Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
News: Toyota Begins Testing HoloLens for Production Process Improvements
With HoloLens and its enterprise-focused software offerings, Microsoft continues to make an impression on companies looking to adopt augmented reality, with Toyota Motor Corporation among the latest.
Market Reality: Samsung Intros AR Cloud, Niantic Real World Platform Makes Debut, Election Broadcasts Go AR
This week, at its developer's conference, Samsung took the wraps off a new tool from Wacom that bestows the S-Pen with AR powers, as well as its own entry to the AR cloud market called Project Whare.
News: Magic Leap Publishes More L.E.A.P. Developer Videos Featuring Insomniac Games, Weta Workshop & More
After publishing two batches of videos from its L.E.A.P. developer conference, Magic Leap has made the session on Seedling from Insomniac Games available to the public.
News: Samsung Unveils Its Project Whare AR Cloud Service & Wacom Partnership for AR Creations
With barely a whisper of augmented reality during the first day of its developer's conference, Samsung came out swinging on day two with the introduction of its version of the AR cloud and a partnership with Wacom that turns Samsung's S-Pen into an augmented reality magic wand.
Samsung Android Pie Update: Galaxy Devices Are Getting Better Edge Lighting
As Samsung's very own take on Android 9.0 Pie, the newly-dubbed One UI (formerly Samsung Experience, and TouchWiz before that) comes with a slew of new features and redesigned elements for the Galaxy's interface. Many of the changes, like the redesigned native app icons, are readily apparent, but other features got subtle enhancements that greatly improve user friendliness.
News: Here's When Your Galaxy Will Get Samsung's New One UI Update
Who doesn't love a refresh? Samsung's upcoming One UI makes it easier to use your device with one hand and adds a fresh coat of paint to the formally "Samsung Experience" skin. While you're probably looking forward to installing One UI on your phone, not all Galaxies are equal — your device could be one of the first to receive the update, or it could never see One UI at all.
News: Unreal Engine 4.21 Adds Support for Magic Leap's Lumin OS & Windows Mixed Reality Apps
Epic Games released Unreal Engine 4.21, bringing a number of new features, bug fixes, and improvements for augmented reality development, including deeper support for Magic Leap One and the addition of support for the Windows Mixed Reality platform and headsets.
News: Google's Security Report Shows a Clear Pattern Among Malware-Infected Users
According to Google's new Android ecosystem transparency report, you're eleven times more likely to be infected by malware if you're running Android Lollipop (5.0) as opposed to Android Pie (9). The same report shows that if you sideload apps, you're almost seven times more likely to be infected than if you stick to Google Play as your app source. All of the data provided in the report is quite interesting, but there's a clear pattern among malware-infected users.
News: Domino's Australia Serves Up Virtual Previews of Your Pizza Order in Augmented Reality
If you're hungry for pizza and ordering from Domino's in Australia, you can now see what your pie will look like in augmented reality before placing your order.
How To: 15 Tips & Tricks for New Pixel 3 Users
The Pixel 3 runs stock Android, so you might think that since you've used an Android device before, you should know your way around the new phone by default. But Google has actually added several great Pixel-exclusive software features to its flagships, and not all of them are easily discoverable.
News: Apple's Updated Clips App Lets You Put Yourself Inside the World of The Incredibles 2
One of Apple's most touted (but seldom seen on social media) apps, Clips, got an update on Wednesday.
News: iOS 12.1.1 Public Beta 2 Released Shortly After Dev Beta 2
Registered iOS developers received their first taste of 12.1.1 dev beta 2 on Wednesday, Nov. 7, and public beta testers received the iOS 12.1.1 public beta 2 shortly thereafter.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.1.1 Beta 2 to Developers
Developers opened their iPhones on Wednesday, Nov. 7, to find an update to the iOS 12.1.1 beta. Apple seeded developers the first 12.1.1 beta on Halloween, marking one week between it and the second beta. It's a quick update turnaround but in line with trends as Apple typically waits at least a week in between beta releases.
