News: HBO 'Watchmen' Promo Rains Dead Squid Down on LA & New York via Augmented Reality Ad
Bus stops can provide shelter in the event of rain, and now they also protect you from augmented reality squid.
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How To: Enable Android 10's New Gestures on Your Samsung Galaxy with One UI 2
Samsung launched One UI in 2018 to replace the now infamous TouchWiz. Since then, things have been looking pretty bright for Galaxy users. Now, the much-anticipated arrival of Android 10 is ushering in the One UI 2.0 era, including a new set of gesture-based controls.
How To: Convert Multiple Live Photos into 1 Continuous Video on Your iPhone
Live Photos capture the seconds before and after you take a photo, creating a fuller and also unique moment to share with friends and family. Unfortunately, it has been nearly impossible to share Live Photos with non-iPhone users — until now. Thanks to iOS 13, you can easily convert a Live Photo into a video, and even stitch multiple Live Photos together to create one long video.
News: Snapchat Smile Rater Lens Helps You Work on the Perfect Selfie Smile
For Snapchat users wondering if that selfie is ready to send to their crush, independent Lens Studio creator Andrew Mendez created a handy tool called the Smile Rater.
News: Augmented Reality Startup AstroReality Expands Its Product Universe with NASA AR Series
After getting its start with models of augmented reality planets that serve as targets for augmented reality experiences, AstroReality is diversifying its portfolio by paying tribute to one of the space agencies that made its products possible.
News: Microsoft Teases Minecraft Augmented Reality Game for Mobile at Build 2019
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.
News: Magic Leap Drops Video Teaser for Game of Thrones Experience
There are only three more episodes of Game of Thrones left before the saga is over, but Magic Leap is capitalizing on the series' popularity while it still can.
News: Galaxy Note 10+ Hands-on Review & Spec Sheet Overview
The hugely successful S10 series of flagships may be a tough act to follow, but Samsung has proven that it's up to the task with the Galaxy Note 10. The latest phablet bearing the Note name is the first of its line to come with an even larger variant, and boasts an eye-pleasing design with impressive performance to boot.
News: Snapchat Summons Dragons from Westeros to New York for Game of Thrones AR Promo
Spring is here across the US, but, through the lens of Snapchat and augmented reality, winter is coming to New York.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.3 Public Beta 2 for iPhone, Features Small Updates to Wallet & Date/Time
Apple just released the second public beta for iOS 12.3 today, Tuesday, April 9, one day after the release of the iOS 12.3 developer beta 2. This update introduces new Japanese "Date & Time" updates as well as changes to Wallet transactions. Overall, iOS 12.3 includes Apple TV Channels, premium monthly subscriptions with content available directly in the TV app across the Apple ecosystem.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.3 Developer Beta 2 Today, Includes Date & Time Features & Updates to Wallet Transactions
Apple just released iOS 12.3 dev beta 2 today, Monday, April 8, which follows the first iOS 12.3 beta by twelve days. This update introduces new Japanese Date & Time features as well as updates to Wallet transactions. As a whole, iOS 12.3 introduces Apple's previously announced Apple TV Channels, premium monthly subscriptions with content you can watch right in the TV app across Apple products.
News: Magic Leap Adds More AT&T Retail Stores, Reveals Game of Thrones Fan Swag
The Game of Thrones premiere is fast approaching, and along with it, Magic Leap has begun to unveil some of the fan-centric swag associated with its immersive experience based on the hit TV series.
How To: Get New Themes for Your Pixel on Android 10
In Android 10, Google is letting you adjust the accent colors to give your phone a bit of flair. When combined with the new system-wide dark mode, you are looking at eight different color combinations. That is seven more than we had in the previous version and seven additional ways to help your phone stand out.
How To: Enable Dark Mode in the Google Feed on Nova Launcher
The word on the street is Android users want a dark mode. With the increased usage of AMOLED panels on smartphones (including some midrange devices), there is a considerable demand for dark themes and their battery saving benefits. Recently, Nova just added the feature to Google Discover.
