Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
How To: Get OnePlus' Minimalist Gallery App on Any Phone
Soon, you'll be able to buy your OnePlus 6, but you can experience some of its apps today thanks to XDA user erayrafet, who ripped a few OxygenOS apps like Weather and this Gallery app. While Google Photos is a great service, this Gallery app should be your go-to app for locally-stored photos.
News: New DigiLens Waveguide Displays for Motorcycle Helmets Are Thinner, Lighter & Cheaper
Less than a week after securing a $25 million Series C funding round for automotive HUDs, DigiLens has introduced a new waveguide display for motorcycle helmets that's thinner, lighter, brighter, and manufactured at a lower cost.
How To: Missing the App Store's Wish List? This Is the Best Alternative for iOS 11
Apple removed the Wish List feature from the App Store when iOS 11 was released, which was a huge disappointment, to say the least. While the Wish List still remains in the iTunes Store, it seems gone for good for apps, but that doesn't mean you can't still keep a wish list of interesting apps and games to buy later — using software already on your iPhone.
News: $150 Never Got You So Much — Alcatel Announces the 3V for the US
To quote MKBHD, cheap phones are getting good. Each year we are seeing manufacturers start to offer more for much less. This not only translates to cheaper flagship phones, but better budget phones. The latest example of this is the Alcatel 3V, which is redefining what you can get at $150.
News: Xiaomi Might Make Its First Stop on US Shores with the Mi 8 Anniversary Edition
US customers might soon get access to their first Xiaomi smartphone. The fourth largest OEM has been eyeing a US launch for years, with rumors indicating a debut by Q1 2019. Now, it looks like the Mi 8 Anniversary Edition will be the first device.
News: Apple Reveals New Animoji Karaoke Video Ahead of WWDC
Apple's lead marketing tool for the iPhone X, 3D Animoji that you control with your facial and head movements, are once again in the spotlight in a new commercial the company posted on its Korean YouTube account this week.
How To: Mute People on Instagram So You Don't Have to Unfollow or Block Them Completely
When you've had enough of someone's annoying baby videos or cat photos on Instagram, you would have to either unfollow them or even block them outright. Now, you don't have to cut ties with them completely — you can just mute them instead, a feature that Instagram's parent company, Facebook, has allowed on its platform for some time.
How To: Use Your iPhone's Speakers to Their Full Potential with These Ringtones & Alarms
With the exception of "Reflection" on the iPhone X, Apple hasn't updated their catalog of ringtones and alarms since iOS 7 dropped back in 2013. Since then, the company has come a long way with the quality of the iPhone's speakers, but their tones haven't adapted to meet those changes. That's left an opening for others to create their own ringtones mastered for the iPhone.
How To: Add Better Lighting Effects to Portrait Mode Photos on Your iPhone
Apple first included a dual-lens camera onto its iPhone 7 Plus back in late-2016, yet not many developers besides Apple have harnessed the depth data that "Portrait" mode photos provide. A relatively new app is changing that, though, by using that depth information to let you add realistic-looking light sources to your photos.
News: Disney Patent Previews More Star Wars AR Gaming
A newly-filed patent application from Disney Enterprises, Inc. teases more augmented reality lightsaber duels, either for at-home gaming or for the media behemoth's forthcoming Star Wars theme park.
How To: Use Hulu's Improved Scrubbing Tool to Accurately Skip Through a Show
While Hulu offers users an easy way to catch up on the latest shows, it hasn't always given them the best tools to control that content. Scrubbing — or fast-forwarding and rewinding — had a history of inaccuracy, as well as a general uselessness. Luckily, Hulu has greatly improved this tool, updating it with new features to help you find your place quickly and accurately.
Market Reality: Apple's Smartglasses Timeline Shifts, Continental Invests in Automotive HUDS, & Target Ships Web AR App
Consumers are chomping at the bit for augmented reality smartglasses from Cupertino's finest, but one market analyst is saying not so fast, Apple fans. Meanwhile, automotive AR is gaining speed, with the latest milestone coming courtesy of a major investment in waveguides by Continental. And although mobile AR apps have already arrived, retailer Target is taking a different approach. So why is Target tinkering with web-based AR? Answers below...
