Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
News: Your Custom Snapchat Lens or Filter Could Cost You $1,000
Snapchat just rolled out a feature that lets you create custom Filters and Lenses. While the average Geofilter won't run you more than a few bucks, it's not that hard to exponentially jack up the price. Amazingly enough, Snapchat's latest attempt to monetize their platform can ultimately cost you as much as $999.99. Ignore the penny, let's call that a cool grand.
News: Washington Post Opts for Fun Over Function with AR App for Winter Olympics
Although The New York Times may have won the race in terms of presenting coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics through augmented reality first, The Washington Post is nevertheless working to compete in AR in a different way—via gaming.
Snapchat 101: How to Make Your Own Custom Geofilters & Lenses
Snapchat is in the midst of a massive redesign — one that not everyone loves. Still, it's clear that this is a decision fueled by money, and Snap Inc. believes this redesign will help attract more advertisers. Even so, Snapchat has a few more tricks up their sleeves to make a little extra dough. And while the average user couldn't care less about ads, they very easily could care about custom Filters and Lenses.
News: Atheer's Enterprise AR Platform Now Available on HoloLens via Design Interactive's App
Enterprise augmented reality developer Atheer is bringing its AR solution for enterprise businesses to the HoloLens by way of a joint venture with fellow AR developer Design Interactive.
News: Snapchat Unveils Web-Based Tool for Creating Custom AR Lenses & Filters
Snapchat just fast-tracked the majority of its app user base into the world of augmented reality production by making its Lens and Filter tools available to anyone with a web browser.
News: This HoloLens App Brings Animals into Your Home Without Violating Your Lease
Augmented reality headsets with depth sensors, like the HoloLens, offer a much more immersive experience than the average smartphone at present, and one app demonstrates that in a uniquely entertaining fashion.
IFTTT 101: 5 Applets That Will Help Save Your Phone's Battery
Preserving battery life has become one of the biggest problems for the average user. Whether you're on Android or iPhone, your battery is probably a massive concern. While there are a ton of battery-saving tips out there, they mainly rely on you manually performing actions yourself. This isn't the case if you use IFTTT to take care of your battery automatically.
News: iBoot Source Code Leaked — Here's What iPhone Users Need to Know
A massive leak appeared the web today, and it's got some huge security implications for every iPhone on the market. On the plus side, it also has some potential for enabling deep-level modifications and jailbreak tweaks.
How To: Properly Calibrate the Battery on Any Android Phone
After Apple's recent fiasco, it's now common knowledge that smartphone batteries degrade over time. But aside from causing terrible battery life, a degraded battery can also trick your phone's software into thinking the device has more juice left than it actually does.
Apple AR: Now You Can Give Your Sweetheart an AR Valentine's Day Card
Those looking for a creative way to loose a metaphorical Cupid's arrow at the figurative heart of the object of their affection can now add augmented reality greeting cards to their quiver.
News: Snap Highlights Augmented Reality's Role in Favorable 2017 Results & Optimistic 2018 Plans
After closing its 2017 financial books on a high note, Snap, Inc. is planning to ride the momentum of its augmented reality products into the new year. That's the main takeaway following the company's 2017 earnings conference call, which was held on Tuesday.
How To: Watch the Winter Olympics with Snapchat
Earlier this week, Snapchat announced a partnership with NBCUniversal regarding the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea. Starting on February 10, Snapchat will be streaming a feed of NBC's live broadcast of the Olympics in Pyeongchang.
News: Gboard Makes Finding Emojis Even Easier on iPhone
If you're looking for an alternative iOS keyboard for your iPhone, look no further than Gboard. The Google-made keyboard is bursting with features like web search, Google Maps, GIFs, and more. Now, Gboard is adding a new feature that'll make it easier to find the perfect emoji.
News: Google Skips ARCore to Add AR to Motion Stills App
If you're an Android user, you're very likely jealous of your iPhone friends who have access to the wide, wonderful world of augmented reality thanks to ARKit.
News: Deutsche Telekom & Zeiss Launch Smartglasses Startup Tooz
A new smartglasses powerhouse is rising in Europe, led by two of the region's leading brands, optical systems company Zeiss (also known as Carl Zeiss) and telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom.
