Market Reality: AR Competition Heats Up as Microsoft, Google, & Samsung Make Money Moves
Some of the big guns developing augmented reality technology fired shots at their competitors with announcements and leaked plans this week.
Satisfied Consumer Search Results
News: The Latest Rumors & Leaks on the Nokia 8 Pro
Earlier this year, Nokia released the Nokia 8 Sirrocco overseas. The new device served as an upgrade to the 2017 model with a minor specs bump and a more modern design. However, HMD isn't done with the 8 series. A rumored Pro version is coming later this year that brings innovations the iconic brand is known for.
News: Magic Leap Filings Point to 'Magic Shop' Branding for Online Store, L.E.A.P. Creator Conference Event
Magic Leap's recent flurry of patent applications prompted us to look around for any trademark movements from the company, and it turns out that the Florida-based company has been quite busy.
News: No, Bose, Those Aren't AR Glasses You're Hyping, but Nice Try
On Friday, audio giant Bose emerged as the latest, and perhaps the most surprising company to announce that it's planning to release augmented reality smartglasses.
News: How Android Go Is Bringing Flagship Performance to Low-End Phones
Ever since Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the helms of the world's most valuable brand, he has made it his mission to bring smartphones to lower-income communities. Born in India, Mr. Pichai has created several programs to address the needs of the Indian market, particularly the lower income families.
News: Magic Leap Job Posting Reveals Grand Plan to Tackle Brick & Mortar Retail
The once blurry and mysterious vision of Magic Leap's future is slowly coming into focus in the present, despite the company's obsessive attempts to keep any and all information under wraps until the next reveal is absolutely necessary. A new tidbit of information hints at an addition to the company's unfolding story that almost no one had accounted for: retail stores.
News: Apple's Phil Schiller Hints at Future Smartglasses by Framing Augmented Reality as Sci-Fi
Whenever you attend or remotely watch a major Apple event, you're likely to see Phil Schiller, the company's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, unveiling a brand new product on stage. Outside of an official event, Schiller is the second most likely person (after Apple's CEO Tim Cook) you'll find delivering a rare tidbit of new Apple info or perspective to the public.
News: Another Security Concern from OnePlus — Backdoor Root App Comes Preinstalled on Millions of Phones
After recently being in the news for collecting PII (personally identifiable information) for analytics and after-sales support, OnePlus has another security problem. An individual going by the name Elliot Alderson discovered an app in OnePlus devices that can enable root access with one command.
How To: Why the LG V30 Is the Only Phone You Should Buy if You Have T-Mobile
If you're in the market for a new smartphone, you'll likely scan spec sheets and read reviews of the top phones, compare display size and technology, RAM amount, and processors. But one factor that is often overlooked is cell reception — and for T-Mobile subscribers, there's only one device that has flagship specs and an exclusive antenna that will actually improve your signal.
News: HTC U11 Plus Rumor Roundup — Bezel-Less Display, Translucent Back & More
HTC is heading in a strange direction lately. Instead of releasing just one flagship in the spring season, they released two top-tier phones, with one having last year's specs and both having last year's design. They were also supposed to manufacture both the Pixel 2 and 2 XL, but Google was unimpressed by the HTC-made Pixel 2 XL and looked to LG for the bigger device. Now it seems, HTC isn't finished yet.
How To: 8 Ways to Increase Battery Life on Your LG V30
The LG V30 has solid battery life. With its QHD P-OLED screen and 4 GB RAM, it's able to maintain all-day performance with average use. Heavier users might find that its 3,300 mAh battery isn't quite enough for a full day of work, though, but with a few software tweaks, you can squeeze out even more battery life.
Brief Reality: Don't Drink & Drive, Unless It's in AR
ARKit is a marketer's dream. By providing tools for creating augmented reality experiences on mobile devices, AR apps can now be deployed easily alongside just about any campaign. As expected, we now have ARKit apps pushing wares ranging from automobiles to tequila.