News: Children's Book Classic Peter Rabbit & Other Tales Come to AR via iOS App
The landscape for mobile augmented reality apps is still mostly filled with utility and gaming apps, but a new entrant into the space is looking to pull children into the mix.
News: You're Going to Love the New Notifications in Samsung's One UI Update
Samsung's Android Pie update — known as One UI — is bringing major changes to the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy Note 9. The main interface has received a visual overhaul, and this is no more evident than it is with notifications.
How To: Block Annoying GDPR Cookie Pop-Ups While Browsing the Web on Android
Ever since the GDPR was implemented, it seems every website on the internet needs to inform you of how its privacy policies have changed. If your web browsing experience has been marred by a constant barrage of these cookie pop-ups and privacy dialogs, you should know there's an easy way to block these web annoyances so you never have to tap another checkbox or accept button again.
News: GigSky Supports eSIM on Your iPhone for Easy Cellular Data When Traveling
With the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, Apple introduced dual-SIM capabilities to iOS, made possible by eSIM technology. If you recently picked up one of these three new iPhones and need to utilize your eSIM while traveling abroad, you might want to take a look at the data plans offered by GigSky.
News: Here's What's New with Samsung's Messages App in One UI
Samsung's version of Android Pie has landed on Galaxy handsets like the Note 9, S9, and S8, though we've known what to expect thanks to leaked beta versions of the software a few months back. The newly dubbed One UI has plenty of new features and improvements, but some of the first you might notice are the visual improvements to the default messaging app.
News: ABC News Elects to Add AR to Midterm Election Coverage
Election Day is like the Super Bowl for network and cable TV news, so ABC News is breaking out the big guns with a new augmented reality experience to win over eyeballs of viewers.
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: Niantic's Ingress Roots Get a Reboot with the Real World Platform
Ingress, the godfather of location based-AR games developed by Pokémon GO creator Niantic Labs, is getting a new lease on life via Ingress Prime, a reboot of the game built on the Niantic Real World Platform.
How To: Lower Vibration Feedback on Your Pixel 2 to Make Notifications Quieter
Haptic feedback and vibration of our smartphones have come a long way in recent years. These features are much more premium now than they once were, but most users are still unable to adjust the intensity for notifications or phone calls. Most higher-end devices make less noise on surfaces than in the past, but adjusting these values can still come in handy even today.
Market Reality: Apple's Acquisition of Leap Motion Fails, While Snapchat & Magic Leap Make AR Fashionable
This week, inside sources divulged details of how Apple nearly acquired Leap Motion, twice. Otherwise, companies offering or working on augmented reality technology had more successes than failures to talk about.
News: Niantic Demos Real World Platform & Spatial Audio Features for Pokémon GO & Ingress at Tokyo Conference
In the waning days of October, at the Innovation Tokyo 2018 conference, attendees got their hands on some of the new augmented reality experiences that Niantic is working on through its Real World Platform.
News: Walmart Turns Its iPhone App's Barcode Scanner into an Augmented Reality Price Comparison Tool
While many retailers have introduced try-before-you-buy features in their apps, Walmart has gone in another direction by bringing shoppers an augmented reality tool to help them compare products they want to buy.
News: ElementalX's Flar2 Talks 'Death' of Rooting & Future of Android
You can mod every aspect of your phone's software with root, but if you want to make changes at the hardware level, you'll need a custom kernel. If you've looked into custom kernels before, one name undoubtedly kept coming up: ElementalX. It's easily the best custom kernel out there, and the reason for that is its awesome developer, flar2, aka Aaron Segaert.
How To: Boost Camera Resolution & Photo Quality on Your OnePlus 5 or 5T with 1 Simple Mod
The OnePlus 5 doesn't have too many weak spots, at least not when you consider the price. But you might feel that the company with the slogan, "Never Settle," might have actually settled a bit with its camera. The OnePlus 5 and 5T don't have bad imaging specs, but they could use a pick-me-up, which is what we're about to provide. There's a bit of a catch, though.
News: Magic Leap Conference Videos Dive Deeper into Medical, Audio, & AR Cloud Uses for Magic Leap One
It turns out that attending the L.E.A.P. conference last month may have mostly been best for demoing the Magic Leap One in person, as the company has now uploaded the majority of the insider panels held at the event in Los Angeles.