How To: Hide the Annoying Home Bar Indicator on Your iPhone X for Fewer On-Screen Distractions
The home bar, that tiny sliver of color at the bottom of the screen on Home button-less iPhone models, is helpful when first getting used to an iPhone X or newer's gestures. It helps you learn how to swipe up to unlock, go to the home screen, view the app switcher, and so on. But after a few weeks, it just becomes an annoying eyesore you can't get rid of — unless you have a jailbroken iPhone X.
How To: Save Up to 60% Battery Life by Enabling Dark Mode in the YouTube App
With the increasing popularity of OLED displays, companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung have all shifted away from traditional LCDs for their flagship devices. An OLED screen provides deeper blacks and is better for battery life since each pixel can be controlled individually while emitting its own light. This, in turn, has made dark themes an important software feature.
News: Samsung's One UI Update Makes Internet Browsing Way Better at Night
One of the headlining features in Samsung's One UI update is a new dark mode that turns stock apps and system menus black. But something you may have missed is what this theme does to the Samsung Internet app and all the websites you visit.
News: ARCore 1.6 Gifts Developers with Improved Lighting & Support for Screen Capturing
Christmas has arrived early for ARCore app developers, as Google just unwrapped a few iterative improvements to the augmented reality toolkit in version 1.6.
How To: Get iOS 12.1's New Emojis on Any Android Phone
There's been a lot of fanfare as iOS 12 rolls out, and as an Android owner, you might be feeling left out. There's no need to feel that way, though. You don't have to choose between running out to get a new iPhone or being stuck with only your Android's features — at least when it comes to emojis. This is one of those rare times in life when you can have it all.
News: Samsung's Phone App Looks So Much Better on One UI
Android Pie has finally made its way to signature Galaxy devices like the Note 9, S9 and S8. As you all know, Samsung Experience got a major makeover and has been renamed to One UI, featuring significant aesthetic changes to many of its native apps.
How To: Change Your Galaxy Note 9's Navigation Bar Back to Black
One option you won't find buried in the Galaxy Note 9's Settings is the ability to return the navigation bar to black. Samsung changed the default color to white with the Note 8, removing any ability to bring the black color back. But thanks to a neat app, Note 9 users can do it themselves.
News: Niantic Begins Accepting Nominations for PokéStops in Pokémon GO
Augmented reality gaming developer Niantic has decided to give its players the opportunity to make their mark on Pokémon GO with a PokéStop nomination system.
Back to School Batteries: Fast Charge Your Android on the Go with These 11 USB-C External Power Packs
Will smartphone batteries ever last as long as we need them to? Perhaps not. That's why we rely on external batteries to help us stay connected for hours, even days, longer than usual. But in 2018, you don't want to use just any external battery. Modern Android phones have fast charging — so should your portable charger.
How To: Get Nokia's Exclusive Camera App with Pro Mode on Any Android
Nokia's calling card used to be camera quality, a small bright spot compared to the black hole that was Windows Mobile. Since Microsoft discontinued the rarely-used operating system, Nokia phones began to run Android — and now, they're getting back to their camera-driven roots with their Pro Camera mode. What's more, you can experience their camera app on any Android phone.
How To: Pin Stickers in Instagram Stories to Real-World Locations or Subjects
Adding Stickers to your Instagram Stories is a great way to spice up your story, giving it another dimension that bare pictures don't have. Those who use Snapchat know that platform features stickers as well, and you can even pin them to your Snaps. Fortunately, Instagram lets you do the same.
How To: Pin Snapchat Stickers & GIFs So They Stay Put or Follow Subjects in Videos
Snap Inc. added stickers back in 2016 to its Snapchat app, and it has been building on that functionality ever since. Now, you can add Bitmojis and even GIFs from Giphy to your photos and videos. Even better, you can pin any of these stickers to background items or moving subjects when sharing videos. That means stickers aren't pinned to the screen itself but to a real-world location.
News: Tech Toothbrush from Samsung Incubator Graduate Uses AR to Help Kids Improve Brushing Habits
Kitten Planet, a spin-off company that grew up in Samsung's C-Lab incubator, has developed a connected toothbrush that teaches and motivates children to brush their teeth better via augmented reality while tracking their performance.
