This year's CES seems particularly obesessed with VR, but augmented reality is offering a few surprises as well. One of those surprises arrived on Monday in the form of China's Rokid Glass.
Apple has released the second beta for iOS version 11.2.5 for developers on Dec. 19. The update comes six days after the release of the first 11.2.5 beta which updated the Music app to include a persistent "play bar" at the bottom of the window, along with some bug fixes. Public beta testers received the update on Dec. 20.
Apple is no stranger to lawsuits. They were in a decade-long battle with Samsung that finally came to an end last month, and they've been duking it out in the courtroom with Qualcomm since last year. The more recent case has seen both companies file suits and counter-suits, but now, Qualcomm is claiming that Apple's new iPhone X infringes on patents from a long-deceased mobile operating system.
It was a long overdue announcement when wireless charging was revealed as a feature in Apple's 2017 iPhone lineup. While certainly a welcome addition, wireless charging would only work with up to 5 watts of power, which meant no fast-charge capabilities. That's not the case anymore — here's how to fast-charge wirelessly with the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, or iPhone X.
Lenovo has been no stranger augmented reality, both in products for consumers and services for developers.
The Xposed Framework lets you modify your phone's software like nothing else. But because of how powerful this tool can be, it seems like things are always in development. This is certainly the case with many Xposed modules, to the point where some have several alpha and beta releases before they go mainstream.
Earnings calls can be a mixed bag. If things are business as usual, the meetings can be, well, boring.
In a recent series of tweets, investor and entrepreneur (and NR50 member) Amitt Mahajan summarized the challenges and opportunities for iOS developers looking to leverage Apple's ARKit for augmented reality experiences.
While it might be a little past its prime now, the running gag about Nokia phones never breaking was one of the internet's favorite jokes. "If you buy one," they would say, "you'll never need another phone again." I think if those users could see into the future, they'd change their tune, as the Nokia 6 is now available to preorder — and I'm guessing it would give any of Nokia's old bricks a run for their money.
At this point, I'm ready to give Apple CEO Tim Cook a piece of my mind. The hype surrounding the iPhone 8 is crazy, and rumors are circulating constantly. So many different things have been said about its release date that no one can even keep track anymore. If Cook could throw us all a bone and give us a hint, it would quiet the speculation. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that'll happen anytime soon, but — in the meantime — a new report allegedly has the inside scoop. Recent rumors surr...
It's never fun to fidget around with your phone's camera while you're out and about, especially when it comes to transitioning between its front- and rear-facing cameras. Thankfully, Galaxy S8 users can scratch this one off their list of inconveniences, as Samsung has built in some nifty features that let you switch from the main shooter to the selfie cam without having to look at the screen or tap on the camera switch icon.
Like Russian Matryoshka dolls, the features on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ often have hidden components within them that add to their functionality. The phone's flashlight is a great example of this since there's a hidden shortcut within the "Flashlight" Quick Settings tile that lets you adjust its brightness level.
In the music world, it's safe to say electric instruments are more versatile, but they lack the portability of their acoustic counterparts. However, with the aid of your smartphone plus an audio interface, you can play your electric instrument anywhere — with all the pedal effects you please — and even record your efforts.
The Easter Bunny is about to get his first experience with mixed reality. Virtual Reality Los Angeles (VRLA) will host its third annual expo in April, and this year's attendees will get to experience a fun Easter egg hunt sponsored by AfterNow and VRLA, in partnership with mixed reality king, the Microsoft HoloLens.
Headphone drama has been all the rage in the past year, with Apple killing off the headphone jack and trying to force AirPods upon its users (Apple, stop trying to make tiny, expensive, easy-to-lose earbuds happen. It's not going to work).
The HTC U isn't set to be revealed until mid-to-late-April, but that isn't stopping the leaks from creating hype. Weibo user Ann Bunny just leaked a spec sheet for the new HTC phone, which can be seen below. Keep in mind, though, all details are still just rumors at this point, but they're certainly juicy.
Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger has out and out rejected Virtual Reality (VR) as a component of any Disney Theme park. While Knott's Berry Farm, why-hasn't-this-chain-shut-down-yet Sea World (seriously, RIP Tillikum), and Six Flags have all invested in VR to help spice up their parks in this theme park depression period, Iger has "ordered his team not to even think about it." Iger instead is very much onboard the Augmented Reality (AR) train.
People fear virtual reality will isolate us, but the right experience can prove it does the opposite.
Apple's plans for virtual, mixed, and augmented reality have remained a mystery for some time, but now we at least have some idea of what they're thinking about. UploadVR uncovered a patent showing a VR headset design that looks like a thick pair of sunglasses and utilizes an iPhone to provide an experience similar to the Samsung Gear VR.
We've heard a bit about Google Daydream—the new smartphone-based virtual reality platform that is supposed to provide a markedly better experience than Cardboard—but don't really know what it'll look like. Engadget claims we could find out in just a couple of weeks, since Android Nougat is already out, a necessary component of Daydream.