Market Reality: Mira Closes Funding Round as Cappasity Prepares Blockchain Crowdsale
If competition in the augmented reality space was a spectator sport, then ARKit, ARCore, and HoloLens dominate the prime-time broadcasts on ESPN.
News: Ericsson Ventures Head Believes AR Market Might Take Five Years or More to Mature
Every year, football fans get excited about the next crop of blue chip prospects joining their teams, from five-star high school recruits graduating to college to first-round rookies drafted into the NFL.
News: Google's ARCore Will Do for Android Hardware What Apple's ARKit Has Done for iPhones
When Apple announced their ARKit platform in June, they immediately staked the claim to the largest augmented reality hardware platform, with millions of iPhones and iPads compatible with iOS 11 becoming AR devices this fall.
Brief Reality: Business Uses for AR Range from Scavenger Hunts to Accurate Holographic Solutions
When it comes to applying augmented reality to various business functions, as the saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
News: Does the A8's 37.3 Mph Limit Mean Audi's Jumped the Shark to Level 3?
The launch of the Audi A8 marks the world's first Level 3 car on offer in retail channels, except there is one catch: it can only take full control of driving at speeds of 37.3 mph or less.
News: What Is All This Stuff About Augmented Reality? A Primer for the New Enthusiast
We are in a pretty major technology boom at the moment. One that will likely make the industrial revolution look tiny. And one of these technologies that are building up to lead the way is something called augmented reality.
News: Stop Using Citronella Candles — They Don't Work
Mosquitoes are a big problem, and citronella candles are not the solution. There are a lot of mosquito species. The American Mosquito Control Association reports there are more than 3000 mosquito species in the world, and about 200 of those occur in the US. The most common are the Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex species. These are also the three mosquito species most likely to transmit serious illness, and all of them live in the US.
News: Ford Pins Its Survival on Driverless with Its New CEO Appointment
Ford's appointment of Jim Hackett as its new president and CEO reflects how the company is largely pinning its long-term survival hopes on its driverless business. Following his previous role as head of Ford's Smart Mobility division, which overseas Ford's autonomous driving activity, Hackett will help the company take a more self-driving direction as a whole.
Market Reality: Upskill Acquires Pristine
This week's Market Reality covers a variety of business news from acquisitions and partnerships to competitive and technology assessments to quarterly financial results.
NR50: Next Reality's 50 People to Watch: Timoni West
If you're a developer in the augmented and mixed reality space, there's a high probability that you're intimately familiar with the 3D application and game engine Unity. In May, at VisionSummit 2017, Microsoft announced that 91% of all HoloLens applications have been made with the software. But there's a section of Unity that you may not be familiar with, which has become very important to augmented, mixed, and virtual reality (known collectively as XR, for "extended reality") — Unity Labs.
NR50: The Developers to Watch in Augmented & Mixed Reality
In order for software developers to do their jobs as new hardware reaches the market, they will need the right tools to get their projects off the ground and into augmented and mixed reality devices. There have been completely new approaches to development when it comes to AR and MR, and these are some of the faces behind them.
News: Livestock Antibiotic Use Increases Threat of Resistant Microbes to Humans
Antibiotics used to prevent diseases in livestock are creating a world of hurt for humans and the soil we depend on for food. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a global health issue. The overuse, underuse, and poor use of these life-saving drugs is rapidly removing them as a treatment option for serious infections in humans—plus bacteria are naturally adaptive.
Forget Waymo or Uber: New Navigant Research Leaderboard Declares Ford the New King of Driverless
When we talk about driverless technology, the go-to companies are usually Waymo, Uber, or Tesla. However, traditional automakers like Ford and GM are also staking claims to the driverless and advanced driver assistance spaces.
News: The Stomach Flu Is Not a Flu—Here's What You Really Have
Have you ever had the stomach flu, aka the 24-hour flu? Well, chances are high that you never had influenza, but an intestinal infection called gastroenteritis.