News: Noovie ARCade App Brings Wreck-It Ralph Movie Experience to Augmented Reality for Fans
One of the funniest scenes from the teaser trailer for the Wreck-It Ralph sequel is the basis for the new pre-show augmented reality experience via the Noovie ARCade app.
News: Apple Just Released the First Public Beta for iOS 12.1.1 with FaceTime Updates
Get ready for more software testing. Just two days after the official release of iOS 12.1, Apple seeded public software testers iOS 12.1.1 — one day after developers received the update. While the rest of the iOS world is just getting to know all of the cool, new 12.1 features, testers are now sinking their teeth into what the next iteration of iOS has to offer.
How To: Bypass an iPhone's Lock Screen in iOS 12.1 & 12.1.1 to Access Contacts
While iOS 12 is arguably the best iteration of Apple's mobile operating system yet, one major fault so far is security. On Sept. 26, Videosdebarraquito discovered a passcode bypass that gave access to contacts and photos from the lock screen. Apple has since patched that security flaw, but Videosdebarraquito has discovered a new one that affects all iPhones running iOS 12.1 and 12.1.1 beta.
PSA: Don't Buy the T-Mobile OnePlus 6T if You Want to Root
When OnePlus announced their partnership with T-Mobile and the deal the magenta carrier is set to offer, mouths dropped. But as usual, this deal comes with some caveats. The bulk of these will hurt the folks who love to root, something a large portion of the OnePlus community enjoys doing.
News: Investors Back Another AR Display Maker as LetinAR Closes $3.6 Million in Funding
Smartglasses and AR headset makers like Microsoft, Magic Leap, and Google (and aspiring AR wearables makers like Apple and Snapchat) need display components for their products, and LetinAR is among the companies ready to supply those components.
News: Apple Just Released the First iOS 12.1.1 Beta to Developers
Apple wastes no time with betas. Right on the heels of the official release of iOS 12.1, Apple released the first beta for iOS 12.1.1 to developers on Wednesday, Oct. 31. The update comes just one day after iOS 12.1, which itself was in beta development for 43 days this year. The denotation for 12.1.1 indicates it's a minor update over 12.1, and there are only a few things in its release notes.
News: Leap Motion Nearly Jumped on Board Apple's AR Train Twice, Report Says
In recent years, Apple has assembled its augmented reality team and supply chain through a series of acquisitions, high-profile hires, and strategic investments, but at least one potentially major deal was recently ditched.
How To: Get All the New iPad Pro Wallpapers on Your iPhone
Apple unveiled the iPhone X-like redesign of its iPad Pro line Tuesday, Oct. 30. Among the many new changes to the company's famous tablet was a glimpse at its new wallpapers. These images, while clearly intended to take advantage of the new iPad's striking screen ratio, are clearly well suited for any iPhone as well. That's why we've made it easy for you to download them all.
News: Magic Leap Releases Series of Video Sessions from Inside the L.E.A.P. Conference
Magic Leap's recent L.E.A.P. conference was free to all who registered in time, but if you weren't able to make the trip to Hollywood, the company just released video of some of the sessions that took place over the course of two days.
News: Levi's Now Selling Exclusive Disney Denim Through Shoppable AR Lens on Snapchat
Snapchat continues to deepen its roster of clients adopting its Shoppable AR Lens, with clothing giant Levi's and Disney becoming the latest brands to try on the e-commerce platform for size.
News: Travelocity Transports Roaming Gnome into Augmented Reality with Its Mobile App
In the latest example of non-tech companies taking on augmented reality marketing, online travel site Travelocity has added an AR version of its Roaming Gnome mascot to its mobile app.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.1 with Group FaceTime, New Emoji & More
Apple released the first major iOS 12 update Tuesday, Oct. 30, just hours after the company's iPad and Mac presentation. While iOS 12.1 is the first official update to hit iPhones since iOS 12.0.1, beta testers had enjoyed an exclusive first-hand look at all the new features the latest OS has to offer. So what's new in iOS 12.1?