Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
How To: Change Instagram's Interface Colors for a More Personalized Experience on Your iPhone
Your Instagram feed is jam-packed with interesting and lively photos, videos, and stories that largely offset the iOS app's comparatively bland user interface. If the interface's dull colors have always bothered you, you can splash on some much-needed color to better reflect your personality and tastes.
Market Reality: Magic Leap Draws Comics, Warby Parker Tries AR, Facebook Acquires GrokStyle, & LeBron Dunks via Snapchat
This week, the recurring theme in augmented reality can be summed up fairly succinctly: content is king.
News: Facebook Acquires Visual Search Startup GrokStyle
The recent pitfalls and media fallout hitting Facebook hasn't stopped the social media giant from looking to the future.
News: Google Unleashes the Powers of Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover in AR via New Pixel Playmoji
Although Apple's Animoji game is strong, as recently exampled by its Ariana Grande collaboration, Google isn't slacking either, unleashing a far more immersive music experience for smartphone users.
How To: Safely Browse the Web with Opera's Free VPN
Browsing the web can be dangerous. With all of the various threats out there, it isn't enough to just avoid bad links and visit only HTTPS websites. You need to take advantage of the tools available to you so you don't end up the victim of some scam. Fortunately, Opera is making this a bit easier.
News: Apple Teams with Ariana Grande for '7 Rings' Animoji Music Video
The last six months have been filled with ups and downs for international music superstar Ariana Grande, but she's starting 2019 on a new, virtual foot, powered by Apple's iPhone TrueDepth camera.
News: Magic Leap Experience Lets Golf Fans Meet Jordan Spieth & PGA App Update Brings Pebble Beach to AR
Unless you're one of the world's top golfers, there's a good chance you are not stepping onto the fairways of Pebble Beach Golf Links this weekend.
News: Everything You Need to Know About the New Moto G7 Power
The Moto G7 Power is a phone that screams battery life. From its display resolution to the massive battery, it was designed for those who hate to recharge each night. But unlike other battery-focused smartphones, it comes at a price almost anyone can afford.
News: Magic Leap Lumin OS Beta Update Delivers Map Merge Feature for Multi-User Experiences
The last few months have delivered some great new Magic Leap releases, but that doesn't mean the development team is resting on its laurels when it comes to the platform itself.
News: ODG's Remaining Inventory & Physical Assets Become Available to Purchase via Auction
While the story of augmented reality headset maker Osterhout Design Group has come to an end, the epilogue of its demise continues.
News: Apple Fixes Group FaceTime Security Bug with Release of iOS 12.1.4, Available Now
Apple found itself in serious trouble last week when a teenager discovered a critical FaceTime bug that threatened the security of nearly every iPhone user. The bug enabled a user using Group FaceTime to access either the microphone or the camera of a recipient before they answered the call. According to Apple, the issues have been fixed in an iOS 12.1.4 update released Thursday, Feb. 7.
News: Everything You Should Know About the Moto G7
With the best selling phone on Amazon in 2018, Lenovo had big shoes to fill when making the successor of the Moto G6. Fortunately, Lenovo was up to the task. The Moto G7 continues to provide a high performance-to-price ratio, offering a worthwhile upgrade for G6 users while remaining budget friendly.
News: Snapchat Scores Viral Hit with Nike Augmented Reality Experience Starring Lebron James
Lebron James, or King James to his royal subjects, is extending the reach of his kingdom beyond basketball and into the realm of augmented reality.
How To: Get Dark Mode on Facebook for Less Eye Strain When Browsing Your News Feed [Jailbreak Tweak]
Dark mode support has steadily made its way to mainstream acceptance, with big-name apps like YouTube, Reddit, and Twitter adopting the feature to satisfy user demands. In this regard, Facebook is lagging, yet to offer the sought-after feature for easier viewing in low-light conditions. If your iPhone is jailbroken, however, you don't have to suffer like everyone else.