How To: Remove Embarrassing or Irrelevant Titles from Your Hulu Watch History
If you're someone who shares your Hulu account with friends and family, let me be first to acknowledge you as a hero. That being said, heroes have messy profiles — your account quickly reflects the viewing habits of your shared users, making it difficult to keep your watch history yours. That changes now, with new tools from Hulu.
News: Google Partnering with Qualcomm & Quanta on AR Headset, Report Says
After the spectacular rise and fall (and rebirth) of Glass, Google is taking another run at augmented reality smartglasses.
How To: Steam Controller Not Connecting via Bluetooth? Here's the Fix for Steam Link on Android
On May 17 2018, Valve released the Android beta version of their Steam Link app, which allows you to stream Steam games from your computer directly to your phone. You'll probably also want to connect your favorite controller to your phone, but you may run into some issues if you prefer Valve's own Steam Controller.
News: Analyst Predicts Apple's AR Headset Won't Arrive Until 2021
Noted analyst Gene Munster is predicting that Apple's initial entry into the augmented reality wearables category will be a year later than previous reports have estimated.
News: Try These 5 Hot New Snapchat Lenses — Iron Man, iDubbz & More
In this week of Snapchat lenses, there was a significant increase in ones that involve Marvel superheroes (the Infinity War effect), as well as ones with YouTubers. Classic sitcoms will also always do well, as evidenced by some of my previous roundups. Overall, lenses are doing well and only continuing to grow.
How To: Live Stream the Royal Wedding for Free on Android or iPhone
The pending union between Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle is almost guaranteed to set the internet ablaze as millions tune in to experience the spectacle and pageantry of such a momentous event. If you've cut the cord and are wondering where you can stream the royal wedding for free, we've got you covered.
News: Target Taps YouCam for Augmented Reality Cosmetics Web App
Department store chain Target is the latest retailer to offer an augmented reality cosmetics app for customers to virtually try on lipstick.
News: iOS 11.4 Beta 6 Released, Includes Fix for 'Black Dot' Bug & Under-the-Hood Patches
Talk about rapid-fire. Apple released the sixth beta for iOS 11.4 on Thursday, May 17. The update comes just three days after the release of iOS 11.4 beta 5, indicating that Apple is readily approaching the official release of the software. Apple has not issued an official iOS update since 11.3.1, which found its way to users over three weeks ago.
News: Google Updates AR App to Help Muslims Observe Ramadan When Offline
Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and prayer, is underway, and Google has rolled out several tools to help Muslims commemorate the event, including an augmented reality app.
How To: Play DC Unchained on Your iPhone Right Now
Marvel's Future Fight gave gamers the ability to brawl through near-countless levels as their favorite superhero. Not to be outdone, DC has soft launched DC Unchained in select Southeast Asian countries in preparation of a worldwide debut. If you're willing to put in a little work, however, you can try this game anywhere right now.
News: Watch JerryRigEverything Scratch, Burn & Bend the New All-Glass OnePlus 6
With the change to a glass back, many of us are concerned about the durability of OnePlus 6. While glass does offer some benefits such as lighter weight, without proper reinforcement, it can easily shatter in one drop. Now we have our our first look at its durability thanks to JerryRigEverything.
How To: Don't Waste $8 — Play This Free Version of NBA 2K on Your iPhone Instead
NBA 2K18 has been out for the iPhone for months, but its $7.99 price tag put it out of reach for many mobile gamers. There's light at the end of the tunnel now, as a free-to-play version is in the works as a soft-launch in New Zealand. If you can't bear the wait, you can play the free NBA 2K Mobile right now in any country.
News: Create & Explore Floating Orbs of Sound in AR with Fields App
When it comes to augmented reality apps, visually immersive experiences are plentiful, but audio experiences are somewhat underrepresented. A new app for iPhones and iPads seeks to shift the AR paradigm toward the latter.
ARKit 101: How to Pilot Your 3D Plane to a Location Using 'hitTest' in ARKit
Hello, budding augmented reality developers! My name is Ambuj, and I'll be introducing all of you Next Reality readers to the world ARKit, as I'm developing an ARKit 101 series on using ARKit to create augmented reality apps for iPad and iPhone. My background is in software engineering, and I've been working on iOS apps for the past three years.
News: Amazon Sumerian Now Available to Anyone Who Wants to Create AR & VR Apps
Amazon Web Service's do-it-yourself tool for building augmented reality experiences and VR has graduated from beta and is now available to all interested users.
