News: Snapchat & Facebook Messenger Deliver Augmented Reality Camera Effects for Mother's Day
If you need some help expressing how you feel to your mom for Mother's Day, Snapchat and Facebook are here with some augmented reality help.
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Hands-On: Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs Reinvents the Franchise for Mobile, but Smartglasses Are Its Destiny
Finland-based Rovio, one of the pioneers of mobile gaming, is now ready to break new ground in augmented reality with its Angry Birds franchise.
News: HoloLens 2, All the Specs — These Are the Technical Details Driving Microsoft's Next Foray into Augmented Reality
Now that we've officially seen the HoloLens 2 and Microsoft has shown off the improvements and new superpowers of the augmented reality headset, what about the specs?
How To: View, Share, Highlight & Download Your Archived Instagram Stories
In late-2017, Instagram rolled out a feature that automatically saves your ephemeral Stories to a private archive. Before that, Stories disappeared into the ether after 24 hours, but not everyone was comfortable losing these precious photos and videos. If you post to Instagram Stories quite often, you can now easily access your history from your account — and you might not even know it.
How To: Track All Your Online Orders from One App
Shopping wasn't always this easy. Now, in a matter of minutes, you can order your groceries for the week, send your cracked phone in for repairs, get your holiday shopping done, and have everything delivered to your front door in just a few days — without ever having to leave your home. Online shopping is convenient, comfortable, and a blessing ... right? Well, it can also be a headache.
How To: Lower Vibration Feedback on Your Pixel 2 to Make Notifications Quieter
Haptic feedback and vibration of our smartphones have come a long way in recent years. These features are much more premium now than they once were, but most users are still unable to adjust the intensity for notifications or phone calls. Most higher-end devices make less noise on surfaces than in the past, but adjusting these values can still come in handy even today.
News: Magic Leap's Chief Content Officer Rio Caraeff Opens Up on Walled Gardens, Data Privacy, & Blockchain
Over the years, Magic Leap's long-cultivated shroud of mystery led some onlookers to buy into the company's dream before even trying the device, while for others, the secrecy seems to have stoked the kind of resentment and overcorrecting critique usually reserved for the mighty Apple.
News: The ASUS ZenFone 5Z Is Coming to the US with Legit Flagship Specs for Under $500
After first being announced at Mobile World Congress 2018, the ASUS ZenFone 5Z will finally be coming to the US. Deemed an iPhone X clone by some, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to this flasghip. While it is similar to the iPhone X, in some ways, it improves on the design.
How To: Watch YouTube Red Content for Free
For a while, YouTube Red original content was a joke, lagging behind other services like Netflix and Hulu in terms of quality, so breaking down the paywall didn't seem necessary. However, with series like Cobra Kai turning heads, it's a good time to start using Red. Luckily, Android users can get all of this content for free, and without rooting.
News: Liverpool Soccer Fans Can Try on the Team's Uniform in Augmented Reality with New Balance Snapchat Lens
New Balance is helping Liverpool Football Club (FC) fans see how they look in the team's new kits with an augmented reality experience in Snapchat.
News: Magic Leap Job Posting Reveals Grand Plan to Tackle Brick & Mortar Retail
The once blurry and mysterious vision of Magic Leap's future is slowly coming into focus in the present, despite the company's obsessive attempts to keep any and all information under wraps until the next reveal is absolutely necessary. A new tidbit of information hints at an addition to the company's unfolding story that almost no one had accounted for: retail stores.
Snapchat 101: How to Create & Use Stickers
Snapchat offers a rich experience for anyone looking to communicate with pictures in addition to (or instead of) words. There are many ways to share your snaps, from Memories to My Story. You can even draw all over your snaps, creating a unique experience that hinges on your own illustrations. Sometimes, though, you want to customize your snaps in a different way. In a more collage-y sort of way.
Google Play Music 101: Finding & Adding New Music to Your Library
We covered how to upload your library to Google Play Music, but now it's time to delve deeper into the platform. In this article, we'll discuss how to discover new music through a myriad of methods, by using your existing library as a foundation.
