Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
News: Nreal Pauses Smartglasses Production as Coronavirus Issues Impact China, Amazon, Facebook, Intel, & Nvidia Exit MWC
The deadly Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has not only has claimed lives in China but also has caused disruption around the globe, particularly in the tech industry. To date, the virus has claimed more than 1,000 lives in China, according to the country's officials.
News: Nreal Light Lands Kevin Bacon Hollywood Boost for 5G Smartglasses, CEO Cozies Up with HoloLens Chief
The international profile of augmented reality startup Nreal continues to quietly rise thanks to gradual updates and various strategic branding opportunities.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 13.4 Public Beta 1 for iPhone, Includes New Memoji Stickers & More Convenient Mail Tools
After the lackluster update that was iOS 13.3.1, we beta testers were in need of some excitement. Thankfully, Apple delivered the goods with iOS 13.4 developer beta 1, introducing fun new features like fresh Memoji stickers and a new Mail toolbar. Of course, that update was for developers only, so we public testers are thrilled that Apple just released the first public beta today.
How To: Apps & Websites Send Your Activity to Facebook — Here's How to View, Manage & Delete It
It's pretty much a given at this point that Facebook has a lot of data on us. While you might be conscious of the data you share with Facebook when you post, upload photos, or chat with friends on Messenger, you might not be thinking about all the data it receives from websites and apps you use outside the social media giant. Now, you can actually do something about it.
News: Transit Navigation App Moovit Adds Augmented Reality Way Finder Feature to Challenge Google Maps Live View
As helpful as it is, Google Maps isn't the only mapping app with augmented reality walking navigation anymore.
iOS 13: You Can Still Delete & Rearrange Apps by Long-Pressing — You Just Have to Do It Right
The new gestures in iOS seem, at first, to replace the old way of doing things. Rearranging and deleting apps from your home screen is totally different now, right? Well, not really. You can still do it the old way, if you know how.
News: Oscars Fashion History Lives via New LA Times Mobile AR Experience
The Oscars are just a couple of days away when Hollywood will celebrate the best crop of films from 2019 in the US and internationally.
How To: Find a Friend's TikTok in Seconds & Share Your Own with TikCodes
Like other popular social media apps, TikTok features a tagging system — dubbed TikCode — to follow people in your immediate vicinity. Instead of searching for their username, you can scan their TikCode, and TikTok will launch their page immediately. Of course, you have a TikCode of your own, so you can share yours with others in the same way.
How To: Add Invisible Hashtags in Your Instagram Story to Show Up in Search Without Uglifying Your Content
Spreading your reach to new audiences on Instagram takes time and effort. It's not only about taking unique photos and curating an exciting feed. You should choose the time of day wisely, connect with popular brands, and take advantage of hashtags. Unfortunately, hashtags can make it seem like you're trying too hard, but you can make them invisible — in stories, at least.
News: USA Today Examines the Problems with the Boeing 737 Max Aircraft with Latest AR Story
After jumping to the head of the class of augmented reality journalism in 2019, USA Today is continuing to push the medium forward in 2020.
How To: Steal Your Friends' Cool Instagram Stories Effects
When watching stories in your Instagram feed, there's a high probability that you'll come across an AR filter that you'll want to try out for yourself. A quick browse and search in the Effect Gallery will bring up nothing in most cases. But all of that unproductive work isn't necessary because there's a faster and simpler way to get the AR effect in Instagram Stories, and it works all of the time.
How To: Start Shooting a New TikTok in a Split Second with This Trick
If you have a great idea for a TikTok, you probably need to take your time to execute it perfectly. But what if something crazy and unexpected is happening in front of you, perfect for an impromptu video? You don't want to miss the action, but getting all the way to TikTok's camera might take too long — that is, if you don't know this trick.
How To: The Quickest Way to Start a New Instagram Post
Time is money, so there's profit to be had in tricks and shortcuts that make daily tasks faster on your iPhone. Take Instagram, for example. You can cut out a whole step in the posting process using this one, simple trick.
