Market Reality: Apple's AR Toolkit Is Slowly Catching on While Google & Snap Invest in More AR Development Tools
The business of enabling the development of augmented reality experiences appears to be as lucrative as AR app development itself.
The business of enabling the development of augmented reality experiences appears to be as lucrative as AR app development itself.
Google's AI investment arm, Gradient Ventures, has joined a $10.5 million round of funding for Ubiquity6 and its platform for shared augmented reality experiences, just weeks after Google's GV fund backed a competing AR cloud platform.
It's been months since Leap Motion, the hand-tracking interface startup, announced the hiring of Keiichi Matsuda as the VP of design and global creative director based in London. Since then, Matsuda's normally active social media stream has been fairly quiet — until now.
In hopes of strengthening its growing augmented reality team, Apple has reportedly hired Michael Abbott, an engineering and investment veteran with past ties to Twitter, Microsoft, Palm, and others.
Update: Monday, 11 p.m. ET: In a report from Bloomberg, eMagin CEO Jeffrey Lucas has contradicted what appeared to be investor information found in SEC filings that surfaced on Monday. Although Apple is listed among several other investors in the company in filing, Lucas told Bloomberg that Apple is not, in fact, an investor in the company. Offering further clarification, Lucas told the news site that eMagin "listed those companies in the filing because it had discussions with them at industr...
Augmented reality software maker 8th Wall has closed a Series A funding round of $8 million in capital to feed the growth of its development platform.
There are plenty of third-party apps for scanning documents on your iPhone, but they can all be tossed out the door since iOS 11 includes one by default now. Instead of a dedicated app, it's included as part of the Notes app, and it's fairly easy to use. After scanning, you can save it, print it, turn it into a PDF, add markup, and more.
Facebook just ratcheted up its ongoing augmented reality war against the competition by stealing away Google's director of product for AR, Nikhil Chandhok. In his new role, the executive will serve as Facebook's director of product on the company's Camera/AR team.
As cheesy as it sounds, #HODL became a thing for a reason. A lack of discipline when dealing with cryptocurrencies can lead to impulse buys and panic selling, and ultimately, depleted funds. Luckily, Coinbase has a way to safeguard your cryptocurrency savings to not only protect them against thieves, but to also help you resist the urge to sell off your investments.
Digital imaging company OmniVision Technologies and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI) entered the CES fray this week with a new reference design for an augmented reality headset capable of 60 degrees field of view (FoV).
The first teaser for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom just hit computer screens on Sunday, but now plans for an augmented reality book for the film have also emerged.
With the advent of ARKit, apps that can place virtual furniture in a real room have become nearly a universal practice for furniture retailers, with Pottery Barn being the latest to join the fray.
Smartwatches are an excellent way to keep track of our smartphone's notifications as well as our own fitness. However, these devices are not usually cheap. If you'd rather not pay a premium for a piece of wearable technology, check out all the Black Friday deals on smartwatches — we've got all the best ones listed right here.
Exotic sports cars are the province of the ridiculously wealthy but, thanks to augmented reality, you can now get closer than ever to a Bugatti Chiron.
If DroneBase's new AR platform inspires even half the creativity among its users as Minecraft did with its community, then drone pilots are about to enjoy acres of blocky worlds to explore among the clouds.
The bandwagon for NFL teams using augmented reality to engage fans isn't exactly full, but it is starting to get a bit crowded.
The new iPhone X sets itself apart from its predecessors not only as the first Apple smartphone to use an AMOLED screen, but also as the first iPhone to cost over $1,000. True to form as an exclusive device, Apple's latest flagship also features a distinct ringtone. With a little tinkering, however, you can make the new "Reflection" ringtone your very own, regardless of which iPhone you may have.
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.
With all of the Pixel 2 excitement the past few weeks, many Samsung fans are feeling left out on that new software hotness. If you're anxiously awaiting the Android Oreo update on your Galaxy S8 or S8+, that wait may come to an end this week. Users over on Reddit decompiled the APK for the Samsung+ app to reveal multiple mentions of the upcoming Oreo Beta Program for the Galaxy S8 and S8+.
Karen Gillan must have had an absolute blast chewing the scenery as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, seeing as how Nebula is a ball of pure, seething fury pretty much 24/7. Combine that larger-than-life personality with her iconic blue and silver cyborg look, and you have a guaranteed hit for cosplay or Halloween.
