Any little bit of new light shed on Apple's rumored augmented reality plans is irresistible, and the latest comes from a fairly powerful source — a former Apple engineer who worked on the iPhone.
Thanks to recent reports, we now know third-party apps have a lot more access to our Gmail than we may have initially thought. In fact, these third-party apps have the ability to read our emails, not because these companies are necessarily shady, but because we agreed to it. Luckily, there's a way to view which apps have this access, as well as a way to boot those apps from your Gmail entirely.
At I/O 2018, Google showcased features that would make the Google Assistant easier to communicate with. While some people were impressed with (and maybe creeped out by) Google Duplex, one feature that was well received was the ability to talk to the Assistant without the constant "Hey Google" before each question.
Between acquisitions, hirings, patent applications, and insider reports, all signs point to Apple building a smartglasses product that could ship as soon as 2020, but the company has not officially confirmed such plans.
Nearly one year after its announcement, AirPlay 2 has finally landed on iPhones everywhere. Not only can you easily control multiple speakers including Apple TVs and HomePods from your iPhone, but you can use Siri to help you get the job done. It's one of the iOS assistant's best features, and if you're running iOS 11.4 with a compatible speaker, you can try it out right now.
One of the better additions in the stock Android launcher is the Google Now page. Residing to the left of the home screen, this page presents a host of information based on the user's interests, which Google bases on analyzed data. Recently, the Google Now page design received a makeover which Nova Launcher users can now enjoy.
With all the recent activity around augmented reality, the possibilities involving immersive computing and commerce are quickly becoming obvious, and digital payments giant PayPal has no plans to sit on the sidelines
Last week, we told you about Microsoft's Alex Kipman and his nomination for the annual European Inventor Award, presented by the European Patent Office (EPO). And while that's big news in and of itself, it turns out we overlooked a very important detail buried in the EPO's video presentation. What was it? Only one of the most sought-after data points related to the HoloLens since its launch: how many have been sold.
If it had come out just a week earlier, around April 1, no one would have believed it. But it's true, Leap Motion has developed its own prototype augmented reality headset, and it looks pretty wild.
Although the initial reception for the Galaxy S9 has been generally positive, recent reports paint a potentially bleak image — some S9 owners are complaining that their new devices have "dead zones" in their displays, which don't register their touch inputs. Luckily, there are steps you can take to fix this problem.
This week's Game Developers Conference came at just the right time for Magic Leap, a company that was riding a wave of bad news from legal troubles and rumors regarding Magic Leap One.
For the longest time, the only clickable link you could throw up on Instagram was in your profile's bio, and that's still true for a lot of users. The only way to add a clickable link aside from the aforementioned one is in an Instagram story, where users checking out your story would swipe up to load the webpage before going back to finish your story.
Noted poet T.S. Elliot once wrote that "April is the cruelest month." But Magic Leap might argue that March is the most miserable, as the Ides of March brought more legal woes to augmented reality startup. Elsewhere, its closely-held branding secrets have been spilled by way of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The Galaxy S9 is an audio powerhouse. It has the first set of stereo speakers on a Samsung flagship, and it even comes standard with a set of AKG-tuned earbuds that would normally cost $99. But if you want to further enhance your audio experience, there's a feature that will customize audio output to your own specific hearing.
Prior to Apple's earnings report on Thursday, the storm clouds were gathering as Wall Street prepared for bad news in the wake of reports of slower iPhone sales. But it turns out that those fears were mostly unwarranted. Apple managed to increase iPhone revenue during the December quarter, despite selling slightly fewer phones.
This week, saw two companies leaning on AR to prop up their financial futures. On one hand, Apple made quite a bit of AR-related news ahead of its quarterly earnings report next week. On the other hand, Vuzix launched a pre-order program for its Blade smartglasses and closed the largest financing deal in the company's history to fuel its ongoing headset production.
While Black Friday shoppers found countless deals on all kinds of smartphones, one device was overtly left out of the price cuts — the iPhone X. Walmart was the only store to offer a promotion on the newest Apple device, and even then, it was difficult to find. Cyber Week appears to have repeated recent history, with only one store offering a special on the iPhone X, but it's not Walmart this time.
Considered by many (perhaps unfairly) to be a very public failure, Google Glass can add another plot point to its comeback story, this time as a tool to teach social skills to children and adults with autism.
The latest installment in the Alien movie franchise, Alien: Covenant, came out many months ago, and the fan day dedicated to the franchise, Alien Day, April 26, is long past. But for many Alien fans, Alien Day is every day. For those loyal members of the xenomorph-worshipping tribe, a new augmented reality-powered book has arrived to serve their science fiction needs until the next film is released.