News: Magic Leap, Intel Bring Augmented Reality Cinema to SXSW
In the late nineteenth century, the advent of the motion picture wowed audiences with a new storytelling medium. Nearly a century and a half later, augmented reality is establishing a new frontier in film.
News: 33 New Features & Changes for iPhone in iOS 13.4
So far, iOS 13's major point updates have all been pretty exciting for iPhone. We've seen iOS 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3 come and go, offering more than 60 new features and changes combined to that very first version of iOS 13. While iOS 13.3.1 was a minor update, its successor, iOS 13.4, is a return to form.
How To: The 5 Best Phones for Social Media Addicts & Influencers in 2020
The top five apps of the 2010s were all social media apps of some kind, and the fact that's not surprising to you says a lot. We may use them for other reasons here and there, but our phones are social media machines at their cores. The thing is, some make better machines than others.
News: Daqri's Patent Portfolio & Trademarks Put Up for Sale
After closing its office last year, enterprise AR company Daqri has moved on to the final stage of its lifecycle with the liquidation of its assets.
How To: Remove & Disable Photo Tags on Twitter for Better Account Privacy
If you don't want to be found on Twitter, there are several ways to do that without making your account private. For instance, you can choose an obscure username, omit your real name, or pick a random avatar. But there are lesser-known features deep in your settings that can also protect your privacy online, including preventing photo tags.
News: Apple's iOS 13.4 Developer Beta 1 for iPhone Includes New Memoji Stickers & More Convenient Mail Tools
What could Apple be planning here? Are we going to see some revolutionary new features for the iPhone? Will we see mostly bug fixes and security patches? It's time to find out, as Apple just released the first developer beta for iOS 13.4.
News: Google Just Made It Easier to Get Your Hands on Glass Enterprise Edition 2
Last December, Google unceremoniously killed off Google Glass Explorer Edition with a final software update, leaving the Glass Enterprise Edition 2 as the only remaining AR wearable from Google.
How To: The Genius Way to Track Down the TikTok Song Stuck in Your Head
Songs new and old are given a fresh purpose through the TikTok meme machine, but it can be tricky to figure out where a track originally comes from. Sure, you can tap the name of the song to see the source on TikTok, but if it were a snippet uploaded by someone other than the track's creator, the song title likely wouldn't be listed. Luckily, there is an easy way to figure it out.
How To: Lock Down Your Social Media Accounts with These 7 Useful Security Tips
As long as you're on the internet, you can be hacked. With an estimated 2.65 billion social media users, these apps are prime targets for hackers.
News: 10 Accounts That Will Make You Sign Up for TikTok
Does TikTok scare you? Trust me, I get it. It's a strange, unfamiliar place to those of us not accustomed to its ways, populated by teenagers and college students with their own subcultures, memes, and humor. But here's the thing: TikTok has something for everyone, you included.
News: The Lynx Mixed Reality Headset Will Be the First Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Device — Arriving This Summer
The first headset running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset from an original equipment manufacturer is official.
How To: See View Counts for Your TikTok Videos
A huge part of the fun that comes with TikTok is watching your videos go viral. To that end, the popular social media app has a simple way to let you instantly see how many people viewed your videos and photos
News: Apple Adds Multiplayer AR Spy Game 'Secret Oops' to Arcade Subscription Service
With No Time to Die, the 25th installment in the James Bond saga, arriving in April and Black Widow, the first solo film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's own secret agent, following a month later, what better way to get in the espionage mood than some augmented reality spy gaming?
How To: Leave a Facebook Group You're Not Interested in Anymore
Whatever it is you're into, Facebook Groups are a great way to connect with others that share your interests. And beyond matching you up with like-minded people, Groups also give you access to deals on items, help you organize play dates with families in the same area, and so much more.
