Soon Be Able to Download All the Data Apple Has on You — Here's How to Get It & How It Works
Personal data is a hot topic right now, and for good reason. Never before has the public been so on edge about how companies use their information. Services like Facebook and Google now allow you to download all of the data each has on file. Soon, you'll be able to see exactly the same for Apple as well.
News: Looney Tunes Antics Jump from Screen to Real World with Augmented Reality Experiment
Even in augmented reality, Wile E. Coyote still can't catch the Road Runner. The latest AR experiment from developer Abhishek Singh brings the classic Looney Tunes duo into the real world.
News: Facebook Adds Sketchfab, Body & Hand Tracking, Background Segmentation, & More to AR Studio
At its F8 developers conference on Tuesday, Facebook announced new tools and features coming in a new version of AR Studio, including the integration of 3D content aggregator Sketchfab's Download API.
How To: Can't Pick Up the Weapon You Want in PUBG? Turn Off This Setting
Scavenging for weapons and supplies in PUBG adds to the element of excitement and dread of the unknown. But this feeling can quickly turn into annoyance as you attempt to swap your weapon for a better one on the ground, only to automatically pick up the gun you just dropped again.
News: Star Wars Holochess Comes to ARKit-Friendly iPhones & iPads
Part of the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges experience that was once exclusive to users of Lenovo's Mirage AR headset is now available to anyone with an ARKit-compatible iOS device.
News: Snapchat Highlights Augmented Reality Feature in New Group Video Chat
Snapchat has added yet another social feature to its mobile app, and this one makes it possible to use augmented reality with a group of friends over video.
How To: Turn Off Facebook Lite's Call & Text History Logging on Android
The Android world exploded when it was discovered that Facebook was logging the call and text histories of many of its users, although the company claims those users had explicitly given Facebook permission to log that data. The case remains that many users were unaware of this activity, which occurs on both Messenger and Facebook Lite. Luckily, it's very easy to disable.
News: Google Backs Yet Another AR Cloud Platform via Ubiquity6's $10.5M Funding Round
Google's AI investment arm, Gradient Ventures, has joined a $10.5 million round of funding for Ubiquity6 and its platform for shared augmented reality experiences, just weeks after Google's GV fund backed a competing AR cloud platform.
Facebook Messenger 101: How to Keep Your Account When Deactivating Facebook
If you finally decide to take the plunge and delete your Facebook, you should know that your Messenger account may also go missing if that's how you log into it using your Facebook account. You can make a new Messenger profile without tying it to a Facebook account, but if you want to keep all of your old chats, you're going to want to deactivate rather than delete.
News: Theaters Turn to Mobile AR Gaming to Reclaim Pre-Show Movie Experience
Moviegoers who arrive at the theater early are no longer a captive audience for the ads, trivia, and miscellaneous content that precede the movie trailers than run before the feature presentation, as the ubiquity of the smartphone has become the preferred distraction for early birds at the theater.
News: Former Microsoft Engineers Achieve Best Hand-Tracking Capabilities We've Seen for AR
While augmented reality headset makers are faced with tackling numerous challenges before the category is truly ready for prime time, a start-up comprised of former Microsoft engineers may have nailed fast and precise tracking of hand gestures and full-body locomotion.
News: 5 Things We Want to See from Nintendo's Upcoming Mario Kart Tour on the iPhone
Nintendo set the internet ablaze Wednesday night with two big announcements. First, Nintendo revealed that the Switch's paid online service will begin in September (boo), but it was the other report that really got fans excited — Mario Kart is coming to your iPhone.
News: This Winter Olympics App Will Use Augmented Reality to Help Fans Navigate PyeongChang 2018
If navigating a new city for a sporting event, such as the upcoming Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a daunting task, then making your way through a foreign country to a series of venues may seem like an impossible mission.
How To: Stream Games from Your Windows PC to Your iPhone
The greatest pain in owning a high-powered gaming PC is the simple fact that you can't play it all the time. Sometimes you have work or school, and other times, you may just want to go mobile. When something like this impedes your ability to play PC games, you may end up settling for mobile games. What if, instead of doing that, you were able to play your PC games from your iPhone?
Apple AR: ARKit Update for Pokémon Go Makes Monsters Bigger & Smarter
If you ever thought the Snorlax in Pokémon Go should be taller, and you have an iPhone compatible with ARKit, get ready to look up.
News: Facebook's New Messenger Kids Aims to Lock in Young AR Users, Give Parents More Control
Next to millennials, one of the groups most coveted by brand marketers is "Generation Z," the consumers of tomorrow who were born between 1996 and 2010. On Monday, Facebook established a beachhead with that demographic in the realm of augmented reality by launching Facebook Messenger Kids.
Gaming: The 7 Best Paid Trivia Games for Android & iPhone
Trivia games are among the most entertaining ways to learn factoids and interesting info you may have never known about before. They're also the perfect genre to enjoy with friends and family, as they're particularly great at breaking the ice to make for a more memorable time together.
Gaming: The 7 Best Paid Shooting Games for Android & iPhone
With the release of the Pixel 2 XL and the iPhone X, smartphones have hit a new high not just in price, but also raw processing power. These new flagships not only cost more than twice as much as an Xbox One or PlayStation 4, they have also become almost as powerful as far as gaming goes. Because of this, a lot of games once reserved for consoles and PCs have made their way to our smartphones.
Brief Reality: Mobile AR Apps Help Save Rhinos (& Sell Stuff)
Mobile apps themselves are not always the end product or service for generating revenue. More often, they are deployed as tactics within a larger marketing or public relations strategy.
Gaming: The 9 Best Paid Action Games for Android & iPhone
Thanks to ever more powerful smartphones — the iPhone X with its advanced A11 processor and the Galaxy Note 8 powered by Snapdragon's 835 come to mind — the mobile industry is fast closing in on consoles and PCs with regards to gaming. Game developers have been aware of this fact, and have ported many games once dedicated to computers onto our handheld devices.
Brief Reality: Halliburton, New York Jets, CyberLink Join the Augmented Reality Movement
A survey by ABI Research revealed that only 25 percent of businesses have implemented augmented reality technology in some form or fashion.