While the airline, casino, cruise, and hotel industries are asking for government bailouts during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies around the US are giving away its apps and services for a limited time. So while you're stuck at home, keep your mind off of coronavirus with free movies, TV, music apps, concerts, internet, fitness sessions, classes, and more.
A burner number isn't just for criminals and cheating spouses. In this digital world, with many of our interactions being conducted online, a throwaway phone number acts as a buffer — it lets you enjoy the web without having to give out your personal information, such as real name or phone number.
Your smartphone is likely full of COVID-19 news and coronavirus panic. These are scary days, and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight. If you're having trouble coping with the stress and anxiety the virus brings with it, know that your iPhone or Android device can actually help you, rather than just bring you further down.
Facebook is where a lot of people get their news. The problem, though? Your Facebook feed gets jumbled with random post times, which isn't useful for keeping up with new stories in real-time.
Out of the more than 200 new features Apple included with iOS 13, perhaps none is more anticipated than system-wide dark mode. Finally, we no longer need to blind ourselves when responding to an iMessage late at night or checking Reminders to see the following day's tasks. But this benefit also applies to third-party apps, so long as they are updated accordingly.
It's here! Apple just released the latest version of iOS today, Monday, March 25. Version 12.2 has seen six beta releases, spanning the course of fewer than three months. The new update sports 30+ awesome features, including new Animoji, air quality reports in Apple Maps, and AirPlay 2 support for compatible TVs, in addition to a slew of new UI tweaks and redesigns.
We've been expecting the latest Android Pie update for current Samsung flagships like the Galaxy S9 and Note 9 for some time now, but Samsung's running behind schedule in the United States. Thankfully, it appears that One UI has finally started rolling out for some lucky S9 owners.
Sorry Samsung. I know you really wanted Bixby to be the next Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa — but it just isn't. Burying the option to disable the app won't change that. Sure, Bixby has some redeeming qualities, but there are many of us who don't want it shoved down our throats. We'll show you how to disable the app to prevent it from launching every time you try to access just about anything.
If you've gone anywhere near a television in the US in the last 48 hours, you've probably seen some of the reports of Hurricane Florence and its devastating wind and rain making its way toward the Carolina coast.
Crisis averted — Apple released iOS 12 public beta 6 — not public beta 7 — to software testers Wednesday, August 15. The update comes hours after the release of dev beta 8, which replaced the short-lived seventh developer beta. Apple released dev beta 7 Monday, August 13, but quickly pulled the update due to instability and poor performance.
One of iOS 12's biggest attractions is Group FaceTime, which would allow up to 32 people to video chat together at the same time. It's quite the pitch, and many iOS users are excited to see in action. Unfortunately, Apple has confirmed that Group FaceTime won't be included with iOS 12 when it launches, leaving everyone to chat one-on-one just a little bit longer.
The Magic Leap One: Creator Edition has been teased for months now, and while we still don't know exactly when the sales will begin, it can't be long now because we've discovered a couple of new hints that the device's launch is imminent, hiding in plain sight on the company's website.
Augmented Reality beauty tools have become quite popular lately, and while CoverGirl's didn't exactly turn heads, the new Wanna Nails app by Wannaby looks like a great tool for anyone who uses nail polish.
The Essential Phone was undoubtedly one of the most underrated phones of 2018. It launched with buggy software and camera problems, but the company worked diligently to push out updates. Many Android enthusiasts were anxiously waiting for the Essential 2 release later this summer. Unfortunately, news today from Bloomberg indicates that Essential will not release a phone in 2018.
Royal wedding fever has officially taken over the media, and that obsession with the UK's latest marriage event has now extended to Snapchat, thanks to a new Lens from the Today Show.
Attention LG V30 and G6 owners — Android 8.1 is coming to a device near you. While fans of LG's latest smartphones are still stuck on Nougat here in the US, we now have confirmation that Oreo's first major update will find its way here, even if we aren't sure when.
Intel Corp.'s augmented reality division could ship consumer-focused smartglasses before the end of the year, according to reports.
If preorder delays are any indication, the iPhone X certainly has some buzz. But does the X have the quality to support that buzz in the long run? After all, a $1,000 (or more) iPhone feels more like an investment than a smartphone purchase. The question on any prospective buyer's mind should be, "Is this thing worth it?"
On Oct. 19-20, the MOC Exhibition Center in Munich, Germany will play host to the Augmented World Expo (AWE) Europe 2017.