Opinion: Google Glass Patent Reveals Traditional Frames, but Design Isn't Only Challenge Facing AR Smartglasses
Just when you thought Google Glass was dead, it turns out there may be a second life for the often ridiculed device that won't relegate it to the staid confines of factories and repair jobs.
News: Dangerous Dengue Fever Could Go Worldwide, with Help from Air Travel & Climate Change
Rising on the world stage, dengue fever is transmitted by mosquitoes — and apparently air travel too.
News: Google Search Never Wants You to Feel Left Out Again
Google added a new feature to its mobile app that pairs your searches for events with direct summaries of activities from sites like Eventbrite and Meetup. If you see an event you like, then you can tap on it to check it out for more fun details or book your ticket directly through the providing website.
News: The Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime Is Now Available
With all the hype surrounding the recent Galaxy S8 release, it can be easy to forget Samsung makes other smartphones. But let's be real here; $726 isn't cheap. If you're someone who doesn't want to drop that kind of cash on a smartphone — or who doesn't feel your device needs all the bells and whistles that come with Samsung's premium line — the new J3 Prime might be right for you.
News: The Most Exciting Events Coming Up at Augmented World Expo 2017 in May
Coming up at the end of May is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to all things augmented and virtual reality, the Augmented World Expo, more commonly known just as AWE. And this year, a few of us from NextReality are going to be there.
News: An Early Spring & Skyrocketing Mouse Population Converge for a Risky 2017 for Lyme Disease
For regions that experienced a boom in mouse populations last year, scientists say 2017 could see a surge in cases of Lyme disease.
News: Google's Self-Driving Car Job Postings Hint at Big Things Coming
Alphabet's moonshot factory, X (formerly "Google X"), is a secretive place, but it seems that when they are close to graduating a project, then they need to staff it up quickly. Watching for these job ads is one easy way to know they're close to budding off a baby.
DIY Repair: How to Fix Your Broken Smartphone Like a Pro
In my days as a hardware tech, I often came across motivated do-it-yourselfers who watched a video or two on how to repair a phone and thought that they'd give it a go. More often than not, they failed miserably and damaged their phones (and wallets) even more in the process.
How To: 20 Free Games You Can Play on Android Without Any Internet
Whether you're riding the subway on your way home from work, or stuck in the backseat of the car on a long road trip, there are times when you need to entertain yourself without a mobile data connection. A good mobile game would pass the time perfectly, but not every game works without an internet connection.
How To: Enable True Stereo Sound on Your Pixel XL
One of the only downsides to the Pixel XL is that Google's flagship phone does not have stereo speakers. But if Android's awesome development community has taught us anything over the years, it's that limitations like these can be bypassed with some creative software tinkering.
News: Adam Cosco's Short Film 'KNIVES' Ups the Ante on Virtual Reality Moviemaking
While you can't turn art into a formula, the film industry has managed to come stupidly close. While many storytelling principles still stand across mediums, successfully crafting a compelling, immersive narrative in virtual reality requires a brand new rulebook. Through trial, error, and success, writer/director/editor Adam Cosco figured out the right rules to follow (and break) in "KNIVES"—his latest 360-degree short film. The film tells an old-fashioned tale of a woman, Kelsey Frye, strugg...
News: AltspaceVR's Democracy Plaza Puts You in the Middle of the 2016 Election
Most of us don't get the opportunity to see election coverage first hand, but with virtual reality, we're not as restricted. AltspaceVR has teamed up with NBC News to let you log in on your computer or VR headset and actually take part in the action—just not physically.
News: What the iPhone 7's New 3D Touch Home Button Means for You
Among the many new changes ushered in by the iPhone 7, only one has the potential to completely change the way you interact with your smartphone—a new 3D Touch-enabled home button. Instead of the mechanical click we've grown accustomed to, your home button will now behave like the rest of the phone's touch screen interface.
