The coronavirus continues to disrupt the tech industry, including the augmented reality segment, with Apple and the iPhone the latest to feel the impact.
Apple has their regular iPhone 11, then two higher-end "Pro" models. Samsung went the other way — they have the Galaxy S20 and S20+, then there's the S20 Ultra. But one thing these smartphone lines do have in common is the base model flagship. How do they compare?
The time to wait for an absolutely killer phone from Samsung is over. They've released a giant of a phone known as the S20 Ultra, and at least on paper, it's a grand slam. But only a few months ago, Apple released its first "Pro" iPhone, and it was giant in its own right. So which is better?
Although not quite as common today with the always-connected world we live in, you still might be having bandwidth wars in your home right now. If the internet connection in your area is mediocre, you know the feeling well. Google Stadia recommends having a 25 Mbps connection for playing in 4K, so you can expect to need at least that much to maintain a smooth, high-quality gaming session.
There are phones nowadays with 12 gigs of RAM, but they'll cost you well over a grand. The majority of Android devices have much less memory — I'd wager most have less than 4 GB. And with the system taking up around 2 GB, that leaves user-installed apps little room to breathe.
While Snapchat is no stranger to location-based AR scavenger hunts, the app's new world-facing game adds some environmental understanding to the mix.
Black Desert Mobile is one of the hottest new smartphone games around, but there seems to be something missing in the frame rate department. Gamers quickly noticed many Android phones are stuck on a 30 FPS cap when it comes to performance. It's not that the phones are too weak to handle higher frame rates, but that there is a particular list of approved devices that can achieve this.
Apple seeded the official version of iOS 13 to compatible iPhones on Sept. 19. Since then, we've seen two major updates — iOS 13.1, which, by our count, introduced 22 new features, and iOS 13.2, which also added 22 new features. Today, Dec. 10, Apple introduced the third major update: iOS 13.3.
As the demand for realistic volumetric video for AR experiences begins to grow (along with the available facilities and services for capturing it), researchers at Google have figured out how to improve upon the format.
The wait is finally over. Apple just released iOS 13.2 for iPhone, the latest update to this year's iOS 13 release. The update contains a slew of exciting new features, such as Deep Fusion for 2019 iPhones, a suite of new emojis, the long-awaited Announce Messages with Siri, among many, many others.
A century-old opera is getting a revamp in the UK after swapping dusty wigs and curtains for augmented reality overlays and Snapchat filters.
With the imminent arrival of the HoloLens 2 expected any day now, Microsoft is preparing new users to take advantage of its software from day one.
As you already know, the Galaxy Note 10 and 10+ have gotten rid of the beloved audio jack (RIP). Fortunately, it has never been a better time to switch to wireless. There are Bluetooth headphones and earbuds for every budget and every need.
Samsung's not one to make drastic changes to what already works. They've continued on with the IP68 rating under IEC 60529 first given to the Galaxy S8 all the way to the the Galaxy Note 10. If you're a little confused as to what this rating means, don't worry, it's actually pretty simple once you get to the meat and bones of it.
The long-awaited Dark Mode may have grabbed all the spotlight with iOS 13, but Apple has made subtle changes across the whole platform to make your iPhone even more user-friendly. A small option aimed at people who are sensitive to motion is one such example — a feature that can also be a godsend for the rest of us.
So you've been using iOS 13 for a little while and noticed your iPhone is pretty slow to charge. Using the 5-watt power adapter out of the box, in the time it used to take your iPhone to charge its battery to 100 percent, your iPhone is stuck at 80% or below instead. That's because Apple introduced a new feature in iOS 13 that slows down charging — but for a good reason.
After applying augmented reality as a solution for the sale and marketing of sneakers, Nike is taking the next step in its adoption of AR to improve the customer experience.
Smartglasses maker Vuzix has emerged with the first hardware powered by the Snapdragon XR1 chip, roughly nine months after Qualcomm introduced the chipset designed to drive augmented reality wearables at the Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara.
After years of waiting, Microsoft has finally updated its industry-leading augmented reality device, the HoloLens.
While augmented reality made more of a cameo appearance during Samsung's official grand unveiling of the Galaxy S10 line-up on Wednesday, it's the company's move into 5G connectivity that has huge implications for AR.
Though not as flashy as Face ID and other features, Low Power Mode has become one of the unsung heroes of iOS. When you're away from a charger, enabling this feature will dial back performance and networking to help you eke out up to three extra hours of battery life. If your device is jailbroken, you can even automate Low Power Mode to ensure your battery never dips to critical levels while out and about.