Who knew the HomePod would stir up so much excitement? Apple's soon-to-be home speaker is an intriguing product, if not a "must-have." I know I'm excited to compare it to the other big-name Bluetooth speakers out there to see if Apple is putting their money where their mouth is. But there's more important news to discuss — the HomePod's firmware has revealed some pretty big secrets about Apple's highly anticipated phone, most notably its bezel-less design, and facial recognition technology.
Screen mirroring app iDisplay has arrived for Vuzix M300 Smart Glasses. With the app installed on the M300 and the companion software running on a Mac or Windows computer, users can mirror or extend the computer's desktop to the headset's display, which is connected to the computer via Wi-Fi or USB cable. The app does not yet appear on Vuzix's app store.
Last month, AT&T made headlines with its disastrous launch of its 5G Evolution network (spoiler alert: it wasn't actually 5G). T-Mobile responded to the embarrassing news by saying the company would be working on its own 5G network, and would take its time rolling it out. Well, T-Mobile may have just pulled an AT&T — T-Mobile is launching LTE-U in the US, and things seem pretty similar to the 5G Evolution's introduction.
The Galaxy S8, with all its new features, is shining in the news right now as one of the best phones of the year. However, users in the US may be at a disadvantage to those overseas, as it seems that the Snapdragon 835-powered S8 models underperform variants with Exynos processors in almost every category.
Magic Leap is no stranger to hype and speculative advancement—when their name pops up in the news, all focus turns to them. And the company is making news again this week, with the knowledge of an acquisition of a startup founded by former Apple employees, and by hiring animators from an Emmy and Oscar award-winning studio.
For a long time, Apple has kept the upper hand on Android as far as app revenue is concerned. However, this tradition looks likely to change this year, as Android's app sales are expected to surpass Apple's.
ASUS is gearing up to move its augmented and virtual reality departments into an independent startup named Glamorfy, according to a recent report from tech news site Fudzilla.
This year's Game Developers Conference, better known as the GDC, is underway at the Moscone Center in San Fransisco, California, and lasts until March 3, 2017. More importantly for us here at NextReality, the Virtual Reality Developers Conference (VRDC)—a new GDC sub-conference geared toward augmented, mixed, and virtual reality—has begun.
Now that the Chromecast development kit has been out for over a month, more and more Android apps are being released or updated to work with the Chromecast.
Starbucks' app is the most used mobile payment app in the U.S. because it's well-designed and convenient. But if you use the iOS version on your iPhone, your username, email address, password and location data could be compromised because the app stores them in plain text.
Via Twitter, HTC, the Taiwanese device manufacturer, announced today that their barely 18 month old flagship phones will not see official updates for anything past Jellybean. HTC went on to elaborate, saying:
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.
Augmented reality plays a key role in the evolution of adjacent technologies, such as 5G connectivity and brain-control interfaces (BCI), and the business news of the week serves up proof points for both examples.
The enterprise sector is where the money is for augmented reality at the moment, and remote assistance apps are the go-to app for many enterprise customers. We took a look at the leading apps and platforms from this category, from the top contenders to the underdogs with unique features.
While Magic Leap turned heads at the Game Developers Conference with AR experiences at the Unity and Unreal Engine booths, news broke that the company was the winning bidder for ODG's patents.
Mixed reviews of Magic Leap One aside, it would be hard to deny that Magic Leap has had a big year. And the AR unicorn isn't coasting to the finish line, with a number of new apps dropping and prescription frames finally arriving to bring relief to those who wear eyeglasses.
Signaling a new direction forward for the company, Magic Leap shook up its executive suite by re-assigning to top leaders to new advisory roles. Meanwhile, a new startup backed by Hollywood executives, tech venture firms, and notable angel investors plans to bring new life to AR for marketing entertainment properties.
The recent announcement of a $480 million US Army contract awarded to Microsoft over Magic Leap for supplying 100,000 augmented reality headsets shows just a how lucrative the enterprise (and government) sector can be for AR.
The North remembers...that smartglasses are the future! Game of Thrones jokes aside, the smartglasses startup opened its doors, and we visited its Brooklyn store to get our hands the consumer-focused Focals smartglasses.
With would-be unicorns Magic Leap and Niantic among its investments, Google is an active investor in augmented reality technology. This week, the search giant experienced both ends of the investment cycle, with an exit via Lyft's acquisition of Blue Vision Labs, and a funding round for Resolution Games.
A week after the L.E.A.P. Conference, our cup of Magic Leap news continues to floweth over, with the company's content chief giving us some insight into the company's strategy, and Twilio sharing what its virtual chat app looks like.