Hot Gadget Hacks Posts

News: The iPhone 7 Just Became the Spiritual Successor to the iPhone SE

After announcing the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max, one thing was noticeably absent from Apple's Sept. 12 event — the iPhone SE 2, the long-awaited upgrade to 2016's niche yet popular 4-inch model. Not only does Apple have no apparent plans for an update, it has also officially dropped the SE from its online store. Looking for a small iPhone that packs a punch? You might have to try the iPhone 7.

News: iPhone XR vs. iPhone XS vs. iPhone XS Max — Comparing the Key Specs

With this year's iPhones, Apple built upon the success of the iPhone X in a somewhat iterative manner. All three phones borrow from the 2017 flagship's design, which many praised as being the best in years. They also tried to help those of us who don't have more than a grand to spend on phones, creating a new product with a few compromises.

News: Everything You Need to Know About the iPhone XR

The iPhone XR has touched down alongside the XS and XS Max, and it utilizes tried and tested materials found on the iPhone 8, while being molded in the same vein as the iPhone X. The budget-friendlier flagship comes with its own set of design elements to set it apart from its more expensive brethren, but is powered by the same SoC, making it is a solid choice if you're thinking of upgrading.

News: iPhone XS vs. Samsung Galaxy S9: The Battle of the Small Giants

Until next March, the iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy S9 will be the only phones considered by many. Whether you're an Apple fan wanting to see how your new phone stacks up against the competition or a buyer on the fence, here's how the latest flagships from the two biggest brands compare.

News: NBA Star Steve Nash & Classic Galaga Game Come to AR to Show Off ARKit 2.0 as Apple Unveils New iPhone Lineup

On Wednesday, as expected, Apple unveiled the next generation of iPhones, namely the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max along with the more affordable iPhone XR, each equipped with a TrueDepth sensor.

News: Everything You Need to Know About the iPhone XS

Apple's successor to the iPhone X is a beautifully made smartphone with much of the same characteristics, including a 5.8-inch OLED screen, two storage choices, and Face ID. But many features set the iPhone XS apart from its predecessor, as well as the other 2018 lineup of iPhones, making it a worthy choice to upgrade to if you're in the market for a new mobile device.

News: The iPhone XS & XS Max Are IP68 Water-Resistant — Here's What That Really Means

They're finally here. Apple announced three new iPhone models at their "Gather Round" event in Cupertino, and they're all absolutely gorgeous phones. With bezel-less screens and polished titanium edges, the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR are truly marvels of engineering — but perhaps the most impressive design feat Apple pulled off is the fact that two of these models are rated IP68 under the IEC standard 60529.

How To: 11 Tips for Preordering an iPhone XR, XS, or XS Max Before They Sell Out

Apple's new iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max are sure to be hits this year. Of course, that means plenty of hungry customers are looking to sign up for a model once preorders begin on Friday, Sept. 14, for the XS models, and Oct. 19 for the XR. Luckily, there are preemptive actions you can take right now to avoid waiting outside an Apple Store overnight or getting kicked out of the preorder queue online.

News: Preorder & Release Dates for the iPhone XR, XS & XS Max

The world finally received its first official look at the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max, Apple's 2018 suite of smartphones, on Wednesday, Sept. 12. If you're someone looking to get their hands on one, two, or three of these new iPhones as soon as possible, you'll need to know all of the important dates so you don't end up missing out to others ahead of the line.

News: Niantic Begins Accepting Nominations for PokéStops in Pokémon GO

Augmented reality gaming developer Niantic has decided to give its players the opportunity to make their mark on Pokémon GO with a PokéStop nomination system.

News: Magic Leap Expands to Switzerland with New Optics Center, Reveals More About Seattle Facility

Facing mixed reviews for the Magic Leap One, Magic Leap has already returned to the lab to improve on the device's successor.

How To: Are You Eligible to Upgrade to the Latest iPhone? Here's How to Check

With new iPhone models out, you'll have updated cameras to try out, a faster processor, and new colors to choose from. The only thing that could stop you from picking one up yourself is, well, your current iPhone. Here's how to check if you're eligible to upgrade to iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, or any other iPhone still being sold.

News: 8th Wall Beats Google & Apple to Market with an AR Platform for Web

Google and Apple are working to enable augmented reality content for the web, but startup 8th Wall has managed to launch a web AR platform that works on mobile browsers now.