WaveOptics, makers of diffractive waveguides, has inched closer toward getting products featuring its technology to market through a production partnership with a consumer electronics company whose clients include Google, Microsoft, and Sony.
Another contestant has emerged in the race to deliver a mainstream augmented reality car navigation system, with Silicon Valley-based Phiar picking up $3 million in seed funding to launch its own artificial intelligence-based mobile app by mid-2019.
On Wednesday, in addition to uploading another batch of videos from its L.E.A.P. conference to its YouTube channel, Magic Leap also launched a new video series for developers called Spacebar.
A Series B round of funding, totaling $30 million, will enable Helsinki-based startup Varjo to launch its industrial-grade augmented and virtual reality headset capable of "human-eye resolution" before the end of the year.
When BlackBerry first announced the KEY2 back in June, the biggest gripe we heard was about the price. It was reasonable criticism, as BlackBerry was asking a lot of its consumers at $650. Knowing this, BlackBerry went back, made some downgrades, and cut the price, creating the KEY2 LE.
While iOS 11 was famous for its instability, performance issues weren't the only factor holding it back. The OS overhauled the notification system on iPhone, but not necessarily for the better. iOS 12, however, improves upon these changes, bringing critical features that make viewing and interacting with notifications on your iPhone on par with Android.
The long, long, loooong wait finally ended this week for the augmented reality community as the Magic Leap One was finally released. The Florida-based company has loomed over the industry for years promising something big, and now the AR cat is finally out of the bag. Now we get to see if it will live up to expectations, but early reviews are a bit skeptical.
Now that the Magic Leap One is officially out in the wild, users are already beginning to find out exactly how it works and what it might be useful for in the augmented reality space. But there are still other, more unique questions that remain unanswered.
As expected, Apple revealed today at the WWDC keynote that ARKit 2.0 will support multiplayer gaming support and persistent content, which will arrive this fall with iOS 12.
Apple pushed out iOS 11.4 on May 29 to iPads and iPhones, which included the long-awaited Messages in iCloud feature. The company did not release macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 at the same time, limiting the usefulness of being able to sync messages in the cloud since 10.13.4 is not compatible with Messages in iCloud. But three days later, Apple finally released macOS 10.13.5.
To quote MKBHD, cheap phones are getting good. Each year we are seeing manufacturers start to offer more for much less. This not only translates to cheaper flagship phones, but better budget phones. The latest example of this is the Alcatel 3V, which is redefining what you can get at $150.
When Google first announced Android Oreo (Go edition), many believed these devices would be focused more on developing countries. However, thanks to ZTE, we'll be getting Android Go stateside, so US customers on even the tightest of budgets can still enjoy the convenience of a smartphone.
Samsung and Apple are the two titans of the mobile phone industry. After Apple deployed the iPhone X in November, Samsung had three months to brood until Mobile World Congress, where they unveiled the Galaxy S9. Now that both phones are out, it's time to put them head-to-head.
Google and Samsung are the biggest players in the Android world. Despite a rocky launch, Google's Pixel 2 XL became one of the premier Android devices of 2017, headlined by fast performance and a pure version of Android. Still, many users prefer Samsung's offerings, and their Galaxy S9+ is poised to be the phone to beat in terms of specs.
Unlike many browsers, Firefox gives a lot of control to the user. By default, Firefox does a great job of balancing security and performance. However, within the app's settings, you can modify options to shift this balance in one direction or another. For those looking to shift it toward security, here are few suggestions.
We've had a lot of fun digging into the Oreo update for the Galaxy S8. Thus far, we compiled a full list of the biggest changes and ran down some of our favorites. One of the most user-facing components on a smartphone is the camera. Samsung made sure to add some nice tweaks to the camera UI in Oreo too, bringing it more in-line with the camera on the Galaxy Note 8.
With the V30, LG has really delivered an amazing smartphone that hits all the major features consumers want. Amazing camera, beautiful edge-to-edge display, great battery life, water resistance, and smooth performance — there isn't much not to like about the LG V30. Unfortunately, it does suffer from heavy bloatware thanks to the carriers. The good thing is, unlike in the past, you are not stuck with it.
Just one day before the retail release of the iPhone X, Apple CEO Tim Cook trumpeted the company's continued success during an earnings call with reporters conducted via telephone. And while he rolled out the expected glowing praise for the new iPhone, what stood out most was his effusive language describing Apple's new focus on augmented reality.
Razer just made a big step into the mobile industry by releasing an absolute beast of a smartphone. The gaming-centric Razer Phone tries to provide the best experience for its target audience: Gamers. With that in mind, they created a top-tier device with some of the best specs available on Android. But how does it compare to the current spec champion, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8?