News: Hang Out in Seinfeld's Apartment via an Augmented Reality Replica on Your iPhone or iPad
If you've ever wanted to barge into Jerry Seinfeld's apartment like Cosmo Kramer, you can now do so without having to book a ride on the Peterman Reality Tour.
News: Apple's Ditching the 'Do Not Track' Option for Safari in iOS 12.2
Apple first added the "Do Not Track" option to Safari in iOS 7, which sent a request to site owners and advertisers to not track your browsing activity. By tracking your activity, those third-parties could tailor content to you that you're more likely to interact with. While the feature was always opt-in, it's no longer a feature at all in iOS 12.2 on your iPhone.
How To: Purchase Tweaks & Apps That Work with Sileo for Jailbroken iPhones
Sileo is an ideal marketplace for developers to showcase apps, tweaks, and themes that Apple would never allow in the App Store. While a majority of these packages are free to try out, there are jailbreak apps that cost money for your iPhone. But actually paying for mods can be a bit tricky.
News: 8th Wall Adds Another Brick to Its Web AR Platform with AR Camera for Easy Prototyping
In the past few years, augmented reality software maker 8th Wall has worked to build its platform into a cross-platform augmented reality toolkit for mobile apps, as well as web-based AR experiences.
How To: Get Google Home Reminders on Your iPhone So You Never Forget an Important Task
Smart home speakers, such as Google Home and Apple HomePod, are must-have accessories if you're trying to turn your home into a smart home. While HomePod is made to be used with the Apple ecosystem, the less-expensive Google Home can also be used with your iPhone — in more ways than you'd think.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.2 Public Beta 2, Includes Four New Animoji
Seven days ago, Apple released the first public beta for iOS 12.2. Now, public testers have access to the latest beta update since Apple released 12.2 public beta 2 on Tuesday, Feb. 5. The company released the developer beta one day earlier, which includes bug fixes, new Animoji, and more.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.2 Beta 2 for iPhone to Developers, Includes Four New Animoji
On Monday, Feb. 4, Apple released the second developer beta for iOS 12.2. The update features bug fixes to users running iOS 12.2 beta 1, as well as four new Animoji for Face ID devices. Developers are strongly encouraged to update their iPhones. It's unclear at this time whether the update includes a fix for the Group FaceTime bug discovered last week.
News: Warby Parker Makes It Easier to Try on Eyeglasses at Home with AR Update to Glasses App for iPhone X Series
If there's one company that is a fan of the TrueDepth camera on Apple's iPhone X devices, it's the popular eyeglasses retailer Warby Parker.
News: Magic Leap Finally Releases Madefire Comic Book App for Interactive Reading & Comic Creation
Among the many partnerships mentioned early on in the life of the Magic Leap One, by far one of the most talked about has been the comic book app from Madefire.
Market Reality: AR Goes to Court as Meta Infringement Case Unfolds & Epic Games Takes on Nreal for Trademark
Reading the augmented reality news lately has felt a bit like reading a John Grisham novel, as the business side of things has dripped with legal drama.
Exclusive: Meta Patent Infringement Case Moves Step Closer to Resolution, New Asset Owner Revealed
The story of Meta and its Meta 2 augmented reality headset isn't over, there's a new development that could impact its ultimate fate.
News: Augmented Reality App Maker Houzz Reveals Major Data Breach
In the realm of internet security, it's becoming clear that augmented reality is not immune to the increasing wave data breaches plaguing users.
How To: Save Your UltraViolet Movies Before They Shut Down in July
At one point, UltraViolet was the go-to way to maintain a collection of digital movies. Fast-forward to 2019, and things are different. The service is shutting down on July 31, largely due to the massive competition in the digital movie marketplace. If you're an UltraViolet user, don't worry too much, because you can save your movie library — as long as you act before UltraViolet closes its doors.
