News: North Lets Focals Owners Share Their Experience with Friends via New Software Updates
With the latest software updates for its Focals smartglasses, North has essentially deputized its customers as marketing evangelists to friends and family.
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News: Google Joins Snapchat & Facebook by Adding Augmented Reality Video Effects to Duo App for Valentine's Day
Snapchat and Snap Camera aren't the only augmented reality apps available for couples to use on Valentine's Day.
News: Valentine's Day Lenses for Snapchat & Snap Camera Let You Flirt with Your Crush in Augmented Reality
Mobile augmented reality company Snapchat now has a special option for romantic message exchanging this Valentine's Day, a day which, incidentally, happens to be the first one in 116 years where Sweethearts, the original heart-shaped candy, will be unavailable for purchase.
News: 8th Wall Adds Another Brick to Its Web AR Platform with AR Camera for Easy Prototyping
In the past few years, augmented reality software maker 8th Wall has worked to build its platform into a cross-platform augmented reality toolkit for mobile apps, as well as web-based AR experiences.
News: All There Is to Know About the Moto G7 Play
The newly-announced Moto G7 Play offers some of the same upgrades as its sibling, the Moto G7, but at a much lower price. The upgrades are pretty significant when compared to last year's Moto G6 Play, taking this phone from the "only if you're on a strict budget" category into a great value option.
News: Rokid Glass Gets Major Hardware Update, Unveils Project Aurora Prototype, & Reveals Launch Schedule
Returning to the spotlight after its debut at last year's CES, augmented reality smartglasses maker Rokid is back with a new update.
News: Vermeer Beta iPhone App Lets You Use Augmented Reality to Map Out Your Drone Flight
Augmented reality and drones already go together like turkey and stuffing, but a new iOS app adds some spice to the combination with a new kind of flight path automation.
News: Samsung Unveils Its Project Whare AR Cloud Service & Wacom Partnership for AR Creations
With barely a whisper of augmented reality during the first day of its developer's conference, Samsung came out swinging on day two with the introduction of its version of the AR cloud and a partnership with Wacom that turns Samsung's S-Pen into an augmented reality magic wand.
News: Travelocity Transports Roaming Gnome into Augmented Reality with Its Mobile App
In the latest example of non-tech companies taking on augmented reality marketing, online travel site Travelocity has added an AR version of its Roaming Gnome mascot to its mobile app.
News: AT&T to Launch DirectTV App for Magic Leap One in 2019, Sets Up 5G Test Area at Magic Leap Headquarters
Magic Leap and AT&T have lifted the lid on multiple parts of their mysterious relationship today. According to AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan, the company is planning to launch a beta version of DirectTV Now for the Magic Leap One in 2019.
News: New 'Ghostbusters World' Gameplay Footage Revealed, Haunts Your Neighborhood in the Spirit of Pokémon GO
Location-based AR game Ghostbusters World is creeping closer to launch, and developer FourThirtyThree has released some new gameplay footage and a trailer to capture the interest of the living.
News: Illumix Emerges from Stealth with $8.6 Million in Funding to Build a Mobile AR Gaming Platform from the Ground Up
Apple often cites its tight integration of hardware and software for its success. Startup Illumix is looking to do the same thing for AR gaming by building an AR platform for its apps.
News: Mobile AR Apps Can Now Track Any Surface Using Plane Detection via Wikitude SDK
In the latest update to its augmented reality platform, Wikitude has introduced new plane detection capabilities that can anchor virtual content to surfaces at any orientation.
News: ARKit App WiARframe Wants to Be the Destination for AR Prototyping & Discovery
A new app for iPhones and iPads gives developers a sandbox for testing their AR experiences and sharing them with the world.
How To: Boost Fortnite Performance on Android by Changing These Settings
Fortnite's long awaited arrival on Android has ramped up excitement among gamers who are installing the beta version in astounding numbers. With so many midrange and budget devices running Android, however, it's important to stay on top of your device's performance to ensure smooth and uninterrupted gameplay.
News: Google Makes Case for ARCore Apps to Educators & Marketers
When it comes to mass adoption, augmented reality is still primarily a mobile world, so Google is pitching its own ARCore flavor of mobile AR to the education and marketing segments.
News: Mobile App Like Gives Music Video Auteurs Body-Morphing AR Effects
Usually, the camera adds 10 pounds, but with a new augmented reality effect in Like's mobile app, the camera can actually make you look slimmer.
News: Facebook Adds Sketchfab, Body & Hand Tracking, Background Segmentation, & More to AR Studio
At its F8 developers conference on Tuesday, Facebook announced new tools and features coming in a new version of AR Studio, including the integration of 3D content aggregator Sketchfab's Download API.
News: View the Lands You'll Conquer in 'God of War' with Mimir's Vision AR App
With the heavily anticipated installment of the God of War game series arriving on April 20, PlayStation has taken the opportunity to make its first foray into mobile augmented reality with a companion app.
News: Nickelodeon Reels in AR Mode for Popular Mobile Game Sky Whale
One of the most popular mobile games out there for kids has added an augmented reality mode that brings the titular character into the real world.
News: The Alcatel 1X Is Bringing Android Go & Solid Specs to the US
Since making waves at Mobile World Congress 2018, Android Go devices have slowly trickled their way onto US shores. Only one device was officially announced for the US at MWC, but several OEMs have extended availability to the US in the months since, and it looks like we just received another.
How To: Make Anonymous Calls from Your iPhone
When you don't want somebody you're calling to know the real phone number associated with your iPhone, whether it's for privacy reasons, to avoid being called back, or to prevent being ignored, there are multiple things you can do to block it on their caller ID.
