While there were many highlights during Apple's keynote address at WWDC this year, the new advancements to the sassy personal assistant Siri in iOS 7 were amongst the most talked about—and something I was eager to test drive myself. Currently, there are ways to improve Siri in iOS 6, like making her play Spotify music or adding more commands, but those aren't easy tasks.
While Siri's integration with the iPhone is becoming increasingly substantial, restrictions with the intelligent personal assistant are apparent when it comes to third-party apps like Google Maps, Netflix, and Spotify (unless your iPhone is jailbroken, of course). As an avid Spotify user, it's distressing that I can't use Siri to navigate through the music streaming service's extensive library. In the car, I use Spotify about 90% of the time and it can become increasingly frustrating to chang...
After everyone updated their shiny Apple devices to iOS 6 a few months ago, they were shocked to find that their beloved YouTube app was missing. As it turned out, Apple decided to kick YouTube off their list of pre-installed stock apps. The new YouTube app (found in the iTunes App Store) is definitely better than the native one from iOS 5, but it's lacking a direct upload to YouTube option. Sure, you could upload videos from your iPhone's Camera Roll, but the options are limited as to what y...
Microsoft's most anticipated OS has finally arrived, and there's no doubt that all of you out there who snagged a copy of Windows 8 are excited to see what's new. But while Windows 8 has received plenty of rave reviews, some users are upset about one controversial change—the missing Start menu. The implementation of the new Metro interface has rendered the old Start menu unnecessary, but some folks just want what they're used to. If you're one of those users who wants the classic Start menu i...
Since its inception, Google+ fans have been clamoring for Google Calendar integration. Today, Google+ has launched something better: Google+ Events.
In iOS 15, Apple unveiled a new feature called Focus, an extension of Do Not Disturb that lets you focus on the one thing that's important at any particular moment. It does so by minimizing distractions from your iPhone and other Apple devices, but there's a lot you should know about setting up and using Focus on your iPhone or iPad before you dig in.
When Tim Cook, Craig Federighi, and other core Apple leaders take the stage for WWDC 2021 on June 7, we'll hear a lot about exciting new things to come. We're likely to see what's in store for watchOS 8 and macOS 12, but more importantly, we'll get a glimpse at what iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 will be like.
Apple's iOS 13 has been available for beta testing since June, and the stable release pushed out to everyone on Thursday, Sept. 19. To help you make the most out of iOS 13 for iPhone, we've rounded up everything you'll want to know, whether a colossal feature, small settings change, interface update, or hidden improvement.
Trying to figure out which music streaming service to subscribe to can be a difficult task when the playing field is so crowded. Each has its benefits, as well as downsides, so finding the right one for your needs and wants can take a lot of overwhelming research. But we've done all the research for you to help you find the best music subscription your money can buy.
One of the best recent outings in the Marvel universe is the animated series What If...?, which explores alternate universe takes on various superhero storylines that deliver fascinating scenarios if one single factor had been different in the story.
WWDC 2017 is right around the corner, where Apple is expected to reveal iOS 11, the newest version of their mobile operating system. There have been many rumors floating around about what iOS 11 will have in store for us, but not all of those features will end up in the final product — and a lot of the features you want won't actually make the cut, either. But that doesn't mean we can't hope for the best.
Apple's newest mobile operating system, iOS 8, is out for the general public, and we've got a rundown on the best new features you can use on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. While there's not a huge visual change as there was from iOS 6 to iOS 7, there's still plenty of cool new features in iOS 8 to be excited about.
The launch of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was also the launch of Google Now, a service that was supposed to one-up Siri, the resident personal assistant for iOS devices. Google Now offered enticing features, but its launch went unnoticed by a great many Android users.
While Snapchat had a head start in making augmented camera effects popular on smartphones, Facebook has spent the past few years in hot pursuit, with no less than three apps offering mobile AR experiences, plus its Portal hardware lineup of smart home devices.
Those of us who've taken the time to learn how to code are relatively well-suited for shakeups in the economy. Despite the recent and notable disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, demand for talented and trained programmers and developers is still high, and it will likely keep rising as companies in every industry adapt their business models to a more remote world.
The powers of the Nreal Light continue to increase incrementally with each passing week. Now, the latest feature added to the device is possibly the most requested feature for anyone who has tried the Nreal Light: hand tracking.