News: This Augmented Reality Panda App Uses the Voice of Kristen Bell to Teach Kids About Nature
What's black and white, sounds like actress Kristen Bell, and is standing in your living room talking to your kids right now? Don't worry, that's just Genius the Panda, an augmented reality character from the Yakables app for iPhones and iPads.
Snapchat 101: How to Tag Your Friends Using Snap's @ Mention Feature
Along with the awesome early-2018 addition of Giphy GIFs in Snapchat, you can now share other people's Snapchat handles and tag them in a way that lets others reach those people easily — something you couldn't do before in the app.
News: Google Is Testing a Redesign for Play Store App Listings
Google updates the Play Store periodically, but the changes are usually subtle. A recent server-side update, however, is shaking things up quite a bit.
News: Cornell Researchers Use Augmented Reality to Craft 3D Printed Objects in Real Time
We've seen a number of unique mashups of augmented reality with other bleeding edge technologies, but somehow it took until 2018 for someone to come up with a now obvious complement to AR: 3D printing.
News: Magic Leap Previews New Way to Experience Music with Sigur Rós App
Last week, Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz teased his Twitter followers with some "fun and cool stuff" to share in the coming days. On Monday, he made good on that promise, sort of.
News: People Are Pissed About the Lava Red OnePlus 5T
Drama seems to follow red smartphones. The internet nearly blew a gasket when Apple released a red iPhone 7 with a white front, and now OnePlus is taking some heat. The new Lava Red 5T comes with black bezels, not repeating Apple's mistake, so why are people mad at the Shenzhen-based company? Because Lava Red is only available in China.
Instagram 101: How to Archive All Your Stories Automatically for Easy Access Later
If you're familiar with Instagram Stories, you know that you can download your story to your iPhone or Android device for offline viewing. Those downloaded stories can easily get lost, and Instagram is finally doing something to keep that from happening with a new archive option for stories, similar to the regular posts archive.
Gmail 101: How to Delete or Archive Emails with One Swipe
Throughout the day, I receive countless emails from various e-commerce sites who are trying to get me to spend money I don't have. Normally, I dismiss the notification on my smartphone, but when I open the Gmail app, I find all those unread messages waiting to be dealt with. Fortunately, Gmail has a way to quickly get rid of all those emails with one swipe.
News: You Can Still Get Google's Magical Translation Pixel Buds on Preorder at Best Buy
While unveiling various other gadgets, Google announced the Pixel Buds at their October 4th event in San Francisco. These wireless earbud-style headphones are particularly interesting thanks to their ability to offer real-time language translation via Google Translate when paired with a Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL.
How To: Infect Yourself with Greyscale from 'Game of Thrones' for Halloween (Makeup Guide)
There aren't many people who will believe that a prosthetic zipper face or gunshot wound to the eye (disgusting as they are) are real, but greyscale from Game of Thrones? That'll really unsettle people for awhile because it totally looks like an actual, honest-to-God infection that someone in 2017 could conceivably have. Which makes it very effective come Halloween, whether it's for a full-on Princess Shireen, Jorah Mormont, or Stone Man costume, or to just infect a completely different chara...
How To: Disable the Always-on Ambient Display on Your Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL
Unlike traditional backlit LCD technology, OLED screens don't use any power to display black pixels. Many manufacturers have taken advantage of this by implementing an always-on display, which only lights up a few pixels here and there to show relevant info when your phone is locked. But this leads to extra battery drain, albeit small, and it increases the risk of screen burn-in.
News: The Pixel 2 Has a Semi-Transparent Notification Shade — Even with the Dark Theme Enabled
Update 10/22: We were curious to see if the transparency was available when you activate the Pixel 2's automatic dark theme by setting a dark wallpaper, and we're happy to report that it is!
Snapchat 101: How to Reserve Tables, Get Rides & View More Information About Snaps
Not that long ago, Snapchat was an app with only one purpose — to send and receive self-destructing picture messages. The app has clearly grown since, adding many features that both adhere to its original function as well as ignore it. One of these new features is Context Cards. You may have heard about them, but what exactly are they?