While MacOS computers have been spared from some of the most famous malware attacks, there is no shortage of malicious programs written for them. To keep your computer safe from some of the most common types of malware, we'll check out two free tools. These tools can automatically detect ransomware encrypting your files and watch for unauthorized access to your microphone and camera.
Magic Leap's legal battle against Nreal has taken an intriguing turn this week, as Magic Leap set a date to discuss the matter with Nreal. But a new partnership struck by Nreal adds another wrinkle to the duel between the two AR wearable makers.
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.
With its 3D engine being responsible for approximately 60% of augmented and virtual reality experiences, Unity is continuing to place a premium on tools that not only keep developers working in its development environment but also make their workflows easier.
Apple might not be ready to unveil its rumored-yet-unconfirmed smartglasses. But the iPhone's current depth-sensing hardware is proving to be useful for both smartglasses makers and mobile AR apps.
Drone mishaps, such as the collision that scratched a military helicopter in New York, are becoming something of an everyday hazard.
Before smartglasses makers can dream of taking smartglasses to mainstream consumers, they must first determine the right mix of form, function, and price that will drive customers to buy into what they're hoping to sell.
Now that Samsung upgraded DeX in the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+, more users will be looking to use their phone as an "anywhere PC." With a simple USB-C to HDMI cable or adapter, you can turn your Note 10 into a desktop, complete with full access to your apps.
Now that we've had our hands on the Magic Leap One for almost a year and early adopter developers have had the opportunity to publish apps for the AR headset, it's time to see how it stands up against the rigors of a day at the office. We did just that, and we wrote about it!
The future of smartglasses for consumers seems ever dependent on Apple's entry into the market. Coincidentally, the exit of Apple's long-time design chief Jony Ive has shed some light on that eventual entrance.
Here at Next Reality, our typical approach to all things augmented reality involves vision combined with remote control, either via a handheld device, gaze control, or hand/finger tracking.
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.
The ability to shift between virtual reality and augmented reality seamlessly on one device is a dream of many AR fanatics, but the execution is usually fairly buggy or underwhelming.
If cameras are a priority, one of the first specs to check on a new phone is the image stabilization. You've probably been told optical image stabilization (OIS) reigns supreme, but this isn't the case if you're taking a lot of videos. Instead, we would argue, electronic image stabilization (EIS) actually works better for video.
In a world of seemingly endless streaming services, podcasts continue to offer free, unlimited entertainment for all. When you find a podcast that's just too good to keep to yourself, sharing it with family and friends is inevitable, but how you share may determine whether or not they listen to it or not. Links alone aren't enough. Audio and video clips are how you get them sucked in.
Whenever you move into a new home, whether that's a house or apartment, changing addresses on all your online accounts is one of the most monotonous tasks that needs to be done. It's even more tedious when you have to update both shipping and billing addresses. But it's necessary, and if you regularly use PayPal, it'll be one of the first places you'll want to update.
Just when we thought the AT&T partnership with Magic Leap wouldn't really take off until the latter launched a true consumer edition of the Magic Leap One, the dynamic duo jumped into action this week to offer the current generation headset to customers.
Making a purchase through PayPal is great because you have the option to pay using your account balance, a bank account, debit card, credit card, rewards balance, or even PayPal's own credit product. You need to pick one to be your preferred payment method for each in-stores and online but, unfortunately, changing these preferences can get a bit tricky on your iPhone or Android phone.
Though many were hoping for it, a notification indicator around the Galaxy S10's front camera punch hole never came to fruition. Since then, we've been finding other uses for the camera cutout, from turning it into a circular battery meter to using creative wallpapers. Thankfully, there's now an app that will give you LED-style alerts with a ring around your S10's camera.
To borrow from the canon of Game of Thrones, what is dead may never die. And while the Meta Company that we knew this time last year is no more, the patent infringement lawsuit filed against the company lives on.