Market Reality: Apple Sets Stage for AR Smartglasses, Spatial Adds Funding, & Pinterest Enters AR Makeup Game
We may or may not see Apple's long-awaited take on AR smartglasses this year, but the company is more than getting its practice swings in with its current wearables business, which hit record revenue in 2019 according to financial results released this week.
How To: Master TikTok's Shuffle Dance in 4 Steps
What's the latest dance trend sweeping TikTok? The Shuffle Dance. If you just watch people doing the Shuffle Dance, especially the really good ones, you might think it's a bit complicated. In reality, it's really not that hard. It's just a handful of steps.
News: Squarepusher Music Video Layers Tokyo, Japan with Augmented Reality Through the Lenses of Concept Smartglasses
Legendary drum-and-bass artist Squarepusher, the Warp records labelmate of fellow electronic music legend Aphex Twin, is back with his fifteenth album called Be Up a Hello, which is set to drop on Feb. 1.
How To: View the Most Recent Stories on Facebook to Stay in the Know
Facebook is where a lot of people get their news. The problem, though? Your Facebook feed gets jumbled with random post times, which isn't useful for keeping up with new stories in real-time.
How To: Unlock Any Face or World Lens from Someone's Snapchat Story
You get a snap from a friend, per usual, but what's this? The lens they're using is actually really cool. Of course, you want to try it out for yourself, but don't bother searching Snapchat's enormous library of lenses to find the AR effect. Instead, there's a simple way to instantly test it out, right from the original snap itself.
News: Pinterest Adds AR Makeup Try-On Feature to Its Mobile Lens Tool
It's time to make some more room at the augmented reality cosmetics counter. This week, social media giant Pinterest unveiled "Try On," a virtual make-up visualization tool running on its Lens visual search tool.
How To: Make a Thread on Twitter to Tweet Your Tweetstorms More Easily
The 280-character limit for tweets on Twitter is double what it used to be back in the day, but it's still not enough to express in-depth thoughts, ideas, commentary, rants, blogs, stories, and the like. These tweetstorms, as they're called, are the reason why Twitter created its threads feature.
News: Spatial Raises $14 Million to Improve Augmented Reality Telepresence Platform for HoloLens & Magic Leap
Having emerged as one of the leading augmented reality video conferencing apps, Spatial is ready to improve upon the experience.
News: What Apple's Record Wearables Earnings Could Mean for Its AR Smartglasses Future
This week's Apple earnings offered a report of solid performance and guarded optimism about future iPhone sales, which may be impacted later this year by issues around the current coronavirus epidemic in China.
News: Google Arts & Culture Builds AR Replica of Bangladeshi Mosque as Part of Historic Site Preservation Project
In recent years, Google's Arts & Culture project has been leading the way in terms of innovating the practice of using technology to preserve landmarks and great works of art via digital 3D copies. Increasingly, these efforts are also giving history buffs the chance to experience classic works and spaces with unparalleled intimacy through the wonders of augmented reality.
News: Apple Releases iOS 13.3.1 for iPhone, Fixes Security Bug in Mail App
After three rounds of beta testing, Apple finally released iOS 13.3.1 today, Jan. 28. It's the latest update to iOS 13, coming exactly seven weeks after the release of iOS 13.3. So, what's new?
How To: Enable Gaming Preferred Mode on Google Wifi or Nest Wifi for Smoother Stadia Streaming
Although not quite as common today with the always-connected world we live in, you still might be having bandwidth wars in your home right now. If the internet connection in your area is mediocre, you know the feeling well. Google Stadia recommends having a 25 Mbps connection for playing in 4K, so you can expect to need at least that much to maintain a smooth, high-quality gaming session.
News: 8th Wall & Trigger Build AR Lego Playground for Web to Promote Fox's 'Lego Masters'
Lego has shipped several apps and products that add an augmented reality dimension to their playsets. But it has taken a reality TV show from Fox to allow brick fans to build with virtual bricks in augmented reality.