Thanks to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, video games are constantly evolving to higher degrees of sophistication, with complex graphics, lifelike resemblances and storylines that create exciting experiences that relieve the tediousness of our everyday lives.
Sure, Microsoft has mostly marketed its HoloLens headsets towards enterprises and developers, but we learned this week that, like every other tech giant, the company is working on a consumer-grade AR wearable. Speaking of consumer smartglasses, Apple made another strategic investment this week that has implications for Apple's AR future.
This week, Google showed off some wild new and innovative AR experiences that showcase the WebXR protocol for browser-based AR content, while 8th Wall applied its own web-based AR platform in service of Captain Morgan.
Among the various components of the emerging augmented reality space, the most lucrative is the advertising market. The prospect of turning every object, every location, ever signpost in the real world into a discount code or virtual transaction interface is why AR will ultimately be more profitable than VR.
The Super Bowl isn't just the most important NFL game of the year, it's also the biggest night for brands to bring their most creative advertisements to a vast television audience.
Computer vision is a key component in enabling augmented reality experiences, but now it can help give sight to the blind as well. In this case, that assistance comes from Envision, developers of mobile apps for iOS and Android that use optical character recognition (OCR) and object detection to provide an audio description of the user's surroundings.
One of the hallmarks of augmented reality's coming of age is that the technology is starting to find a home in business categories that are less obvious compared to typical AR enterprise use cases.
The newly enhanced focus from Magic Leap on enterprise, announced on Tuesday, also came with a few companies opting to weigh in with their experiences developing for the platform.
While Apple, Facebook, and Snapchat are still working on their first-generation AR wearables, startup North is already preparing to bring its second-generation smartglasses to the world in 2020.
Those going on crazy off-road adventures, taking their inspiration from various SUV commercials, are likely to encounter many unexpected, all-terrain dangers.
The 15-year-old star of the 1980s-inspired hit series Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown, may have (spoiler alert) lost all her powers as the character "Eleven," but in the real world, she still has augmented reality in her arsenal.
Fast-food chain Jack in the Box has decided to put an augmented reality twist on the traditional sweepstakes promotion by employing the immersive powers of Snapchat.
Almost half a year after we broke the story about the demise of Meta Company, there's good news for fans of the augmented reality startup — a rebirth is at hand.
While painting in augmented reality is not a groundbreaking pursuit, the ability for Magic Leap One, iPhone and iPad, and Android users to collaborate remotely on virtual artwork would be.
Now that Lego Movie 2, a film about an imaginary world made of plastic bricks existing parallel to the real world, is in theaters, it's the perfect time to shop for Lego apparel at a store modeled after that world.
Move over, cosmetics companies. The athletic footwear industry wants to be able to give their customers the opportunity to try on products in augmented reality as well.
Already a powerhouse for its graphic design tools, Adobe is making a run at the 3D content creation realm dominated by Unity and Epic Games by acquiring software maker Allegorithmic.
Hollywood has already proven that it's on board with augmented reality, with examples ranging from Avengers: Infinity War to Ralph Breaks the Internet. But one startup wants to make the augmented reality content that's being used to promote TV and film entertainment smarter.
The company behind augmented reality's first real gaming hit, Pokémon GO, is quietly making moves toward supporting the rapidly growing smartglasses space that may one day move its content away from smartphones and tablets and onto AR lenses positioned on your face.
Earlier this year, Samsung released the Galaxy J3 and J7 to select markets. These two devices are the latest in the J series, Samsung's super-budget series that tries to rewrite what it means to be a budget phone. Now, starting September 14th, you will be able to get them GSM unlocked.
The latest version in Epson's Moverio line of smartglasses looks to offer a headworn window into the world that prioritizes versatility as well as mobility.
Just a year after facing trade secret theft allegations from his former employer, ex-Meta Company employee Kevin Zhong and his new company are ready to ship the product that triggered the lawsuit.
Users of Epson's smartglasses can now tell their devices to "talk to the hand" when it comes to passwords and authentication.
Cosmetics maker Coty is hanging an augmented reality Magic Mirror on the wall of its Bourjois boutique in Paris that will tell customers which shade of makeup will make them the fairest of them all.
A new smartglasses powerhouse is rising in Europe, led by two of the region's leading brands, optical systems company Zeiss (also known as Carl Zeiss) and telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom.
A few months ago, we gave you a small peek at a new entrant in the race to deliver augmented reality smartglasses to the masses, and now the device is finally ready for the public. ThirdEye Gen is now accepting preorders for its X1 Smart Glasses, which will also provide users with an AR-centric app store.
Augmented reality headsets with larger eye boxes than any device currently available could make their way to market by the end of next year if current timelines hold true.
Cruise Automation, the driverless car startup General Motors (GM) bought for $1 billion in 2016, is readying a formidable fleet of robo-taxis for rollout in cities throughout the US. But when it comes to details about how the company plans to realize these lofty goals, it's been fairly tight-lipped.
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.
Volvo Cars' claims it will offer Level 4 models by 2021 means the premium carmaker will likely have to finalize the driverless design to meet the aggressive timeline by next year at the latest.
Do you know what your smartphone is made of? I've had smartphones for years, but if you asked me that question I'd probably respond with "Wi-Fi." For uninformed consumers like myself, it may shock you to know just how much goes into creating a smartphone.
Uber's struggles are expected help Lyft get ahead in driverless development as it confirms its third partnership with autonomous tech company nuTonomy today.
Augmented reality is quickly becoming a popular tool for marketing use cases, as demonstrated by new projects serving the automotive, entertainment, and tourism industries this past week.
The Google Pixel was just knocked off its pedestal as DxOMark Mobile's best smartphone camera, courtesy of the HTC U11. Ouch ...
Amazon's first venture into the wireless phone market was a crash and burn moment — and that's us being kind. Their FirePhone went down in flames almost instantly, no pun intended.
Last week, Next Reality wrote about how the Microsoft HoloLens team is partnering with thyssenkrupp. Their mission? To bring mixed reality to the workplace. Now, Microsoft has just confirmed in a blog post that the HoloLens has passed the basic impact tests for protective eyewear in North America and Europe.
Galaxy S8 preorders have begun arriving at doorsteps, and some websites seem to be enamored by Samsung's latest visual revamp of TouchWiz — but don't buy the hype, it's a trap! From TouchWiz to Grace UX to Samsung Experience, no matter what the name is, it's still the same old clunky framework everyone has hated from the start. Samsung may have put a fancy little bow on it, but TouchWiz is still a resource-hogging behemoth underneath its shiny new theme.
We all know Google's Image Search to be our trusty little companion when it comes to browsing through ideas on the web. Now, Google is adding on "style ideas" to its search feature to help you boost your "style IQ" every time Google catches you snooping through new handbags on the market.
Udacity, the online education startup that set out to train a school of self-driving car engineers, is now spinning off into its own autonomous tech company called Voyage.