News: Apple Maps Revamped with 3D Map Navigation in iOS 15
With its latest version of Apple Maps, Apple has made perhaps its strongest push since the launch of the app to dethrone Google Maps from its perch atop the App Store rankings.
Movers Arrived Search Results
News: Apple Kicks Off September Event with Augmented Reality Welcome Mat
We always know roughly when Apple events are coming, but when their new product events pop up, they're always a pleasant tech refresher from the Cupertino tech giant.
News: Snap Adds Upper Garment Segmentation, Multiple Object Detection, & More with Lens Studio 4.1
After adding full-body tracking and 3D body mesh in its past two Lens Studio updates, Snap continues to supply creators, particularly apparel retailers, with tools for creating clothing-centric AR experiences.
News: Google Extends AR Search Lead Over Apple with Landmark Recognition for Google Lens
This week, Apple unveiled its own version of Google Lens in the form of Live Text. In response, Google just hit back with a new feature for its visual search tool called Places, a new search category that can recognize landmarks and return information on them within the camera view, which Apple touted as a capability of Live Text during its WWDC keynote.
News: Join Loki on His Time-Traveling Adventures with This Snapchat Lens
Like its predecessors WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel's latest series for Disney Plus, Loki, has its own augmented reality experience.
News: NBCUniversal Teases Augmented Reality-Powered Shopping via TV
Consumers who haven't already delved into the interactive wonders of augmented reality are about to be pushed into the immersive waters by market forces.
News: Facebook Portal TV Evolves as Remote Work Device with Zoom & GoToMeeting Support
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook enjoyed a boost in sales of Portal, its smart video cameras with AR effects, as social distancing became the norm.
News: Niantic Adapting Pikmin as Mobile AR Game in New Alliance with Nintendo
Two of the three entities behind Pokemon GO, the reigning champion in mobile augmented reality gaming, are joining forces again to see if lightning can strike more than once.
Market Reality: Apple Launches AR App, Brands Blitz Super Bowl with AR Ads & AR Content Arrives for Zoom via Arvizio
After weeks of reports about their first augmented reality device, Apple actually shipped a real AR product this week in the form of a TV tie-in AR app.
News: Apple Has Secured Micro OLED Supply Partner for Future AR Devices, Says Report
Like the layers of an onion, 2021 continues to peel back new hints of Apple's kinda-secretive augmented reality device development.
How To: Binge Netflix Shows Faster by Increasing Playback Speed
Not including playback speed controls in a video app is a design flaw. These controls are useful tools that let you speed up or slow it down a video. Want to catch all the Easter eggs in Avengers: Infinity Wars? Slow it down. Want to rewatch the last season of Strangers Things before the new season arrives? Speed it up.
How To: Learn to Design Stunning Games with No Programming Experience
GameGuru was created for game enthusiasts who are not programmers or designers. By offering catalogs with thousands of royalty-free assets, GameGuru lets design novices bring their visions to life.
How To: Enable Popup Notification Bubbles for Your Chats in Android 11
Android 10 added the framework for OS-wide chat bubbles, a feature popularized by Facebook Messenger. The new system allows you to interact with incoming messages as if you were in the app — all without having to leave your current app. In Android 11, this feature is finally activated.
How To: The iPhone SE Is Official — Here's How to Make Sure You Get Your Hands on One Before They Sell Out
The 2020 iPhone SE had been through the rumor mill for a long time, but Apple finally unveiled the second-generation iPhone SE on Wednesday, April 15. While it doesn't sport the 4-inch design of the original SE, it combines a small form-factor with modern specs. The big question, of course, is when and how you can get your hands on one.
News: Apple's iOS 13.4 Developer Beta 1 for iPhone Includes New Memoji Stickers & More Convenient Mail Tools
What could Apple be planning here? Are we going to see some revolutionary new features for the iPhone? Will we see mostly bug fixes and security patches? It's time to find out, as Apple just released the first developer beta for iOS 13.4.
