Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
How To: Enter Split Screen Mode in Android P to Run Two Apps Side by Side
In the new Android P, the multitasking view is reminiscent of webOS days. As a result, enabling split screen mode no longer works as it once did. However, it's still easy to use, whether or not you're using the new "Swipe up on Home button" gesture or have stuck with the old-style navigation buttons that include the "Recents" aka "Overview" softkey.
Market Reality: AR Competition Heats Up as Microsoft, Google, & Samsung Make Money Moves
Some of the big guns developing augmented reality technology fired shots at their competitors with announcements and leaked plans this week.
News: Here's How Shared AR Experiences will work via Google's Cloud Anchors
In the arms race between ARKit and ARCore, Google scored a big win with the announcement of its Cloud Anchors shared AR experiences platform at Google I/O on Tuesday.
How To: Install Android 9.0 Pie Beta on Your Essential Phone
Earlier this year, we got our first taste of Android Pie in the form of Developer Preview 1. As with all past Android previews, DP1 was limited to Google devices — but at Google I/O 2018, Google announced that Developer Preview 2 would be accessible to other devices, including the Essential PH-1.
News: Niantic Planning to Chart AR Maps with Crowdsourcing Help from Gamers
If you are an active player of Pokémon GO, you may soon be capturing more than just virtual pocket monsters.
How To: Black Dot Character Crashing Messages? Try These Fixes on Your iPhone
There are some nasty iOS bugs out there, many determined to crash the Messages app. For example, in February 2018, we saw a Telugu character render the iPhone messaging app totally useless. While that bug has been fixed, the nightmare continues in a new bug, aptly dubbed the "Black Dot."
News: First Images Captured by Microsoft's Project Kinect for Azure Surface Online
Images captured by Microsoft's next generation Kinect depth-sensing camera that will facilitate augmented reality experiences in the next version of the HoloLens and give computer vision to untold multitudes of connected devices in enterprise facilities, have made their way into the wild.
News: Samsung & Microsoft Join Forces to Take on Apple with Combo AR & VR Headset
Mere weeks after rumors surfaced that Apple may be working on a headset capable of VR and augmented reality, it appears that Samsung is taking the same approach, but with an assist from Microsoft.
How To: 24 New Features & Changes the Android Oreo Update Gives Your LG V30
Its official: On May 8, T-Mobile finally released the Android Oreo update for the LG V30 and V30+. Now, every major US wireless carrier has pushed the update. For me, this update is a big deal. Not only does Android Oreo bring some new tools and features, but LG has also included a few additions as well.
News: Google Lens Gets Smarter with Text Selection, Style Recommendations, & Real-Time Search
During Tuesday's keynote at the I/O developer conference, Google unveiled new capabilities for its Lens visual search engine and expanded the availability of the platform in smartphone camera apps.
News: Google's ARCore Moves Past Apple's ARKit in the Race for Shared Augmented Reality Experiences
On Tuesday, at Google's I/O developer conference, the company announced a huge update to its ARCore augmented reality toolkit that matches the latest features of ARKit, and surpasses Apple's AR platform via support for shared experiences.
How To: Install Android 9.0 Pie Beta on Your Google Pixel or Pixel 2 Right Now
Earlier this year, with the Developer Preview, we got a tantalizing glimpse of Google's upcoming Android 9.0 Pie and a whole slew of new features that comes along with it, such as iPhone X-like gestures and improved security features, to name a few. With its announcement at Google I/O, Android Pie just got a lot more accessible.
News: 8 New Features Coming to Google Assistant for Android & iPhone
According to Google at their 2018 I/O conference, Google Assistant is now available on over 500 million devices. Now that the assistant is available on iPhones as well, Google has to give iOS users a reason to switch to its assistant over the built-in Siri. Today, Google has eight more reasons for users to do so.
