News: How to Pre-Order the HoloLens 2
The debut of Microsoft's HoloLens 2 went off without a hitch, and now it's time to figure out if you want to hop aboard the updated augmented reality train.
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News: Google Releases ARCore 1.7 Update, Adds Face Filters & Expands Animation Support
Snapchat made augmented reality selfie effects famous, with Facebook copying the feature across its mobile apps. Of course, others have followed, but their face tracking apps often pale in comparison to the original.
News: Facebook Acquires Visual Search Startup GrokStyle
The recent pitfalls and media fallout hitting Facebook hasn't stopped the social media giant from looking to the future.
How To: Set Different Downtime Schedules on Your iPhone for Each Day of the Week
When Apple released its Downtime feature in iOS 12, it gave us an easy way to control how much time we spend on our iPhones — but it wasn't perfect. When setting Downtime, you' were forced to use the same time schedule for every day of the week, so your weekdays and weekends had the same restrictions. Apple fixed that issue in iOS 12.2 and later, so lockout periods can be more customized.
How To: Disable This Setting if Notifications Are Delayed on Your OnePlus
OnePlus is known for pushing the boundaries of what we thought was possible for a mid-range price. One of the best things about OnePlus phones is that their battery life is fantastic in general, but to achieve this, Oxygen OS will disable or delay notifications by default once your phone goes into deep sleep mode. You will not be notified until you wake the phone up — this could be an issue for some.
Market Reality: Google Takes on Leap Motion, Snap Spectacles Invade NYC, & Vuzix Starts Selling Mainstream Smartglasses
All of the the tech industry giants, including Apple, Facebook, and Google, are working on new smartglasses and/or AR headsets, but this week, Google took a major step forward with gesture recognition technology that could make its way into AR wearables, posing a threat to Leap Motion and its hand-tracking controllers.
How To: Verify Your Bumble Account to Help Fight Catfishing
As the stigma of online dating fades and swiping potential suitors on your phone becomes the new norm, one very real issue that you may have to deal with is catfishing: the act of being deceived by a fictional online persona. Although dating apps do their best to weed out fake accounts, a few of them slip through the cracks and take advantage of innocent people just looking for a connection.
Hands-On: Snap's Non-Creepy, Fashionable Spectacles Wearable Camera Proves We're Ready for Mainstream AR Smartglasses
The year 2018 was a rough one for Snap, the company behind the Snapchat app and the Spectacles wearable camera device. From executive departures to reports of slowed user growth, the company that once spurned Facebook's multibillion-dollar advances is now facing a moment of truth as it stares down its uncertain future.
News: Google Challenges Leap Motion with FCC Approval of Gesture Recognition Alternative
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has cleared a path for Google to move forward with hand-tracking technology that could pose a major threat to Leap Motion.
How To: Hide the VPN 'Key' Icon on Android — No Root Needed
Depending on how you use your phone, you may have noticed your status bar is a bit crowded due to various icons being enabled. While some icons make sense to have, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the VPN key icon can be redundant, especially if the app uses a notification. Good thing, there is a way to get rid of the icon.
How To: Track Your Sleep Activity in Apple's Health App for iPhone
While keeping your iPhone out of the bedroom might help to avoid unnecessary distractions before bedtime, it could be better served right by your side to help diagnose sleeping issues you may be experiencing each night.
How To: Enable Google Now Integration in Action Launcher
One of the most useful features of the Pixel Launcher is access to the Google Discover page. Initially, this feature was exclusive to Google's launchers, forcing users to give up the customization of apps like Action Launcher if they wanted the quick access to relevant news and updates it provided. Fortunately, this is no longer the case.
How To: Root Your OnePlus 6T with Magisk
With the recent launch of the OnePlus 6T, the company continues to impress us with some of the best phones when it comes to the rooting and modding. OnePlus has made it easy enough to get up and running with the rooting process as fast as possible. The OnePlus devices follow the same core principles Google uses for their Pixels, which is excellent news for both the user and the development side of things.
News: Tim Cook Takes to HBO to Promote the Future of Augmented Reality, Addresses Apple AR Glasses Question
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.