Brace yourselves: Nreal Light clones are coming. Since the China-based startup wowed the crowd at CES 2019 with its consumer-centric smartglasses, a number of followers from Asia have emerged, and all with very similar aesthetics to Nreal Light.
China-based smartphone maker Oppo is ready to put Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon chips in its latest round of smartphones, but, like Qualcomm, Oppo is also preparing to move on to augmented reality wearables.
Edison Mail's big Assistant update means more features and functions for you in a convenient, efficient package. One of the most significant changes to come with the 1.17.0 (iOS) and 1.12.0 (Android) updates is calendar functionality for all connected email accounts. Other apps, like Spark, have had this for some time, but we're excited that Edison has finally jumped aboard the bandwagon, too.
Edison Mail's big 1.17.0 (iOS) and 1.12.0 (Android) updates introduce a new, powerful Assistant to the mix. Aside from the fresh calendar integration and extensive customizability, you'll probably be most interested in the Assistant's unsubscribe feature. It helps to locate and cut down on your inbox's ever-growing jungle of spam. Here's how it works.
As a frequent collaborator with Qualcomm, it would be kind of weird if Nreal didn't have something new to unveil at this week's Snapdragon Summit.
There have been hundreds of reports of Google Calendar users receiving notifications for events they didn't create. These "events" are actually spam ads and potential phishing threats. If this has happened to you, you're not alone — but luckily, there's a way to put an end to it.
After testing the waters with a few pop-up stores along the West Coast earlier this year, North is bringing its smartglasses to more cities across the US and Canada.
Augmented reality platform maker Zappar and its marker-based augmented reality technology have been around well before Apple and Google brought markerless AR to mobile apps.
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.
The first annual Snap Partner Summit kicked off on Thursday in Los Angeles, and with it came some new products announcements, several of which enhance Snapchat's already robust augmented reality powers.
Over the past year, two trends have emerged among augmented reality development software: make it easier to create AR content, and give AR apps better environmental understanding with just a smartphone camera.
The word on the street is Android users want a dark mode. With the increased usage of AMOLED panels on smartphones (including some midrange devices), there is a considerable demand for dark themes and their battery saving benefits. Recently, Nova just added the feature to Google Discover.
It's not easy staying fit and healthy these days with addicting phones, oversized portions, and long workdays, to name just a few things. To succeed, it takes work, commitment, and an understanding of your mind and body — and your iPhone can help you with some of that. While Apple pushed its Screen Time tool to help curb unhealthy smartphone habits, its "Health" app can help with everything else.
First, there was SnapCat. Now, we have DogChat! Or SnapBark? In October, Snapchat took social media by storm with its Lenses for cats. But the latest addition to the camera app has given dog lovers an augmented reality Christmas gift they won't want to return.
Occipital's initial augmented reality module, the Structure Sensor, gave iPhones and iPads the depth-sensing abilities of the HoloLens. Now, the company's latest product promises to do the same for Android devices, as well as augmented reality and virtual reality headsets and other devices.
Magic Leap One owners, start your virtual engines, as automotive virtual reality developer RelayCars has published an app to Magic Leap World that lets users customize and test drive a 2019 Kia Stinger.
On Sunday, Apple CEO Tim Cook (the number one person on our NR30 list) made a rare television appearance to talk about and show off his current obsession: augmented reality.
On Tuesday, Blue Vision Labs, one of three Google-backed companies working on AR Cloud platforms, announced its acquisition by ride-sharing company Lyft.
Snapchat has officially unveiled its Visual Search service for Amazon (teased a month ago), a tool the company began testing on Monday.
Google Photos integrates with Google's ecosystem to bring you awesome features like the ability to identify landmarks, track down products you've photographed, and so much more. Now, if you need to translate foreign words in any of your pictures, the app has you covered as well.
The latest preview build for Microsoft HoloLens is packed with new sharing features, including support for the Miracast protocol.
Another massive piece of the mysterious augmented reality puzzle known as Magic Leap fell into place on Wednesday as AT&T announced that it will be the exclusive launch carrier for the device.
We're starting to see more WhatsApp integration with apps that Facebook also owns. We got our first glimpse last year with the ability to share Instagram posts directly to WhatsApp contacts. Now, the same is being tested on the Facebook app itself, so users will be able to share statuses, videos, photos, and more to WhatsApp.
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.