The Free App of the Week is as cool as it sounds. Apple features one app every week on the front page of its App Store that comes completely free. Once you download it, you have access to all future updates, just like you would if you purchased the app in full. Sounds great right? There's just one problem — it's missing.
Using either iMessages or FaceTime on the iPhone is a great alternative for coworkers to stay in touch in the event that messaging services like Slack go down. They're also a handy means of communicating between buyers and sellers, as it provides a more intimate way of either checking out or showcasing a product. But you're not always going to want to give out your real number to everyone.
It has been an interesting few days in developer news. The Microsoft blog has been busy with information relative to the augmented reality space. Meta 2 has also announced an interesting development this week. Here is a collection of various tidbits that have been collecting up.
Elon Musk's SpaceX is launching the world's most powerful rocket. The Tesla founder and CEO says the company is about to go through "manufacturing hell" to make delivery schedules for its new Tesla 3. Somehow, Musk says Tesla will offer Level 5 driving (so you can take a nap while your car drives you to and from work) within two years.
The number of households in the US that go hungry because they lack money for food hit a high of almost 15% in 2011. While that number continues to decline, nearly 13% of American households still go hungry.
If it's not official by now, it really should be: if you're going to sell cosmetics, you need an augmented reality app. Of course, that's not all augmented reality is good for. It can be used to animate medical models and engage sports fans. Read on below…
I have spent a good portion of this year traveling between cities and various emergent technology conferences and events. Most of these events have been really good, but in terms of augmented and mixed reality, the Augmented World Expo, in its eighth year running, definitely stood above the rest.
In the race to outsmart "untreatable" antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea, one of the three new treatments on the track is about to enter Phase 3 clinical trials. Hopefully, it'll be widely accessible sooner rather than later, for the 78 million people who are diagnosed with gonorrhea each year.
China's Baidu, the Chinese equivalent of Google, live streamed a video yesterday of CEO Robin Li riding a self-drive vehicle along the streets and highways of Beijing.
Waymo claims in court documents filed yesterday in its lawsuit against Uber that ex-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick knew that former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski was in the possession of stolen documents while employed at the troubled ride-sharing firm.
Leading tier-one supplier Continental has confirmed it will sell driverless platforms developed from BMW, Mobileye, and Intel's previously announced alliance, giving the company a potential edge over competitors by widening the range of technologies it offers directly to OEMs.
Streptococcus and staphylococcus bacteria produce toxins that can cause toxic shock syndrome.
Wegmans recently partnered with Instacart, an online grocery-delivery app, to bring your groceries right to you. The collaboration will begin in the suburbs around Washington, DC, and Wegmans plans to expand to other areas later on.
It looks like all the unregulated fun and games we were having promoting products on Instagram is about to get, well ... regulated. According to a new report by Mediakix, 93% of celebrities on Instagram are not in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission when it comes to posting paid content.
To celebrate its tenth anniversary, PornHub has just exposed all of our porn habits. All. Of. Them. Before you panic, no individual information has been released. Instead, PornHub has exposed the adult video trends and preferences of a variety of demographics.
Ride-hailing services are everywhere nowadays and with new companies developing all the time, it is one of the most convenient ways for people to get around. Companies like Uber make it easy for passengers to call a car to pick them up and drive them to their desired location. These services have been especially helpful for commuters as well as those who might need a ride home after a night at the bar. However, ride-hailing services require driving with a total stranger, which means the safet...
Our canine best friends could spread our bacterial worst nightmare, according to a recent study. The problem with drug-resistant bacteria is well known. Overused, poorly used, and naturally adaptive bacteria clearly have us outnumbered. As science drives hard to find alternative drugs, therapies, and options to treat increasingly resistant infections, humans are treading water, hoping our drugs of last resort work until we figure out better strategies.
Uber's year is going from bad to worse, and they may be subject to a potential criminal probe in the ongoing Waymo legal battle.
This week's Brief Reality is led by a pair of stories with an eye to the future of the augmented reality industry, first in terms of standards for the industry, then with regards to its future applications in the automotive realm. Finally, one company looks to boost its future sales with an executive hire.
Stratford may soon become Canada's answer to Silicon Valley as the driverless car industry arrives. Potentially changing the character of the Ontario town known for hosting the Stratford Festival, a celebration of all things Shakespearean and stage-related.
Figuring out exactly which apps on your phone are eating through resources and battery life can be a difficult task. Though some information can be found in Android's battery menu, the charts and graphs provided here pale in comparison to what's offered by the GSam app. If you configure this app properly, it provides deep insight into battery, CPU, and data usage.