Review: My 6 Months Using the 12.9-Inch iPad Pro
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro was released in stores on November 11, 2015, and a couple days later I went to an Apple Store and to check it out in person. I had mixed feelings about the tablet, but was intrigued overall—so much so that over the next few weeks, as I found myself hearing more and more about the device, a thought began to take hold in the back of my mind—I really want one. At the same time, I was hesitant about dropping roughly 10 Benjamins for a tablet!
News: This Guy Hacked Together DIY Haptic Gloves to 'Feel' VR—Here's How
Virtual and mixed reality experiences feel immersive because they take over your senses in various ways, but they still lack tactile feedback. Haptic gloves can change that, and you can make a pair yourself.
How To: Root Your Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge (US Models)
The international, Exynos-powered Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have had a working root method ever since a few days after release. But the North American variants—those using Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor—have locked bootloaders, and have proven to be almost unrootable up until now.
News: Designing Software for Mixed Reality Requires a Massive Shift in Thinking
We started with a static page and evolved to dynamic screens, and making that 2D surface interactive was a relatively straightforward transition in design. But when you can put holographic objects literally anywhere in the room, the way you design apps, games, and experiences requires a different mode of thought entirely.
How To: 5 Awesome Ingredients You Didn't Know You Could Juice
When we initially started juicing, we tended to gravitate towards the widely popular juice staples—carrots, cucumbers, celery, kale, spinach, and apples. However, as we grew more comfortable with these fruits and vegetables (and honestly, a bit bored), we realized there are other unsung juicing ingredients that are just as tasty and nutritious.
Deal Alert: Google's Giving 75% Off Any Movie Rental
If you've been looking to catch up on some of the Academy Award winners or nominees, or just feel like kicking back and watching a flick but can't find anything good on Netflix or Amazon Prime, then head over to the Google Play Store. Google is offering a single rental for 75% off the listed price, and the bargain is valid for the Play Store's entire collection of rentals. That means you won't be able to use the deal on newer buy-only releases like The Revenant and the Point Break remake. Als...
How To: This App Makes Finding Material Design Apps on Google Play Super Easy
More often than not, when you find an app that offers a particular functionality, there are ten other apps on the Google Play Store that offer virtually the same features. But the reason we choose one app over the alternatives is mainly due to one thing—a preference for the user interface of the app we ultimately install.
How To: This Quick & Easy Shortcut Minces Garlic in Seconds
Don't like mincing garlic into tiny pieces with a knife? No matter how you mince garlic, it will never be as easy as this kitchen trick. You won't even need a knife—just a fork! It's a great hack for kids just learning how to cook or if you only need about one or two cloves for your recipe and feel like speeding things up a bit.
How To: Speed Up Your Mac in 2 Minutes Flat
If you've been around computers long enough, you've probably heard the phrase "have you tried turning it off and on again?" This trick usually works because it forces your computer to empty out the contents of its RAM and disk caches when you restart.
News: Our Favorite WTF Gadgets from CES 2016
There was lots of new tech to check out at CES 2016, but you could argue that the majority of the big-ticket items weren't the most unique things in the world. Thankfully, there were a few innovative, unconventional ideas on display, and here are some of our favorites.
SPLOIT: Building Android Applications for Hackers: Part 2: Setting Up the Environment
Greetings my fellow aspiring hackers,
Hack Like a Pro: How Windows Can Be a Hacking Platform, Pt. 1 (Exploit Pack)
Welcome back, my tenderfoot hackers! As most of you know, I am strong advocate for using Linux as a hacking platform. In fact, I would say that without knowing Linux, you will never become a professional hacker/pentester.
How To: Everything You Need to Know About Mulled Cider
When it's frigid outside, all you can think about is getting inside and shutting out the cold. But sometimes even the largest house can get a bit, well, stuffy.
How To: Why You Should Be Drinking Coffee Instead of Water Before a Workout
Nothing gets me functioning in the morning better than strong coffee. And if I'm going to start my day with a dreaded workout, that steaming cup of caffeine is the exact motivation I need to get going. Although coffee might not seem like the best beverage to drink before hitting the gym, it actually has a few hidden benefits over water that may surprise you.