News: Google Working on AR Walking Navigation Mode for Maps
At Google's I/O developer conference keynote on Tuesday, ARCore may have been absent, but Google did preview a potentially trailblazing augmented reality feature for Google Maps.
Google Assistant 101: How to Change the Voice on Android & iPhone to More Natural Male & Female Speakers
Before Google I/O 2018, the Google Assistant for Android and iOS had only two available voice options to choose from — a robotic female and male voice. But there are now six additional voices, and these ones sound way more natural than any other mobile voice assistant (plus, John Legend's voice is coming later this year).
News: Kinect Graduates from Gaming to Enterprise with Project Kinect for Azure
Microsoft's Monday keynote introduced the fourth generation of the company's Kinect sensor during Build 2018 in Seattle.
News: iOS 11.4 Beta 4 Released for iPhone with Mostly Under-the-Hood Improvements
Apple released the fourth developer beta for iOS 11.4 on Monday, May 7, followed the next day with the public beta release. This update arrives just six days after the company seeded beta 3 to users, which fixed an 11.3 issue with 3D Touch, among other various bugs.
News: Microsoft Unveils Remote Assist & Layout, New HoloLens Apps Aimed at Workforce Productivity
On Monday, at its annual Build developer conference, Microsoft revealed two new apps for the HoloLens apps.
Spotify 101: How to Download Music for Offline Playback on Android & iPhone
Spotify is a great music subscription service, but constantly streaming songs can really run up your monthly mobile data. Fortunately, you're able to download music from Spotify on Android and iOS in order to preserve your precious data cap.
News: 7-Eleven Joins Forces with 'Deadpool 2' for Augmented Reality App & In-Store Experience
With the theatrical premiere of Deadpool 2 less than two weeks away, the hype train for the sequel to 2016's surprise R-rated hit is gaining steam, and augmented reality is on board for the ride.
Market Reality: Microsoft's HoloLens Sales Figures Revealed, AR Boosts Snapchat Revenue, & Facebook Expands AR Platform
This week, we're beginning to see the wide ranging impacts of some of the early iterations of augmented reality hardware and software.
News: U2 Takes Fans Behind the Scenes of Its New Augmented Reality Tour
Last month, we told you about U2's new augmented reality-powered music tour. But if you don't have the means to travel to the show, the group recently revealed an inside look at what it will be like and what inspired the band to dive into immersive technology.
News: Try These 5 Hot New Snapchat Lenses — Westworld Host, Trumpet Boy & More
There was a huge Marvel movie that opened a week ago, and a popular TV show just finished its second episode of the current season. Both of these facts translate to more cool Snapchat lenses to try out on your iPhone or Android phone, thanks to Snapchat's Lens Studio — where anyone can make a sweet lens.
News: Lenovo's Star Wars — Jedi Challenges Now Lets You Battle Other Lightsaber Users in Augmented Reality
On this, the most cherished day for Star Wars fans, May the fourth, Lenovo has released a significant new update to its Star Wars: Jedi Challenges app: real person versus person lightsaber battles.
News: Follow in the Footsteps of Forensic Detectives & Solve Crimes with Oxygen's Augmented Reality App
The crime procedural show is the perhaps the most direct path to the average TV viewer's heart. Could the same hold true for augmented reality games?
News: Nova Launcher Receives Updated Google Now Page
One of the better additions in the stock Android launcher is the Google Now page. Residing to the left of the home screen, this page presents a host of information based on the user's interests, which Google bases on analyzed data. Recently, the Google Now page design received a makeover which Nova Launcher users can now enjoy.
News: 6 Cool New Features in iOS 11.4 for iPhone
A few long-awaited iOS 11 features that Apple had promised way back in June 2017 have finally made their way to iPhones with the iOS 11.4 update. Aside from finally delivering on those, there's not a whole lot new in iOS 11.4 as a whole, though, there are a few things you'll definitely want to know about.
Is It Worth It?: Should You Pay to Browse Reddit on Your iPhone?