How To: Improve Battery Life on Your iPhone Running iOS 12

Performance and stability improvements, as well as new features, are just some reasons to install iOS 12, but new changes mean new battery health challenges. It can be difficult to boost battery life while taking advantage of everything this update has to offer. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to avoid unnecessary battery drain when using iOS 12 on your iPhone.

News: Samsung's Super Budget Friendly Galaxy J3 & J7 Coming Unlocked on September 14

Earlier this year, Samsung released the Galaxy J3 and J7 to select markets. These two devices are the latest in the J series, Samsung's super-budget series that tries to rewrite what it means to be a budget phone. Now, starting September 14th, you will be able to get them GSM unlocked.

News: Meta Company's Funding Fallout Followed by Furloughs, Report Says

After a $20 million funding round fell through, augmented reality headset maker Meta Company has been forced to furlough (or place on temporary leave of absence) approximately 65% of its workforce for 30 days.

News: Samsung Is Bringing the Galaxy A6 to the US — Budget Phone with a Flagship Screen

Samsung makes more than just the Galaxy S and Note series. With a large portion of the world not able to afford phones with flagship specs, Samsung makes several different series that focus on price. The latest is the Galaxy A6, a budget option with a flagship feature.

News: After 5 Years, Touch ID Is About to Get Read Its Last Rites

RIP Touch ID. Apple's fingerprint sensor on iPhone and iPad models with Home buttons is about to become phased out on Wednesday, Sept. 12. While Touch ID will remain an integral part of models from the iPhone 5S to the iPhone 8 Plus, as well as the iPad Air 2 through the sixth generation iPad, Face ID will completely take over as the default security method for unlocking future iOS devices.

News: Exec Shuffle — Snapchat Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan Resigns, Lampix Marketing VP Gordon Meyer Exits

In an SEC filing published on Monday, Snap, the company behind Snapchat, disclosed that Imran Khan, its chief strategy officer and a member of the NR30, is leaving the company to "pursue other opportunities."

How To: Watch Apple's Sept. 12 'Gather Round' Event on Your Computer, Smartphone, or Apple TV

Apple revealed three new iPhone models on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at its "Gather Round" event in Cupertino, as well as announced the official release date of iOS 12, its newest mobile operating system. If you missed it and want to watch the full event, here's how to do it on your computer, smartphone, or Apple TV.

Market Reality: Apple, Snapchat, Magic Leap, & Unity Demonstrate Why They Make Up Top 4 of the NR30

This week, Next Reality published its annual feature on the leaders in the augmented reality industry, the Next Reality 30. So it's no coincidence that the companies represented in the top four spots of the NR30 also made business headlines in AR this week.

News: Warner Bros. Conjures 'The Nun' Snapchat AR Lens to Scare Up Ticket Sales

The latest sponsored augmented reality experience on Snapchat from a movie studio might be its scariest — and perhaps most popular — yet.

News: 3D Scanning App for iPhone Makes Capturing & Sharing AR Content as Easy as Taking a Picture

Augmented reality app developer Laan Labs has shared a preview of a beta app that achieves 3D scanning with just an iPhone and produces highly-detailed models for sharing with others.

How To: Get Android's Quick Settings on Your iPhone for Instant Access to Location Services, Settings & More

In iOS, the Control Center is an easy way to toggle settings such as Wi-Fi, Do Not Disturb, and Low Power Mode. Its Android counterpart is called "Quick Settings," which provides much of the same functionality with a few bonuses. If you're curious about how this toggle menu works or miss having it before you made the switch from Android, you can test it out on your iPhone right now.

News: First Truly Mainstream, Hit Augmented Reality App May Arrive Through Advertising, Says Unity CEO

Despite the launch of ARKit a year ago, and ARCore this year, a true killer app has not arrived for either platform, that's according to the head honcho for one of the leading development environments for 3D applications.

How To: Here's a Great Alternative to Fortnite & PUBG You Can Try on Your iPhone Right Now

Massive multiplayer shooters like Fortnite have become all the rage, as mobile gamers duke it out in long, protracted battles that can often be as excruciating as they are thrilling. If you're yearning for a more fast-paced shooter on iOS, Nitro Games has you covered, and has soft-launched Heroes of Warland for further tweaking. Of course, you can try the game yourself right now with a tiny hack.