News: The 5 Best Reddit Apps for iPhone
These days, using Reddit on your iPhone is just as good, if not better, than Redditing on a desktop browser. While there's an official Reddit app for iOS, there are plenty of third-party clients that have similar features as well as custom perks to enhance the experience. But figuring out which Reddit client is best for your daily use can be a lot of work — work that we can make easier on you.
News: Magic Leap Highlights Award-Winning Augmented Reality Apps Revealed at Reality Virtually Hackathon
With Magic Leap One approaching six months since launch, Magic Leap is fully focused on building a content ecosystem and developer community.
Compared: The 5 Best Reddit Apps for Android
Whether you've celebrated multiple cake days or you're just now getting your feet wet with Reddit, it's a rite of passage to choose your preferred smartphone client. Quick spoiler: Your best option most certainly is not the official Reddit app.
News: Apple Rumor Mill Cranks Back Up with Reports of Next iPhones Using New Camera Sensors for AR
While the betting lines on iPhones with depth-sensing, rear-facing cameras in 2019 have already been established, a new report adds some certainty to the notion that the iPhone will get new AR superpowers later this year.
News: Samsung, Not Apple, Makes the Best Social Media Phones (& We Can Prove It)
We recently set out to find the best phones for people whose primary usage revolves around social media apps like Facebook and Instagram. Samsung, Apple, and Google were the three brands that made our top five, and while the latter only had one finalist, the two bigger OEMs had a pair of phones each. What struck us, however, was that Samsung's phones edged out Apple's not once, but twice.
How To: 15 Hidden Instagram Features You Don't Want to Miss
On the surface, Instagram is pretty intuitive, so you might think that you already know everything there is to know about using it on your iPhone or Android phone. But this photo and video-sharing app is constantly adding new features, some of which don't make the press releases. Even if you're an Instagram guru, chances are you've missed one of these hidden goodies.
News: Epic Games Files Legal Action to Stop Augmented Reality Startup Nreal from Using Name in the US
Augmented reality startup Nreal was a hit at this month's CES event, with some even calling the device a worthy challenger to the Magic Leap One.
News: The 5 Best Free Twitter Clients for iPhone
Twitter's official iOS app is adequate if you're not much of a tweeter, but if you are, there's a lot of useful features that are missing. Luckily, there are plenty of free Twitter clients available that you can use on your iPhone. These third-party apps have features such as customizable interfaces, post scheduling, and different browser options for opening links, to name just a few.
How To: The 5 Best Free Twitter Clients for Android
In a way, Twitter is the town square of our era, where people can share and discuss ideas on a wide variety of topics. While the tech giant has its own app for Android, it's pretty bare-bones when it comes to features. This has paved the way for third-party clients that are rich with customization options.
News: Galaxy S9 One UI Update Is Now Available for AT&T, Sprint & Verizon Customers
We've been expecting the latest Android Pie update for current Samsung flagships like the Galaxy S9 and Note 9 for some time now, but Samsung's running behind schedule in the United States. Thankfully, it appears that One UI has finally started rolling out for some lucky S9 owners.
News: Bluetooth 5.1 Adds Precision Location, Offers Beacons for Indoor Navigation & More Augmented Reality Experiences
The ability for apps and devices to determine the precise location of physical and virtual objects in space is a key component of augmented reality experiences, and the latest advancements in Bluetooth technology may have a hand in facilitating such location services in the near future.
News: Snapchat Turns Sunset Strip Billboard into AR Video Ad, Releases Lens Challenge to Promote Music Project
I was today years old when I first heard of Bhad Bhabie, but I'm told she is apparently a rapper with a rags-to-riches story.
Market Reality: North Plans Smartglasses Pop-Up Stores, Adobe Buys Allegorithmic, & Candy Ventures Snags Blippar Assets
The era of smartglasses designed for consumers has officially begun, as shipments of North Focals began arriving at its stores this week. And the company now has plans to expand its retail footprint.