News: Sponge Bacteria Clean Heavy Metals & Toxins Like Arsenic from Water, Saving Turtles & Humans Alike
Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment, but it is also one of the most commonly found heavy metals in wastewater, deposited there by inappropriate disposal and arsenical pesticides, for example.
News: Use This Type of Repellent to Avoid Mosquitoes—& Zika
Responding to the emergence of Zika in the US, researchers investigated what type of repellent works best to reduce your odds of a mosquito bite from Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species that spreads the Zika virus.
News: Bird Flu Is Circling in China Again—Here's How It Could Develop into an Outbreak
Avian flu is making the news again with new human cases in China reported in January. What does "avian flu" mean to you—and how dangerous is it?
News: LG G6 Features Dual Cameras, 18:9 Aspect Ratio, Waterproof Body & More
The LG G6 was officially announced by LG at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona and released in the US on April 7, 2017. The device is almost exactly what we've been expecting from all of the rumors and leaks building up to its release. The modular design we saw in the G5 is gone, taking the removable battery with it. However, we do gain waterproofing, an improved dual-camera setup, a larger screen with smaller bezels, and Google Assistant.
How To: 7 Must-Know Tricks to Master Your Samsung Galaxy S7
When the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge came to market in 2016, they were universally praised as being the pinnacle of Android smartphone design, even topping Consumer Reports' smartphone ratings.
News: The HoloLens Might Have a Small Field of View, but That's Actually a Good Thing
Microsoft's HoloLens is certainly a leap into the future of mixed reality interfaces, but it's not without drawbacks.
How To: Attention All Neat Freaks—A Messy Desk Can Actually Make You More Productive at Work
When it's time to get down to work, a clean, organized workstation is key to accomplishing tasks and being more productive. Or, so we thought.
How To: Make Your Own Lipstick at Home (Using Crayons!)
Often, despite your favorite makeup mecca's rows and rows of endless colors, applicators, and brands, it's hard to find the perfect shade of lipstick—especially one at the price you want. Rather than resorting to what's available in stores, turn to your stovetop and a box of crayons.
The Hacks of Mr. Robot: How to Send a Spoofed SMS Text Message
Welcome back, my rookie hackers! As most of you know, Mr. Robot is probably the best hacker TV show ever! This is a great show about a cyber security engineer who is being enticed to hack the very corporation he's being paid to protect. This show is so good, I began a series to demonstrate how to do the hacks he uses in the show.
How To: How Anyone (Even Pirates) Can Get Windows 10 for Free—Legally
Windows 10 is due to be released on July 29th, and the majority of existing Windows users should be eligible to upgrade to the newer version for free.
How To: Upload, Buy, Send, Receive, & Redeem Almost Any Gift Card on Your Phone
Big box stores love to sell gift cards, and as consumers, we snap them up almost as quickly as they can be printed. This industry has become rather profitable, though, because portions of the gift card balances often go unused.
News: Here Are the Prices for Every Apple Watch Model (From $349 to $17,000)
The long-awaited Apple Watch is ready for retail, with pricing and availability announced at Apple's Spring Forward event. Each of the three variants—Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch, and Apple Watch Edition—will be available in two sizes, 32mm and 44mm, with preorders beginning on April 10th and the retail launch on April 24th. The Watches will initially be available nine countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. You'll b...
Advice from a Real Hacker: How to Know if You've Been Hacked
It seems like every day now that we see a new headline on a cyber security breach. These headlines usually involve millions of records being stolen from some large financial institution or retailer. What doesn't reach the headlines are the many individual breaches that happen millions of times a day, all over the world.
Sustainable Seafood: The Food Hacks Guide to Doing It Right
Fish is delicious, and as the Harvard School of Public Health points out, incredibly good for you. There are many studies that show regularly consuming a couple of servings of fish per week can help prevent heart disease and may well reduce your chances of stroke, depression, and getting Alzheimer's. After all, there's a reason why fish is called "brain food."