News: Everything You Need to Know About the Galaxy S9's Camera
Mobile World Congress 2018 is here, and with it, Samsung has officially announced the highly anticipated Galaxy S9 and S9+. While we already knew much about the new phones, Samsung's presentation officially filled us in on what to expect from the S9's cameras, including dual aperture, two cameras, and super slo-mo.
Rumor Roundup: Everything We Know About the Moto G6 Plus
Last year, Motorola released their Moto G5 Plus, a fantastic mid-tier machine that earned praise from both reviewers and consumers. Starting at $229, it was well-built and inexpensive considering everything Motorola managed to jam into it. This year, Motorola is looking to replicate the success of their G series with the G6 Plus.
News: Apple Highlights Augmented Reality's Role in Its Future with Dedicated Page on Its Website
Apple CEO Tim Cook's most recent tech prophecy is that "AR will change everything." And now, that includes Apple's own website.
How To: The 4 Best Firefox Mobile Extensions for Privacy & Security
One unique feature of Firefox Mobile is extensions. Extensions allow users to add in features that didn't originally come with the browser. These add-ons provide an array of features, including improvement to privacy and security.
News: Investors Bet $8M on Former Google & Facebook Engineers' Platform-Bridging AR Development Tool
Augmented reality software maker 8th Wall has closed a Series A funding round of $8 million in capital to feed the growth of its development platform.
Dev Report: 'Book of the Dead' Demo Shows New Unity 2018.1 Features Are a Literal Game Changer
In its goal to push the visual quality of real-time rendering to a new level, Unity is starting the new year off right by releasing a sneak peek at its upcoming interactive rendering improvements via a short, three-minute first-person interactive demo called "Book of the Dead."
Market Reality: Augmented Reality Continues to Disrupt Mobile via Facebook, Starbucks, Swarovski & Others
Augmented reality was recently named the "Mobile Disruptor of the Year" for 2017 by Mobile Marketer, but the technology is showing no signs of slowing down as we head into 2018. In fact, the technology appears to be gaining momentum.
News: Old Meets New as Mobile Classic Snake Slithers into AR
If you bought your first mobile phone in the early-to-mid-2000s, there's a good chance that it was a Nokia and it had the game Snake preinstalled.
News: How Razer Used IGZO Display Tech to Achieve 120 Hz Refresh Rates
With their first attempt at the mobile market, Razer introduced a device that looks at the smartphone differently. Instead of focusing on minimal bezels or an amazing camera, Razer decided to make a phone for gamers. So how could Razer target the growing mobile gaming market, which is projected to generate $40.6 billion in global revenue in 2017? It starts with the IGZO LCD Display.
How To: Force Switch to T-Mobile or Sprint on Project Fi
If you own a Pixel or Nexus device, Project Fi is a great alternative for cellular service outside of the four major US carriers. Project Fi is a Google-managed MVNO, providing service primarily through the T-Mobile and Sprint networks. One of the biggest mysteries on Fi is which network you're connected to at any given time, but there's a simple solution.
News: Leaked iPhone 8 Screen Protector Could Provide Glimpse into What the Phone Looks Like
Update 6/20/17: Olixar, a smartphone case manufacturer, has released images of an iPhone 8 case design. While at first glance this might seem to confirm the iPhone 8's final design, 9to5 Mac reports that Olixar admits they produced these renders based on "information and schematics they've acquired through their factories and contacts in the far east."
News: As It Turns Out, Seniors Love Getting News on Their Smartphones
Amidst reports of the newspaper industry struggling to survive, it's becoming more and more clear that people are increasingly turning to their smartphones for the news. In fact, a new study by the Pew Research Center has found that 85% of US adults check the news on mobile devices. Surprisingly, seniors constitute a sizable portion of this.
News: Shazam Sets Sights on AR Advertising with iPhone & Android App Updates
The company that pioneered music scanning for mobile devices is moving into the augmented reality advertising arena. Included in an update of their iOS and Android apps last week, Shazam can now scan special codes to immerse users in 3D animations, 360-degree videos, mini-games, and other AR content.
News: Zappar Goes from $84,000 Kickstarter to $3.75 Million Series A Funding for Mobile AR
In December of last year, UK-based Zappar successfully raise $84,356 for their ZapBox mixed reality headset—over $50,000 more than their goal. Well, they just blew that sum out of the water when they announced this morning that they've closed a Series A round of funding with $3.75 million.
News: Osterhout Design Group Just Raised $58 Million—We'll See Why at CES 2017
As we slowly approach its January 3 start date, CES 2017 seems to be shaping up to be an exciting year for smart glasses as well as augmented and mixed reality.
News: Microsoft Research Shows Off Mobile Holoportation
In recent years, wave after wave of technological advancement has led us down roads that are beginning to look more and more like science fiction stories. In their efforts to bring us from science fiction to science fact, Microsoft Research showed us a new communication medium called Holoportation earlier this year—and now they have found a way to make this highly complex holographic system far more mobile.
News: Apple May Finally Be Making an AR Headset, According to Their New Patent
Microsoft has the HoloLens and Google has their money on Magic Leap (as well as their own Tango and Cardboard, among others), but we've heard next to nothing about how Apple plans to enter the virtual/augmented/mixed reality space. A new patent offers some clues.
News: Mobile AR Won't Be Truly Amazing Until 5G Happens
We don't know exactly what form 5G cellular technology will take, but it intends to bring faster Wi-Fi-like performance to mobile devices. While that'll provide major advantages to lots of connected technology, PC Magazine notes that it could be what augmented and mixed reality needs to become widely adopted.