Despite the wide availability of markerless augmented reality experiences for mobile devices, there is still a market for scanned triggers for content, as evidenced by the new image recognition capabilities on Facebook's Camera AR platform.
Your homepage should be the site you most likely need to check whenever you start a new session with Samsung Internet. However, times change — perhaps the site you're currently browsing is just what you need to see multiple times a day. In that case, you'll want to know a quick and easy way to set it as your default homepage.
One odd change found in the Android Pie update is that the "Battery" menu no longer lets you see apps that are draining your battery, nor gives access to usage details. However, one quick menu tweak will bring the Battery menu back in line with Android Oreo's, only there's a hidden setting you have to unlock first.
The Galaxy S9 is truly a sight to behold. With a class-leading display, the best camera ever put into a smartphone, and Samsung's cutting edge design, it might just be the best piece of hardware on the market. Having said that, some of the most useful additions are actually in the software.
In stock Android Oreo and below, the volume rockers change ringer volume by default unless audio is currently playing. In order to adjust media volume when media isn't playing, you have to tap the down arrow next to the ringer volume slider that appears at the top of the screen to see the option. Now, Android 9.0 Pie has flipped things around, giving media volume the limelight.
Samsung's Galaxy S9 was recently announced with features like AR Emoji and Dual Aperture, but great functionality lives underneath them — such as the ability to have your home screen auto-rotate to landscape mode. It's a nice feature, but with a little work, you can already do this on any Android phone.
Apple's Animoji on the iPhone X might allow you to use your own facial movements to control your favorite emoji, but Samsung is looking to make you the focus of the interactive icon with the introduction of AR Emoji. Instead of a dragon or an alien, Samsung wants your unique look to define your avatar.
While it may not be an obvious feature, Apple actually built a way into iOS that lets you hide specific pictures and videos in the Photos app that you want to keep on the down-low, for your eyes only. If you show off your photos a lot or stream slideshows to your TV, this is a great way to keep less appealing content private.
If you have an iPhone, you probably know that iOS 11 hasn't been the smoothest iOS version released, to put it lightly. We've seen bug after bug cripple the software's usability, many times within the Messages app. Now, yet another glitch has emerged to drive us crazy, one where just a simple Indian character can crash Messages as well as other third-party apps.
Sharing Stories via WhatsApp Status grants your friends access to your daily adventures in the form of GIFs, photos, videos, or simple texts. Like Snapchat, stories you share with your contacts disappear after 24 hours, giving you an extra layer of privacy since anything you post will not be permanent. And if you want to limit who can see your private stories, WhatsApp also has you covered.
When you accidentally close out of an important tab on your iPhone, Safari's "Recently Closed Tabs" list really comes in handy. However, when it comes time to clear the list, things get a bit complicated. There's no "Delete" or "Erase" button on this page, but don't let that fool you — there are three easy ways to clear your recently closed tabs list.
If you're looking for an alternative iOS keyboard for your iPhone, look no further than Gboard. The Google-made keyboard is bursting with features like web search, Google Maps, GIFs, and more. Now, Gboard is adding a new feature that'll make it easier to find the perfect emoji.
In another move that pushes Meta 2 toward becoming a legitimate workplace tool, Meta Company has partnered with Dassault Systèmes to bring augmented reality support to the latter's Solidworks 3D CAD software.
The internet is full of fun, cool, and interesting websites. Bookmarks and favorites can help keep your favorite pages on hand, but they aren't the most convenient method. In iOS, Apple lets you save whatever webpages that you want to the home screen, so you'll have as easy access to them just as you do apps on your iPhone.
Google's Pixel lineup hangs its hat on smooth software and a polished UI. At the core of this experience is the Pixel Launcher, a home screen app that is often imitated, but never perfectly duplicated. That is, until developer AmirZ released the latest version of his Rootless Pixel Launcher port.
Nova Launcher is one of the most popular apps on the Play Store thanks to its rich features and fluid navigation. But one downside that comes with this abundance of features is that much of Nova's functionality is lost on the masses. Fortunately, I've used Nova for several years and learned a few tricks along the way.
Instagram updated its iOS and Android apps recently with an "Activity Status" indicator. This status allows your friends to see when you are currently active and when you were last active on Instagram. The problem is, Instagram was pretty quiet about this update, so many of you have it enabled without realizing it. Fortunately, it's simple to turn off.
Scary movies seem to be a natural fit for augmented reality experiences, with the latest example coming from the Insidious film franchise.