If you're looking for a new Reddit client on your iPhone, look no further than Apollo. Launched with iOS in mind, Apollo is a free app that offers an exceptional Reddit experience, but some of its excellent features — as well as some necessary ones — are hidden behind its "Pro" paywall. Are these extras worth your money?
News: Marvel's 'Avengers — Infinity War' Gets a Full Range of New AR Treats on Facebook
Like Marvel's Avengers, Facebook's Camera AR platform now has a number of new AR superpowers at its disposal, so it is fitting that Earth's Mightiest Heroes have the distinction of displaying them.
News: Facebook's F8 Badge Shows Developers It's Serious About Augmented Reality
Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges! That is, unless they have augmented reality content embedded in them and give us full access to Facebook's annual F8 developers conference — in that case, yes, we'll take all the badges.
News: Magic Leap's First Twitch Video Show Had Toys, Philosophy, but No New Peeks at the Headset
We watched the first piece of public-facing content Magic Leap has released so you don't have to, and, well, you didn't miss much.
News: LG G7 ThinQ Comes Packed with Notch, Super Bright Display, Impressive Sound & More
After delaying its launch by four months, LG revealed its 2018 entry to the flagship market on Wednesday, May 2. After years of an underperforming mobile division, the LG G7 ThinQ is the first product since a shakeup within the division to get things back on track, and it brings a number of upgrades over its G6 predecessor.
News: HBO's 'Westworld' Snapchat Filter Lets You Take Part in the Robot Revolution
HBO is only a couple of episodes into the second season of Westworld, the television version of the classic science fiction movie about a robot resort gone awry, and the fan theories about the show are already reaching Season 1 levels of weirdness.
Spotify 101: How to Easily Share Music to Friends from Android & iPhone
If you're anything like me, when you first find a good song, album, or playlist on Spotify, your initial reaction may be to share it with your family and friends. While there are the usual share methods available in Spotify that are available in other streaming music services such as Apple Music and Google Play Music, Spotify goes one step further with QR-like codes users can easily scan.
News: Facebook Adds Sketchfab, Body & Hand Tracking, Background Segmentation, & More to AR Studio
At its F8 developers conference on Tuesday, Facebook announced new tools and features coming in a new version of AR Studio, including the integration of 3D content aggregator Sketchfab's Download API.
Messages 101: How to Send a Friend a Map to Your Current Location or Let Them Track You While Moving
You're at the bar, but your friend can't find you. You could call them, but that wouldn't feel very 2018. Instead, let your iPhone do the talking. Right in the Messages app, you can easily send your friend your current location — all without interrupting the friends you're hanging out with.
News: Snapchat Rides AR Ads to Boost in Revenue Despite Redesign Hiccups
During Snap Inc.'s quarterly earnings report, released on Tuesday, the company disclosed that it snagged a revenue total of $230.8 million for the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 54% compared to last year, largely fueled by its augmented reality offerings and other advertising products.
Spotify 101: How to Change Playlist Pictures from Your iPhone Instead of from Your Computer
Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services available and allows you a high degree of control over the way you experience your music. Included in that is the album art for your playlists. While not an option ingrained in the mobile app itself, changing a playlist's cover image on your phone can still be done.
News: PayPal Patents Point to Big Plans for Augmented Reality E-Commerce on Smartphones & Smartglasses
With all the recent activity around augmented reality, the possibilities involving immersive computing and commerce are quickly becoming obvious, and digital payments giant PayPal has no plans to sit on the sidelines
News: iOS 11.4 Beta 3 Released for iPhone, Fixes 3D Touch Issues & Other Bugs
Apple released the third beta for iOS 11.4 on Tuesday, May 1. This update comes exactly two weeks after the release of the second beta, which, in addition to adding a new wallpaper, fixed issues with AirPlay, Music, and Keychain. The only noticeable change in beta 3 is a fix for unresponsive 3D Touch.