How To: Easily Change Your Phone's Font Without Tripping SafetyNet
You can easily deck out your favorite phone with great wallpapers, ringtones, and icons, but what about fonts? Not all Android skins let you change the system font, and even when they do, the options are often limited to a few choices. Certain root apps can open up the system font to customization, but some of these can cause problems now that Google introduced a security measure called SafetyNet.
News: New York Times Halloween Edition Uses Augmented Reality Bugs to Scare & Educate
Our national month-long celebration of all things creepy and crawly comes to a climax on Wednesday with Halloween and will end with Día de Muertos on Friday, so now is the ideal time for the The New York Times to publish a mildly chilling augmented reality story for children.
News: Magic Leap One Now Available to Most US Consumers, Affirm Partner Offers Buyer Financing
One the main gripes against cutting-edge augmented reality headsets like the Magic Leap One and the HoloLens is the price — they're pretty expensive compared to most consumer devices. Well, now some of that pain has been relieved for those looking to pick up a Magic Leap One as the company has just announced a financing option that allows anyone with a spare $96/month to gradually pay their way into full ownership of the device.
How To: Install Facebook Lite on Your iPhone
In an ongoing effort to improve its services and become more accessible to users from all regions, Facebook has released a streamlined version of its social media app. Though the leaner Facebook Lite is only officially available in Turkey for now, there's a simple workaround you can use to get the app in any country.
How To: Boldbeast Lets You Record Calls on Any Android Phone — with or Without Root
Many apps claim to record phone calls on Android, but very few actually deliver. There's just too many different devices floating around out there for one app to be able to support them all — or so it would seem.
News: Amazon Offering More Than $100K in Prizes for Augmented Reality & VR Apps Built with Sumerian
Amazon Web Services is calling up an age-old tactic of the tech industry — the hackathon — to drum up excitement and encourage the development of apps built on the Amazon Sumerian AR/VR platform.
How To: Remap the Bixby Button on Your Galaxy Note 9
Despite a very vocal distaste for Bixby, Samsung continues to push their voice assistant on customers. For many, the button is not only a waste, but placed perfectly for accidental presses. While it appears Samsung has no intention of giving up on Bixby, with the help of an excellent app, you can get rid of it yourself.
OLED vs. LCD: What You Need to Know About Displays Before Choosing an iPhone XS or XR
The new iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max have everyone buzzing. But, at first glance, the XR and XS look pretty similar in almost every way. So, what's the difference? It comes down to the XR's "Liquid Retina" LCD screen vs. the XS's "Super Retina" OLED display. How do they compare, and why does it matter when considering which new iPhone to preorder?
How To: Craving a Mario Kart Gaming Experience on Your iPhone? Give This Soft Launched Game a Try
Space Ape has soft-launched Go Race: Super Karts, giving you a fresh take on mobile racing games by blending in elements found within the classic Mario Kart series and RPGs for some seriously addicting gameplay. And while it's only available in Australia, Netherlands, and Philippines, there's a workaround to get this game on your iPhone right now, no matter where you are.
How To: Get Your Regular Dock Icons Back on Android Pie's Multitasking Screen
With Android Pie, Google added a genuinely useful feature for Pixels called App Suggestions, which uses AI to predict the apps you might want to use next. These show up at the top of your app drawer and in the new dock in the revamped multitasking UI for quick access. But here's the trouble: Muscle memory is a thing.
How To: Get Fortnite Battle Royale Running on Almost ANY Android Device — No Root Needed
UPDATE: The ported APK covered below is now obsolete because Fortnite beta is officially available for all Android devices!
News: iOS 12 Public Beta 5 Released to iPhone Software Testers
Well, that was unexpected. Apple released the fifth iteration of the iOS 12 public beta on Monday, August 6, just hours after iOS 12 developer beta 6. The company sometimes releases developer and public betas on the same date, sometimes even at the same time, but has not done so during iOS 12's beta period until now.
How To: 11 Micro-Gig Apps to Earn Extra Income Right from Your Phone
The gig economy is thriving, and if you aren't already making money with your phone, you could be missing out on easy residual income. Some people just want extra cash, and some even manage to completely ditch the 9–5, enabling them to work at their own pace and set their own hours.
News: Google Stays Nimble with ARCore 1.4 Update, Bringing Passthrough Camera Auto-Focus & Wider Availability
Google's ARCore team is staying busy, as evidenced by yet another update of its augmented reality toolkit.