Right after Apple released iOS 12.2 dev beta 6 on Monday, March 18, it seeded the public beta version. So far, from what we can tell, the sixth beta includes a patch for an Apple Pay issue and yet another update to the "About" page in Settings, this time with a new section for warranty and insurance information.
Public beta testers are in for a treat today. While Apple is extremely inconsistent with the release schedules for the developer and public betas, the company has once again released both versions of iOS 12.2 beta 5 today, March 11. If you're a public tester, you now get to experience all of iOS 12.2's new additions for yourself, instead of needing to read about them for up to 24 hours in advance.
If you're an iOS app developer, your Monday just got better; Apple just released iOS 12.2 developer beta 5 to your Software Updates today, March 11. This fifth beta includes a number of small UI changes and tweaks, and likely some degree of under-the-hood improvements and bug fixes.
As I've mentioned in recent days, it was refreshing to discover that Microsoft's HoloLens 2 stage production was every bit as accurate as presented (check out my hands-on test of the device for more on that).
Apple released iOS 12.2 beta 4 to developers on Monday, March 4, then shortly thereafter also pushed it out to everyone on the iOS 12.2 public beta program. All previous public beta updates for iOS 12.2 were released the following day, but this one changes course. In the iOS 12.2 public beta 4, there are new icons, an updated "About" page, and better Now Playing tile.
Apple released iOS 12.2 beta 4 to developers on Monday, March 4, and that means public beta testers will likely get the update on Tuesday. The update features a fresh "News" app icon, a new "Apple TV Remote" tile in Control Center, and a tweaked "About" page, in addition to seemingly under-the-hood updates. If you're not yet on the beta, now's your chance to see it for yourself.
While developers received iOS 12.2 beta 3 on Feb. 19, public beta testers had to wait one extra day, following suit with previous iOS 12.2 beta releases. The third beta update includes fixes for Group FaceTime and the missing date on the lock screen, as well as a few tiny app updates.
Apple just released the third iOS 12.2 developer beta Tuesday, Feb. 19, fifteen days after the release of iOS 12.2 developer beta 2. Beta 3 fixes an issue with the lock screen, and reintroduces Group FaceTime to beta testers. Overall, iOS 12.2 hosts a wealth of new features as well as bug and security patches.
This week, the recurring theme in augmented reality can be summed up fairly succinctly: content is king.
Many popular IoT devices have terrible security. For instance, a hacker who's on the same Wi-Fi network as a Sonos speaker can assume direct control over the device's behavior. If an IoT device doesn't secure the messages used to control it over a network, it's easy for somebody to write a few Python scripts to make it do whatever they want.
The emerging narrative as CES begins is that consumer-grade smartglasses require a heavy compromise in functionality in order to arrive at a form factor and price point that appeal to mainstream customers.
Publicly, things have been pretty quiet over at Meta, the augmented reality headset and software startup based in Silicon Valley. But that doesn't mean that the company doesn't have a few strong opinions about the state of AR in 2018.
The idea of augmented reality isn't new, but the world of smartphones is looking to push it forward in a big way. As with any platform, both product demand and technological advancements have to catch up to the industry before it can become a viable solution for daily consumer life. Apple and Google are working to introduce the smartphone consumer to AR for the first time with basic features for now.
Expressing yourself during chats is much easier these days thanks to the steady rise of emoji. Now, products like emoji Minis for Gboard are taking the craft to an interesting yet familiar new level. With emoji Minis, you can automatically create stickers based off your own face. From there, you can further customize the stickers by adding key features such as glasses, earrings, and facial hair.
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.
Sony Pictures has tapped the powers of augmented reality as provided by startup 8th Wall & the Amazon Sumerian development platform to help it promote the latest motion picture manifestation of Spider-Man.
This week, at its developer's conference, Samsung took the wraps off a new tool from Wacom that bestows the S-Pen with AR powers, as well as its own entry to the AR cloud market called Project Whare.
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.
The dream of Google Glass lives on via North's stylish and normal-looking smartglasses that bring text messages and navigation prompts into the user's field of view and Amazon Alexa integration for voice-activated assistance.
