While many of you were off surfing and lounging on some sandy beach or trying to figure out how to balance work with sky-high summer temperatures, I've been talking to all the companies that make augmented reality what it is today.
We've shown you the best augmented reality headsets, and now it's time to show you the rest. These are the AR headsets you've probably never heard of or even seen. The AR headsets that, in some cases, have a shot at the big time, and may one day reach widespread adoption, and, in other cases, are unwieldily contraptions that look like something out of a weird science fiction movie.
Like gas on an open flame, rumors and whispers have flared up in recent months around hopes of augmented reality smartglasses from Apple. But among all the false leads and unsubstantiated chatter, we finally have a credible report that some sort of Apple AR smartglasses are actually in development.
Leaks are seemingly inevitable for smartphone makers these days. The OnePlus 5T, the successor to the OnePlus 5, is no exception to this rule. Last week, we witnessed leaked photos showing off the 5T's rumored "edge-to-edge" display. Today, leaks on OppoMart's 5T preorder page give us specs in addition to images.
A tethered version of the Vuzix M300 smart glasses, developed to pair with wearable computers from Toshiba Corporation, is expected to be available by the first quarter 2018, if not sooner.
While IKEA is collaborating with Apple for its ARKit furniture app, Marxent is ready to help the rest of the interior decorating and home improvement crowd with their apps.
If you live in New York City and are itching to sell your Yeezys, you're at risk of falling victim to thieves. A devious duo is searching Facebook to find people selling the popular sneakers and then robbing them at gunpoint when they meet up in person.
The leading platforms enabling augmented reality technology lead our headlines in Market Reality this week.
Mixed reality display manufacturer Realfiction has developed a 64-inch display capable of delivering 3D holograms without a headset.
Every Friday, Next Reality reviews the latest headlines from the financial side of augmented and mixed reality. This Market Reality column covers funding announcements, mergers and acquisitions, market analysis, and the like. This week's column is led by two companies cashing in on visual inputs.
Uber has been in the hot seat for awhile now, for many reasons, especially for being sued by Waymo over stolen LiDAR designs. But now, perhaps the attention will be taken off both Uber and Waymo as a new contender enters the LiDAR arena; A small, independent company called Luminar has finally let the world in on what it has been cooking up.
HTC is working on another flagship device that's expected to be released in mid-April. After the disastrous reception of the recently released HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play, this new model could be the true HTC 10 successor we've all been waiting for.
The Pixel and Pixel XL come with an awesome data-saving feature called Wi-Fi Assistant that automatically connects to open internet hotspots, then creates a secure VPN on your device to keep your data safe.
We've been hearing rumors suggesting that the upcoming iPhone 7 would be announced a bit early this year—perhaps being unveiled as soon as September 7, with preorders opening up a day or two after.
The notification light on phones and tablets is slowly disappearing. The once staple feature is now only found on a few devices, and a bevy of other notification systems have sought to fill the gap. The most popular of these systems is Ambient Display, which has grown in popularity with OEMs over the last couple of years; even Google's own Nexus line of phones have made the plunge.
Smartphones are great at keeping us busy with games, social media, and messaging apps, but there has been a recent push for them to also help keep us safe (and I'm not talking about from hackers, though that is equally important).
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside and the University of Michigan announced recently that they have developed a hack that works 92% of the time on Google's Gmail system on Android, as well as with the H&R Block app.
Update January 27, 2014: Samsung has released a statement to address the flip cover issue, claiming it as a bug with a "fix" coming soon:
RFID cards are becoming a fairly common way to purchase goods, but they're already widely used to pay fares on buses, trains, subways, and trolleys across various cities. TAP cards are quick and reliable, but it can be a real pain to remember to bring them with you, especially if you weren't planning on using public transportation that day. Luckily, an intrepid tinkerer at Adafruit has managed to find a way to embed an RFID card into her phone, something you're far less likely to leave at home.
A redstone clock is a pretty easy mechanism to make. A digital readout for that redstone clock is a little harder, and that's what Lesnoydude has made that won him the staff choice award.
Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.
We often discuss the augmented reality efforts coming from the biggest players in Silicon Valley like Google, Facebook, Apple, and others, but one name that keeps coming up when you really begin to dig into the AR space is Vuzix. Since the late '90s, the company has quietly but deliberately worked to build itself into a viable competitor in the enterprise space via its wearable display technology.
A side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is that small businesses are suffering from forced closures and social distancing, but game developer Niantic has a solution.
The coronavirus pandemic has ushered in an unprecedented time in modern history where terms like "social distancing" and "self-quarantine" have pushed their way into the zeitgeist.
The powers of the Nreal Light continue to increase incrementally with each passing week. Now, the latest feature added to the device is possibly the most requested feature for anyone who has tried the Nreal Light: hand tracking.
It's safe to say that we can call the annual ranking of AR investments a holiday tradition at Next Reality.
Augmented reality can be more than simply a way to enhance navigation, or superimpose virtual sunglasses onto your face. It can also be a platform for shining a light on important social issues.
As Microsoft works toward fulfilling its $480 million contract to supply modified HoloLens 2 headsets to the US Army, Airbus is preparing to supply advanced augmented reality apps for the device.
Next to map data overlays, one of the most often discussed concepts for apps that could propel augmented reality smartglasses into the mainstream is a real-time language translation app.
The idea of remote assistant apps in augmented reality has been taking off in the last couple of years, but Epson is introducing a differing kind of solution for companies that may benefit from a more straightforward dynamic before going full-on immersive with higher-end AR remote assistance tools.
There's no shortage of augmented reality platforms for remote video assistance, but startup Streem is looking to give its offering a leg up with an infusion of new technology.
It looks like Microsoft will finally make good on its promise to bring Minecraft to augmented reality, as foreshadowed via a HoloLens demo in 2015.
Much of the excitement around the HoloLens 2 has moved on to many wondering when we'll finally be able to get our hands on what is now the best augmented reality device on the market.
With $100 million in grant funding already available to developers via its MegaGrants program, Epic Games is sweetening the pot with some gear for Magic Leap developers.
Over the past year, two trends have emerged among augmented reality development software: make it easier to create AR content, and give AR apps better environmental understanding with just a smartphone camera.
To build hype for the HoloLens 2 among developers, Microsoft is borrowing a page out of Magic Leap's playbook.
News junkies who own the Magic Leap One received some good news on Thursday, as CNN has published an app for the headset to display the network's news coverage in augmented reality.
In the last couple of days there's been a lot of speculation about the powers of Microsoft's HoloLens 2, but few have had a chance to get their hands on one to see if the company's claims live up to what HoloLens inventor Alex Kipman showed off on stage.
It may sound like deja vu, but neural interface startup CTRL-labs has closed a $28 million funding round led by GV, Google's funding arm, for technology that reads user's nerve signals to interpret hand gestures.
After entering the UK's version of bankruptcy last month, Blippar's assets are up for sale, and bidding ended today.