New Android versions have always been released on a fairly regular schedule—in late Fall, Google debuts a new Nexus device, while simultaneously publishing the next iteration of the world's leading mobile operating system. But things are different this year, as we now have numerous indications that Android Nougat could be released as early as August or September.
Opioids, or narcotic painkillers, serve as our primary method for alleviating physical distress. They also happen to be a leading cause of death due to their addictive nature. AppliedVR hopes to introduce a safer alternative: virtual reality gaming. They utilize the existing Samsung Gear VR for the hardware, but provides specialized software that offers up a distracting experience that fosters greater pain ignorance.
Sure Samsung toned down TouchWiz on their latest flagship devices, but there was one issue (albeit minor and mostly cosmetic) that really irked me: those damn "S Finder" and "Quick connect" buttons in the notification tray. Only the T-Mobile S6 variants shipped with an option to remove these two buttons, so AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and other non-T-Mobile users were stuck with them taking up space in the notification panel. If you didn't mind rooting your device, there was a way to remove them b...
Our hands aren't necessarily getting any bigger, but smartphones still seem to be getting larger and larger. With average cell phone display sizes nearly doubling since 2007 (leading to new terminology like "phablet"), reaching all corners of a screen can become nearly impossible with one hand. Granted, most larger devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 4 come with a one-handed option to make navigating easier, but other popular devices like the Nexus 6 don't. While it may see...
In addition to the fingerprint scanner, the Samsung Galaxy S6 has all of the basic lock screen options that other Android phones have: swipe, pattern, PIN, and password. There also just happens to be a secret sixth option called "Direction lock" that protects the device with a series of customizable directional swipes—only it's hidden in an unsuspecting settings menu.
We previously showed you how to make your Android's LED notification light dance to music, but the app itself was limited in customization options, the devices it worked on, and the music apps and services it worked with. Now we'll be showing you a similar app that supports more music services and lets you select which colors will display through the LED.
If you're going exercising, either at the gym or outside, you're going to need a backpack, gym bag, or pockets to hold your water bottle, wallet, keys, smartphone, and anything else you've got on you.
Our first stop at CES this year was at iLuv, a company well known for their long line of smartphone accessories (portable chargers, speakers, headphones, etc). While their products are geared towards everyday use, their Selfy phone case, which is a bit more situational, caught our attention.
Left-handers only make up about ten percent of the world, which means they typically have to use things made for the majority, i.e., right-handed people. If that wasn't annoying enough, there are studies that show that lefties actually get paid less.
I'm the type of person that rarely has an audible ringer enabled on my phone. Haptic feedback (vibration) is enough for me... most of the time. When my phone isn't in my pocket, I become the type of person who frequently misses calls and texts—and no one likes that person.
With the gargantuan size of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, it's no surprise that some of you might have trouble taking advantage of all the features using only one hand. One such feature is the newly-added fingerprint scanner, which allows you to swipe your finger on the Home button to unlock the device, among other things.
Scrolling through my Instagram feed, I inevitably come across an image or video that I genuinely like amongst the countless selfies and plates of food porn. Naturally I want to save this image before it's buried under new posts from the heaps of people I follow, but I'm left stranded with only the ability to take a screenshot.
Apple Pay is ready for use at over 220,000 outlets across the United States. By using your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, all you have to do is point your device at any NFC-enabled point-of-sale system compatible with Apple Pay, press your fingerprint on the home button, and voilà—you've just paid for something with your card. As a matter of fact, the store doesn't even need to have Apple Pay compatibility to work with your phone. If their machines have NFC-technology, they'll recognize your device (unl...
Call it OCD if you will, but I make it a priority to have a clean Notification panel. Like a chalkboard that isn't wiped spotless, I get an unsettling feeling that something in the universe isn't complete when there's unnecessary clutter in the drop-down. For this reason, I loathe the fact that I can't remove the "Wi-Fi connected" tile from my "Notifications."
Apple just announced the iPhone 6, and no matter whether you've been with Android for a few months or few years, there's a good chance you're enticed by the idea of switching over to the other side.
Watching a YouTube video while surfing the web is real multitasking, and easily achievable on the LG G3. Like the "Multi Window" feature on Samsung Galaxy devices, the G3 has the ability to run two separate apps simultaneously with its Dual Window feature.
Screenshots are all the rage. From sharing high game scores with friends to placing conversation threads online for the world to see to secretly capturing Snapchats, this function of smartphones is prevalent through modern society.
Maybe it is narcissistic to take selfies, but it has become a socially accepted norm, no matter how stupid you might look doing it. Since so many people are seemingly in love with themselves and mobile photography, I thought it was about time to show you how to step up your selfie game.
There are a gazillion app switchers on the market, and some are really awesome, like Edge, GloveBox, Loopr, and Switchr, to name just a few. However, these can all be a little bit more complicated and cumbersome than necessary when I just want to switch back to the last app I was in.
Much like the high volume warning, there are various minute features on Android that users either hate or just find annoying. Thankfully, there are developers out there that sympathize. It may seem frivolous, but one feature that a lot of people want eliminated is the screen waking whenever a charger is plugged in.
