Next to Apple, Snap is currently one of the most important companies on the planet in terms of delivering products that are moving augmented reality into the mainstream. That's why it's no surprise that Facebook, which is also focused on AR and tried to acquire the company for $3 billion several years ago, duplicates many of the smaller company's features.
The year in augmented reality 2019 started with the kind of doom and gloom that usually signals the end of something. Driven in large part by the story we broke in January about the fall of Meta, along with similar flameouts by ODG and Blippar, the virtual shrapnel of AR ventures that took a wrong turn has already marred the landscape of 2019.
On Monday, Apple unveiled its Apple Card, the company's boldest move yet toward becoming a truly mainstream mobile payments company. And the product has vast implications for our augmented reality future, some of which may not be immediately obvious to many.
User interfaces for computers have evolved over the years, from the introduction of the keyboard and mouse on the personal computer, to touchscreens on mobile devices, to natural voice recognition. However, the same cannot be said for robots or drones—until now.
When Apple recently unveiled iOS 8, many of the newly-added features in their mobile OS seemed eerily familiar to Android users. This is probably because the vast majority of these new features have been available in Android for quite some time.
An easy way to use a voice command to dial your iPhone is by downloading an ap that enables you to do just that. Without a built in voice dialing system, you will have to turn to external solutions if you wish to have this ability.
There's a set of drawing tools that have been available for a long time on the iPhone that helps you create handwritten notes and sketches. It's great when you need a free-form way to capture your ideas, and now it's even better. Apple added shape recognition in iOS 14 so that you can now draw geometrically perfect shapes using finger doodles, giving the older shapes tool a run for its money.
KeePass, the free, open-source password manager, has an excellent Android client in Keepass2Android. Its UI is slicker than many of the other ports, it's packing most of the features you'd find in the official Windows version, and it's completely free. Now, it's even adding native biometrics support.
We may or may not see Apple's long-awaited take on AR smartglasses this year, but the company is more than getting its practice swings in with its current wearables business, which hit record revenue in 2019 according to financial results released this week.
The week in AR business news started out with a bang with two bombshell reports that cast a shadow on the AR industry as a whole.
Long before the HoloLens or the Magic Leap One, a California-based team of independent filmmakers envisioned what the future of augmented reality might look like.
As the Augmented World Expo (AWE) prepares to open its doors to AR developers and enthusiasts, we sat down with founder Ori Inbar to talk about AR's growth over the past decade, and what the future may hold.
In recent weeks we've talked about the growing trend of smartglasses makers moving the brains of their devices to smartphones, and now a veteran of the space has joined that movement.
With any password manager, the only password you need to remember is the master password that locks the vault from both hackers and the company. This makes the master password very important. But what happens if you forget this password? Well, LastPass has you covered.
Over the past two years, the tech industry has formed a series of symbiotic relationships that are now converging in the augmented reality space. This week, we took a look at these interrelated technologies and how they are shaping the future of AR.
Anyone who has been within a block of any wireless brick and mortar store or tech conference in the last couple of years has no doubt seen banners, posters, and videos promoting 5G high-speed wireless services on the way.
Just when we thought the AT&T partnership with Magic Leap wouldn't really take off until the latter launched a true consumer edition of the Magic Leap One, the dynamic duo jumped into action this week to offer the current generation headset to customers.
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.
The Apple rumor mill is getting its first real workout of 2019, and this time the whispers are more exciting than usual.
Publicly, things have been pretty quiet over at Meta, the augmented reality headset and software startup based in Silicon Valley. But that doesn't mean that the company doesn't have a few strong opinions about the state of AR in 2018.
The dream of Google Glass lives on via North's stylish and normal-looking smartglasses that bring text messages and navigation prompts into the user's field of view and Amazon Alexa integration for voice-activated assistance.
Despite the launch of ARKit a year ago, and ARCore this year, a true killer app has not arrived for either platform, that's according to the head honcho for one of the leading development environments for 3D applications.
While numerous startups are competing to convert the AR Cloud from a pie-in-the-sky to a reality, Wikitude is thinking smaller with the latest edition of its augmented reality SDK.
Coming into this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the common sentiment among observers was that this was expected to be the big year for augmented reality.
As smartphones become more accessible, billions of people have come to depend on their features for daily life. One of the most important aspects these days is the camera. OEMs have been working for years to improve camera quality, and they seem to have finally figured it out — the best way to achieve DSLR-quality photos wasn't just with better sensors, but with better intelligence.
A new dating app has arrived, and it'll finally land you a date with your celebrity crush ... kind of. The app — Dating AI — uses face search technology to help you search for potential love interests that resemble a celebrity you're attracted to.
Who would have thought that musical.ly would be the first social media app with a highly successful original show?
Sometimes it's impossible to concentrate — let alone direct your personal assistant Siri — when someone is blasting music on their phone or talking to thin air. I mean I'm loud, but not that loud.
An ESP32-based microcontroller with a camera is an amazing platform for video, but not all modules are created equal. We'll go over the pros and cons of some of the popular low-cost camera modules you can use with ESP32-based development boards, as well as what features they support.
Before you go out to protest, understand what you are facing. Sometimes these demonstrations become infected with looters and rioters, which could mean interaction with law enforcement and potentially arrest. And if your phone is on you, it can be used as a tool against you.
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.
As we settle into our new normal, this extra time provides a perfect opportunity to learn new skills. Speaking a foreign language is a great way to expand your cultural boundaries while also training your brain. Not only will you pass the time more effectively, but you'll also be doing something positive for your health.
With every new Galaxy flagship release comes the age-old dilemma: do I choose great hardware or great software? For years, Samsung has given users the best components available on any smartphone. The problem is the software is an acquired taste. But there is something you can do about it.
As first reported by Next Reality last year, game developer Preloaded, in partnership with BBC Studios, has finally launched BBC Earth - Micro Kingdoms: Senses.
Alternate US history is the go-to move for hot new cable and streaming shows, from HBO's Watchmen to Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, reimagining how things might have turned out is an endless well of narrative inspiration.
Though Microsoft has had trouble keeping up with the demand for HoloLens 2, the company has been able to supply modified headsets to the US Army.
The UK has officially exited the European Union, completing the long and tumultuous Brexit story and putting the storied nation once again on its own on the international stage.
Augmented reality's status as a new storytelling medium has already led to the reinvention of filmmaking and journalism.
The international profile of augmented reality startup Nreal continues to quietly rise thanks to gradual updates and various strategic branding opportunities.
The first headset running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset from an original equipment manufacturer is official.