News: This Is Why All Augmented Reality Startups Suck
People fundamentally distrust magicians. And they should. The illusions they proffer are just that, illusions meant to astound rather than tangible interactions and results that have weight and meaning in our real world. Our lizard brains know this, and, no matter what the outstanding feat of "magic" presented, we nevertheless hold fast to our survival-based grip on the truth: we just saw simply "can't be real."
Market Reality: Google Updates ARCore & Cuts Glass, Star Wars AR in Japan, & Hands-On Magic Leap for Fashion & Voice
After facing reports of financial troubles over the past month, Magic Leap came out swinging this week with a big push for the enterprise segment of AR, including a repackaged Magic Leap 1, a suite of enterprise apps, and updates to Lumin OS and its supporting development ecosystem. Oh, and its AR headset managed to win a starring role in the marketing juggernaut for the forthcoming Star Wars movie.
News: Magic Leap Repackages Developer Tools as The Lab, Publishes Updates to Lumin SDK & Lumin OS, & Previews Magicverse SDK
Along with rebranding Magic Leap 1 for enterprise customers, Magic Leap has gifted its developer community with some new toys with a tease of more to come in 2020.
How To: Play Apex Legends on Your Phone Right Now
With EA chief executive Andrew Wilson stating the official mobile version of Apex Legends won't arrive until the 2021 fiscal year, fans have to wait at least another year to enjoy their favorite battle royale game on the go. But for those who can't wait, there are ways to play the game on iPhone and Android right now.
How To: Rearrange & Remove Apps from Your iPhone's Home Screen in iOS 13
Whether you're used to 3D Touch or Haptic Touch, deleting and rearranging apps and folders on your iPhone is a little bit different in iOS 13.
News: The Future of Augmented Reality Mainstream Adoption
What does mainstream augmented reality look like? I'm not talking about the stuff you see in concept videos and science fiction films. No. What does it really look like?
Opinion: Apple's New Credit Card Is an Essential Piece of Its Impending AR Smartglasses Rollout. Here's Why
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.
Hands-On: Hands-On with the Nreal Light, Smartphone-Powered Augmented Reality Immersion
While Microsoft dominated the augmented reality news at this year's Mobile World Congress, a small AR startup we've covered in the past arrived in Barcelona, Spain, to unveil the next phase of its mission.
News: All the Latest Leaks & Rumors on the LG G8 ThinQ
Update: The LG G8 ThinQ has been announced. You can read all of the official specs at our full article on the new phone.
Market Reality: Meta Claims Insolvency, ODG Ends in Fire Sale, New Smartglasses Flood CES 2019
The week of the annual Consumer Electronics Show is supposed to be filled with good news for the augmented reality industry as AR headset and smartglasses makers show off their new wares.
News: The 5 Most Innovative Augmented Reality Products of 2018
In 2018, augmented reality went from the vague promise of interesting things in the near future to tangible developments in software and hardware, proving that immersive computing is indeed the future.
News: MoviePass Works Great for Limited Users, Everyone Else Should Seek Another Filmgoing Subscription
MoviePass was once the best subscription service on the market for getting cheap movie tickets. For the price and the number of films you could see and save money on, it was unbeatable, but recent changes to the service have made it less enticing. While it still works well for some users, others may have to rely on other options. Personally, I'm leaning toward the latter.
Market Reality: L'Oreal's Rochet Leads NR30's AR Influencers & Magic Leap Demonstrates Its Own Influence at L.E.A.P. Con
This week, Next Reality released the fifth and final set of profiles on the NR30 leaders in augmented reality, with this chapter focusing on the influencers in the industry.
News: In a Major Hit to Apple, Rovio to Launch Angry Birds in AR for Magic Leap
Considering Rovio Entertainment quite literally owes its existence to Apple and the App Store, it may ruffle a few feathers that the company has opted to aim the augmented reality debut of its blockbuster Angry Birds franchise at Magic Leap instead.