Wonder Woman has always been a Halloween and cosplay staple. It's a costume that's both dependable and stylish — just like the Amazon who wears it. This year's reprise with Gal Gadot offers a fresh take on the old standby, with more muted colors, a tougher demeanor, and a decided lack of stars or stripes. Tahnee Harrison from CineFix's DIY Costume Squad has come up with a compromise between the old and new costumes. It's got the cut, styling, and details of Gal Gadot's 2017 costume, but the b...
Investors are ready to throw their money at augmented and virtual use cases that demonstrate a business purpose and a return on investment.
Augmented reality headset maker DAQRI today named chief product officer Roy Ashok as the company's new chief executive officer to accelerate the company's growth.
As augmented reality gains popularity, the demand for delivering related services and generating content increases. This is demonstrated by a pair of investments from the past week, one in the expansion of a technology lab and another in the form of seed funding for a content studio.
Two companies behind a number of augmented reality devices have joined forces to develop a 3D depth-sensing camera system that will facilitate computer vision capabilities for augmented/virtual reality experiences and more.
Influenced by the growth of augmented and virtual reality technology as well as 3D computer vision, Ericcson Ventures invested in Matterport, whose hardware and software help companies create AR/VR experiences.
GE Aviation and their software partner Upskill are seeing success by giving their mechanics smart tools and smart glasses, the latter in the form of Google Glass.
BMW seeks to hire 2,000 engineers for its driverless program ahead of the launch of its iNext Level 3 model in 2021, a source close to the company told Driverless.
Disasters can happen at any moment, and when they do, it's often hard to find the right information to help you get to safety as quickly as possible.
Though the Golden State Warriors won the crown as the NBA's best team again this season, the Sacramento Kings continue their rule as the sport's technology leader, debuting their new uniforms from Nike through augmented reality today.
The next time you suffer a cut or abrasion, think twice before you reach for the Neosporin. It's time, and mom, tested — you get a cut, you wash it carefully, then apply some triple-threat antimicrobial ointment. You may or may not slap on a band-aid. We won't cover it here, but so that you know, covering the wound with a sterile dressing or band-aid is a good idea.
The Sharknado franchise is, somehow, releasing a fifth movie "Sharknado 5: Global Swarming" (groan) next month. In anticipation of the film's release, the company has decided to create an augmented reality mobile game called, prepare yourself, "Sharknado: ShARkmented Reality".
The auto industry continues to shift into high gear to lay the groundwork for driverless cars with an electric vehicle (EV) emphasis.
Cyclists of the world, new AR glasses are here to improve your rides. Possessing 2 GB RAM, a quad-core CPU, GPS, 16 to 32 GB of storage, an accelerometer, camera, gyroscope, magnetometer, barometer, Bluetooth, speaker, WiFi, and a mic, these aren't your regular UV-blocking sunglasses. Called the Everysight Raptor AR glasses, these shades project all of the information a cyclist could need to optimize their rides.
The race is on to break Samsung's near-OLED Monopoly. Google joined the race back in April, reducing their reliance on Samsung's OLED's by supposedly investing about $880 million into using LG's OLED's for their Pixel phone screens. Now, Apple's stepping up with a rumored $2.5 billion investment into LG's OLED Display initiative for their phones too.
Dogmented reality might be coming to Apple's ARKit, so get ready to play with your new (AR) pups! Don't Miss: A Breakdown of the What Apple's New ARKit Can Do for iPhones & iPads
Your favorite music-streaming app is taking artists from its popular RapCaviar playlist on tour to five major US cities. That's right, put down your smartphones and pick up your credit card because these tickets are going to sell fast.
One of the most anticipated new Maps features in iOS 11 for iPhones is live and ready to keep you safe on the road. Right now, Do Not Disturb While Driving is opt-in, but if you missed Apple's on-screen prompt to enable it and want to turn it on, or if you accidentally enabled it but want it turned off, we're here to help.
With the hype surrounding the iPhone 8, Apple's announcement that it's developing driverless software, and the new iOS 11 beta out, it seems like the tech giant is constantly in the news. Today, Apple's continuing this streak with updates for its iWork app suite on iOS and macOS.
The common thread between this week's Brief Reality stories is that augmented reality is beginning to prove its worth as a technology that improves workflows and processes. From customer service to healthcare to manufacturing, augmented reality is helping companies improve productivity.