A recent TED Talk makes a strong case for the healthcare industry to adopt augmented reality as a means to expanding access to surgical care across the globe.
Google, Facebook, and Huawei have made an investment in nurturing the future of augmented and virtual reality through $6 million in contributions to the opening of a new center at the University of Washington.
The Razer Phone has already been crowned the best gaming phone on the market today, and it might need to make room on the mantle for another trophy: the best phone for Netflix. Its Quad HD 120 Hz display makes it a great option to binge Black Mirror on, but the Razer Phone didn't exactly stand out from the rest of the pack until now.
A new telemedicine application for the Microsoft HoloLens is promising paramedics and EMTs a new tool for diagnosis and treatment of patients in the field.
With all the hype surrounding meteoric rise of Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), it's easy to overlook the fact that you can send and receive cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. And thanks to Coinbase, sending and receiving digital coins couldn't be any easier.
If you own the Galaxy S8, S8+, or Note 5, be on the lookout for a new security update. These Samsung devices are the latest to receive the December security update to patch issues from both Samsung and Android.
TeslaCoil's Nova Launcher is one of the best home screen apps on the Play Store. It's about as fast as it gets, and it's always among the first to add the latest Android features. However, it looks like Nova Launcher isn't showing users all of the customization options available — apparently, there's a secret menu, and it's pretty simple to unlock.
If you've been paying attention, you already know that ARKit can detect horizontal surfaces and estimate ambient light, but did you know that it can also help you improve your soccer game?
Instagram stories are a great way to share your day-to-day experiences with your followers. However, it can be disappointing to see them go after 24 hours, especially if you shared something really special. Now, Instagram has a way for you and your followers to relive those great stories you've created with a new feature called Story Highlights.
Whether you've stumbled upon an interesting location you want to bookmark for later, need to remember where you park your bicycle or vehicle, or want to keep track of your favorite food truck locations, Apple Maps makes it easy.
It's been a busy week for Apple. After two beta updates in one week, iOS 11.2 was released to the public around 1:30 a.m. PT on Saturday, Dec. 2. Usually, Apple releases updates around 10 a.m. PT, but this one was rushed in the wake of a huge time/date bug that was causing some iPhones to crash on Dec. 2 once 12:15 a.m. local time hit. But bug fixes aren't the only thing in this new iOS version.
With Google's release of Poly API on Thursday, the search giant has found a way to simplify the workflow for AR creators by enabling the ability to integrate its 3D object search engine Poly directly into an application.
Thanks to Metaverse, it has never been this easy to create your own AR game.
It looks like there is a fatal flaw in the current macOS High Sierra 10.13.1, even straight from the login menu when you first start up the computer. This severe vulnerability lets hackers — or anyone with malicious intentions — do anything they want as root users as long as they have physical access to the computer.
Nova Launcher continues to push the boundary of features available to home screen launchers. While most users are waiting for their OEMs to send out the Android 8.0 update, Nova provides access to many of Android Oreo's features to the 99.8% of devices currently using an older version. However, Nova tries not only to add new features but to improve their design.
On all other iPhone models, you go to "Battery" in the Settings app and toggle on "Battery Percentage" in order to see the exact amount of power left in the status bar. On the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, and XR, however, that option no longer exists since there's not enough room up there to show the percentage indicator because of the notch for the TrueDepth camera system. But that doesn't mean it's gone entirely.
Just days after the launch of Google Poly, the marketplace for 3D virtual objects that developers can use for augmented and virtual reality apps, SketchFab, the current leader in the space, is firing back with a major enhancement to its platform.
Mobile AR developer Blippar has achieved a breakthrough by releasing what appears to be the first commercially-available AR navigation app.
With smartglasses designed for navigating drones and an AR drone racing game to its credit, Epson has just added another credit to its pioneering efforts in the AR-meets-drones space with the launch of a drone simulator app.
OnePlus has officially given us a date for when the OnePlus 5T will be announced. We've known about most of the specs for a while, and we just found out about the potential pricing, so a release date is the final piece of the puzzle. Consider this puzzle solved.
Many OEMs create skins that run on top of Android to differentiate themselves from their competitors. One example is the LG UX 6.0+ found in the new LG V30, which is Android at its core, but improved upon by the addition of unique features. One such feature is the ability to change the buttons at the bottom of your screen.
The iPhone X's "notch" is now possibly as notorious as Apple's decision to cut ties with the headphone jack. With that said, a cautious consensus can be made from first impressions of the X that the notch isn't all that bad. Still, one problem has shown up in reviews again and again — apps are not optimized to fit the notch.