News: ANTVR Goes Modular to Shrink the Size & Expand the Field of View of Its AR Headset
China-based virtual reality headset maker ANTVR has decided to enter the augmented reality space, and to do so it's launching its headset on Kickstarter. The company claims that its new Mix AR device has a field of view that surpasses the Meta 2, the HoloLens, and others within a smaller form factor and at a fraction of the price. But there's a catch.
News: NBC's Today Show Uses Snapchat to Let You Dress for the Royal Wedding in Augmented Reality
Royal wedding fever has officially taken over the media, and that obsession with the UK's latest marriage event has now extended to Snapchat, thanks to a new Lens from the Today Show.
News: Samsung's Galaxy S9 & S9+ Finally Get ARCore Support
Google's Pixel smartphone had a decent head start as one of the first devices to offer ARCore, but that early exclusivity has been frustrating for some Android device owners. Some of that frustration was relieved when Google added more Android devices to the ARCore list in February.
Instagram 101: How to Create Polls to Get Questions Answered by Followers & Other Users
Whether it's for your company, your professional image, or just your personal account, making a poll on Instagram is a great way to reach out to followers, friends, family, and other users to measure their thoughts and opinions about any given topic. Instagram for Android and iOS makes it fun and simple to do so, offering the same tools to professional and personal users alike.
News: Rick & Morty Fan Creates Snapchat Lens to Transport You into the Adult Swim Universe
It's not an official app, but for fans of Rick and Morty, it's a welcome piece of the series' universe until the recently renewed animated show returns to Adult Swim.
Spotify 101: How to Save Cellular Data When Streaming Music on Your iPhone or Android Phone
While I love Spotify, I don't like it devouring my data plan when streaming music away from a Wi-Fi network. If you have the foresight or time to download Spotify tracks for offline playback later, great. For those of you who like to listen to your music more randomly like I do, based on your current mood, streaming is the only way to go, and there are settings you can tweak to use up less data.
News: iOS 11.4 Beta 5 Released for iPhones with Under-the-Hood Improvements
Apple is speeding things up in the iOS 11.4 development. The company released to developers the fifth beta for iOS 11.4 on Monday, May 15. Public beta testers got the update just hours later. The update comes just one week after the release of the fourth 11.4 beta, which introduced minor bug fixes and security patches to iPhone running the software. This beta version doesn't seem any different.
News: Tech Toothbrush from Samsung Incubator Graduate Uses AR to Help Kids Improve Brushing Habits
Kitten Planet, a spin-off company that grew up in Samsung's C-Lab incubator, has developed a connected toothbrush that teaches and motivates children to brush their teeth better via augmented reality while tracking their performance.
How To: Play 'Final Fantasy Awakening' on Your iPhone Before Its Official Release
Despite numerous reports announcing its stateside arrival, "Final Fantasy Awakening" has yet to show up in the iOS App Store, much to the chagrin of millions of fans in the U.S. Unfortunately, the game seems to be stuck in soft-launch limbo, with no word as to when it'll land stateside. With a little hack, however, you can give this immersive game a try right now.
ARCore 101: How to Create a Mobile AR Application in Unity, Part 4 (Enabling Surface Detection)
One of the primary factors that separates an augmented reality device from a standard heads-up display such as Google Glass is dimensional depth perception. This can be created by either RGB cameras, infrared depth cameras, or both, depending on the level of accuracy you're aiming for.
News: Fantasmo Wants to Map the World & Its Buildings in 3D with Your Smartphone's Camera
Another AR cloud savior has emerged this week in Fantasmo, a startup that wants to turn anyone with a smartphone into a cartographer for spatial maps.
News: ABC News Seeks Audience with Royal Wedding Onlookers via AR App
If you have yet to receive your invitation to next weekend's royal wedding in the UK, then you can still experience part of the pomp and circumstance in augmented reality courtesy of ABC News.
News: Try These 5 Hot New Snapchat Lenses — The Simpsons, Playable Flappy Bird & More
In the wild world of Snapchat lenses, this week was an especially good one for cool effects. Lens-crafters (really hoping I can get that name to stick) have gotten a lot better at making non-gimmicky lenses that allow you to interact with them in new and unique ways.