News: 10 New AR Features in iOS 12 for iPhone & iPad
Apple's iOS 12 has finally landed. The big update appeared for everyone on Monday, Sept. 17, and hiding within are some pretty amazing augmented reality upgrades for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches. We've been playing with them ever since the iOS 12 beta launched in June, and here are the things we learned that you'll want to know about.
Hacking macOS: How to Hack a MacBook with One Ruby Command
With just one line of Ruby code embedded into a fake PDF, a hacker can remotely control any Mac computer from anywhere in the world. Creating the command is the easy part, but getting the target to open the code is where a hacker will need to get creative.
News: Magic Leap One Teardown Reveals Sophisticated Hardware with Shortish Shelf Life & Low Repairability
One of the primary marketing tactics used by Magic Leap in promoting the Magic Leap One was selling early adopters on the "magic" contained within the device. On Thursday, some of that magic was uncovered as the Magic Leap One was completely disassembled by repair engineers, revealing the delicate innards of the device and detailing how it delivers its augmented reality experiences.
How To: Use Gmail's New Confidential Mode to Send Private, Self-Destructing Emails from Your Phone
Back in July, Google rolled out a new design for the web version of Gmail. The rollout included new features alongside the visual changes, one of which being Confidential Mode. This new privacy-centric feature has now finally arrived on the mobile app version of the service, and here's what you need to know.
How To: 5 Ways to Improve the Bluetooth Experience on Your Samsung Galaxy
Many of us rely on our smartphones for all our media needs. Now more than ever, we're using Bluetooth connections to play audio over speakers, headphones, car sound systems — the list goes on. If you own a Samsung smartphone like the Galaxy S9, there are a number of Bluetooth tweaks and hidden tricks that can maximize your audio experience.
News: Flagship Performance at Midrange Prices — Qualcomm Announces the Snapdragon 710
There's always been a clear divide between flagship and midrange phones. Flagships will run you at least $700, while midrange typically falls between $250 and $550. The main difference is the processor, with midrange phones sporting a 600-series Snapdragon and flagships rocking the 800-series. Now, Qualcomm may have just created another smartphone tier with their newly-unveiled 700-series chip.
How To: Here's What Google Maps Does with Your Data
With over 1 billion downloads on the Play Store alone, Google Maps has become a staple for those traveling. Its popularity is the result of Google consistently improving its accuracy and adding new functionality. And this was only achieved with help of you — specifically, your data.
News: Samsung Unveils the Galaxy Note 9 with a Focus on Gaming & a Brand New S Pen
Samsung hopes to make a splash with the new Galaxy Note 9 to make up for the underwhelming sales of its signature Galaxy S9 series. This flagship is a radical departure from its predecessors — it's now optimized for gaming and paired with the most advanced S Pen stylus to date. Here's everything you need to know.
How To: 7 Tips to Help You Use Waze Like a Pro
Waze is the go-to navigation app for millions of drivers, and it's easy to see why. Benefits such crowd-sourced traffic data, police trap locations, and road work avoidance are just the tip of the iceberg. It can almost be overwhelming, but with these simple tips, you'll master Waze and start navigating like an expert in no time.
How To: Sync All Your Messages with iCloud in iOS 11.4
One major problem in previous iOS versions is that there was no way to keep messages in sync between an iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Mac. If you deleted a message in the Mac app, it would not be deleted on your iPhone, and vice versa. Apple finally fixed this issue in iOS 11.4 by storing all of the messages in iCloud, not on individual devices.
How To: Use SHA-256 Hash to Verify Your Downloads Haven't Been Modified
Any internet user will need to download files eventually, and most simply have faith that what they are downloading is trustworthy. This doesn't give much clarity into the contents of the file, but if the file's author published the original checksum, comparing it to the SHA-256 hash of the downloaded file can ensure nothing was tampered with.