News: Why You Still Shouldn't Use iCloud Keychain to Store Your Passwords in iOS 12

With iOS 12, iCloud Keychain has become a more useful password manager for your iPhone with strong password suggestions, password reuse auditing, and Siri support. However, before you jump ship from your current password manager, you should consider all the reasons why iCloud Keychain doesn't make sense as your primary password manager.

News: The 8 Best FaceTime Features in iOS 12 for iPhone

From its introduction and all the way through iOS 11, FaceTime has been restricted to one-on-one calls. Apple will be changing that in a future iOS 12 update with Group FaceTime, which adds support for up to 32 people total in group audio and video calls. But that's not all we'll be getting in iOS 12 — there are more features that FaceTime has or will be getting soon that you should know about.

News: 7-Eleven Puts Augmented Reality in the Game to Attract Football Fans

Not content to let NFL's official pizza sponsor corner the market for feeding football fans, 7-Eleven has taken a page out of Pizza Hut's playbook with a promotional augmented reality game.

News: Turn the Sky into a Shared Canvas with This Fun Augmented Reality App

While we've seen Snapchat apply sky segmentation to AR content, the makers of the Blue Sky Paint app have applied similar capabilities to create and share airborne art.

How To: Get the New Pocophone Launcher on Any Android Phone

Xiaomi made a new phone with their sights set on picking up some ex OnePlus users. As a result, the Pocophone F1, or just Poco in some markets, is quite unlike most other Xiaomi phones. While you can't buy the F1 in stores in the US, you can get its home screen app on almost any phone right now.

How To: Craving a Mario Kart Gaming Experience on Your iPhone? Give This Soft Launched Game a Try

Space Ape has soft-launched Go Race: Super Karts, giving you a fresh take on mobile racing games by blending in elements found within the classic Mario Kart series and RPGs for some seriously addicting gameplay. And while it's only available in Australia, Netherlands, and Philippines, there's a workaround to get this game on your iPhone right now, no matter where you are.

News: Magic Leap Teams with Andy Serkis Effects Studio Imaginarium for New AR Experience

The critics of Magic Leap have been circling for a couple of weeks now, but that isn't stopping the company from pushing forward with major new partnerships. The latest Magic Leap tie-up is with none other than motion capture actor Andy Serkis and his UK-based The Imaginarium Studios.

News: Case Makers Are Ready for the New iPhone XR, XS & XS Max with Buy & Preorder Pages Live Right Now

While the three new iPhones won't even be announced until Sept. 12 during Apple's fall event, case makers are already primed for the launch of the devices. Some case designs are already live on manufacturer websites, and you can even buy or preorder cases for the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Plus to have right now or on launch day.

How To: Check if Your Apps Are Targeting Oreo

Starting November 1, 2018, Google will require that all new apps and updates to existing apps target Android 8.0 Oreo or higher. This move means the developers behind many of your favorite apps are now scrambling to get their software modernized, while others are considering abandoning outdated apps altogether.

News: Model Ashley Graham Struts Through Augmented Reality via 3D Capture by the New York Times

Traditional media institution The New York Times continues to break new ground in its augmented reality news coverage, this time with a 3D volumetric capture of model Ashley Graham.

How To: YouTube Finally Has a Dark Theme on Android — Here's How to Get It

After months passed since Google first announced the feature, YouTube's dark mode has finally reached the Android masses. Sure, it just changes some colors, but it has been a highly sought-after feature since iPhone users got it months ago.

NR30: Next Reality's 30 People to Watch in Augmented Reality in 2018

Welcome to the first annual Next Reality 30, our list of people who've made the biggest impact on the augmented reality space in the last 12 months — and what a 12-month roller-coaster ride it's been. Apple introduced ARKit-powered apps last fall, Google launched ARCore for Android soon after, Snapchat began monetizing AR, and the Magic Leap One headset finally came out. These are historic times.

News: Snap Shows Us the Future of AR Smartglasses Through New Styles of Spectacles 2 Camera Glasses

While they don't do augmented reality just yet, the latest styles of Snapchat's Spectacles 2 camera glasses serve as a peek into the future of how mainstream AR wearables may look.

How To: Stop Incoming Calls from Taking Over Your iPhone's Entire Screen

Incoming phone calls and FaceTimes, whether you want to answer them or not, will take over your entire iPhone's screen — no matter what you're in the middle of doing on the device at the moment. You could be browsing the web, playing a game, or chatting on social media. It doesn't matter, you'll get interrupted. But you don't have to put up with it anymore.