News: Microsoft Update Adds Miracast & More Sharing Functions to HoloLens
The latest preview build for Microsoft HoloLens is packed with new sharing features, including support for the Miracast protocol.
How To: This Tweak Gives You iPhone X Gestures on Any iPhone Running iOS 11
The on-screen gestures on the iPhone X have taken touchscreen interaction to a whole new level. While they're needed due to a nearly bezel-less display and lack of a Home button, you can actually get these iPhone X-exclusive swipe gestures on any other model iPhone. The only catch is that you need to be jailbroken.
FYI: Your Answers to Those Instagram Question Stickers Aren't Anonymous
Users on Instagram have taken the app's new "Questions" sticker and run with it — it's tough to find a story in your feed that doesn't proudly sport "Ask me a question." However, it appears there's some confusion when it comes to the anonymity of your answers to these questions. News flash — your username is attached to every response.
How To: Jailbreak iOS 11.2 Through iOS 11.4 Beta 3 on Your iPhone — No Computer Required
It's been a long road, but the guys over at CoolStar have finally come up with a stable, semi-untethered jailbreak for 64-bit iPhones, iPads, and iPad touches running on iOS 11.2 up to 11.3.1, with the latest update extending coverage to 11.4 beta 3. So if you've held off on updating to the latest iOS 11.4.1, your patience has finally paid off.
How To: Send Animated Activity Stickers (That You Didn't Earn) in iMessages
If you have an Apple Watch, you might know that the activity awards you earn can be shared with your friends as iMessage stickers on your iPhone. However, you first have to earn achievements in order to use them as stickers. That changes somewhat with iOS 12, as Apple added animated activity stickers for all Apple Watch users, whether they've earned award badges or not.
News: National Geographic's Open-Air Planetarium Displays Augmented Reality Constellations Through Aryzon Viewers
On June 23, National Geographic will begin welcoming visitors to the world's first outdoor planetarium in Quebec, Canada, where an augmented reality experience overlaid on the night sky will replace the projection systems of traditional facilities.
How To: Get Your FIFA Fix & Play Kings of Soccer on Your iPhone Right Now
Kings of Soccer recently soft launched in the Netherlands and a few other countries, garnering positive reviews from the mobile gamers who've experienced it. With the 2018 FIFA World Cup now in full swing, we wanted to let you in on a little secret: You can play Kings of Soccer right now ahead of everyone else, regardless of where you live.
News: iOS 11.4.1 Beta 2 Released for iPhones with No Real Bug Fixes or Improvements
Apple released the second beta for iOS 11.4.1 on Monday, June 11. The company seeded the update 12 days after the release of the first 11.4.1 beta on May 30. The initial beta brought no new features to iOS 11, just bug fixes and stability updates, and beta 2 appears to be the same case.
How To: Make Your iPhone Automatically Download & Install New iOS Updates
You've been able to install app updates automatically for some time now, but there was no way to install new system updates on your iPhone automatically. To get a new iOS version on your device, you'd go into the settings, then download the update. It would then either install right away or give you the option to install at nighttime. This whole process is easier in iOS 12.
News: iOS 11.4.1 Beta Released for iPhones, Includes 'Bug Fixes & Improvements' Only
Apple released iOS 11.4.1 beta 1 to developers on Wednesday, May 30, just one day after the official release of iOS 11.4, which brought Messages in iCloud and AirPlay 2 to the public for the first time. There does not appear to be any new features in this first iOS 11.4.1 beta, instead focusing on "bug fixes and improvements" only.
How To: Have a Bomberman Itch You Need to Scratch? Try This Soft-Launched Game on Your iPhone
Futureplay has soft-launched Battle Bombers Arena, giving mobile gamers a refreshing twist on MOBA by infusing it with simple but addicting gameplay based on the console classic Bomberman. Though only available in select European countries, this game can be played on your iPhone right now, regardless of where you live.
How To: This Soft-Launched Game Lets You Create & Share Pac-Man Mazes on Your iPhone
Taking a cue from the smash hit Super Mario Maker, Bandai Namco has soft launched PAC-MAN Maker in Canada ahead of a worldwide release. This is welcome news for mobile gamers, as you won't need a console to enjoy this classic arcade game when it finally touches down stateside. But if you want to give PAC-MAN Maker a shot right now, we've got you covered.