News: Snapchat Adds 'Best Of' Filter & Lens to Celebrate its New Redesign
Snapchat's redesign has really taken off, slimming the app down to two sections: Friends and Discover. Snapchat appears to be celebrating this massive success by giving all users a sort of "best of" filter, one that encapsulates the complete Snapchat experience complete with the Dancing Hot Dog.
News: Audi Drives into AR Ahead of SpaceX Moon Landing Mission
Amazingly, SpaceX founder Elon Musk just launched a Tesla into space, bound for Mars. But just because you're not a billionaire with drone rockets at your disposal, that doesn't mean you can't participate in the automobile-infused future of space here on Earth.
How To: Disable Performance Throttling on Your iPhone Due to Battery Issues
It seems Apple has followed through on their promise. After the disastrous battery slowdown scandal in December, the iPhone maker has finally pushed new battery health information and controls to iOS 11.3. Now, if you have an affected battery, you can disable performance throttling to keep your iPhone running as fast as possible.
News: iOS 11.3 Beta 2 Released, Includes Battery Health Information & Controls
Apple released the second beta for iOS 11.3 on Tuesday, Feb. 6. The update comes two weeks after the original announcement and release of the iOS 11.3 beta, which brought new Animoji, Messages on iCloud, and Apple Music Videos, among other features. One glaring omission was the promised battery health tool, but iOS 11.3 beta 2 just introduced it.
News: Amazon Will Finally Disable Lock Screen Ads on Their Discounted Phones
Amazon has had a long-standing partnership with its consumers regarding special offers. Amazon sells these Prime Exclusive Phones with lock screen ads and Amazon apps in exchange for discounts on the phones. You also need to be an Amazon Prime Member, leading us to historically believe that these "special offers" weren't really all that special. That is, until today.
News: Meta Caters to Design Professionals with 3D CAD Support for Solidworks
In another move that pushes Meta 2 toward becoming a legitimate workplace tool, Meta Company has partnered with Dassault Systèmes to bring augmented reality support to the latter's Solidworks 3D CAD software.
News: Investors Bet $8M on Former Google & Facebook Engineers' Platform-Bridging AR Development Tool
Augmented reality software maker 8th Wall has closed a Series A funding round of $8 million in capital to feed the growth of its development platform.
IFTTT 101: 8 Useful Applets to Help You Get Started with Smartphone Automation
IFTTT is an application that allows you to automate certain tasks on your iPhone or Android. It can communicate with a myriad of apps and services on your phone by creating applets that perform actions automatically — actions you'd normally have to do manually. Finding those applets, however, can be a little difficult.
Venmo 101: How to Send Money Using the Messages App on Your iPhone
Venmo makes it incredibly convenient to send money to friends and family, and it all happens instantly from the comfort of your smartphone. Even better, if you have an iPhone, Venmo lets you conduct transactions straight from the default Messages app, giving you more flexibility and convenience over Android users.
News: Augmented Reality Skates into New York Times Coverage of Winter Olympics
Before The New York Times brought augmented reality to its iPhone app, the only way Winter Olympics fans could get this close a view to the world's best athletes would be to acquire a press pass.
Safari 101: How to Open a Recently Closed Tab Without Digging Through Your Browser History
Almost certainly, you've closed out of a webpage that you didn't want to at some point in your iPhone-owning life. Whether you accidentally swiped the tab away or closed it only to need it moments later, tab-regret is just a part of our internet culture. Luckily, Safari on iOS includes an easy way to open recently closed tabs.
News: Doritos & Mountain Dew Remix Their Super Bowl Songs of Fire & Ice on Snapchat
After pouring out $10 million for 60 seconds of Super Bowl advertising time, Doritos and Mountain Dew continued their Sunday marketing binge on Snapchat.
News: Intel Reveals Vaunt Smartglasses, Normal Looking Glasses That Work with iOS & Android Smartphones
Just a week after news leaked out about Intel's 2018 plans for smartglasses, the company revealed what the device looks like and how it works in a new video (bottom of this page) released on Monday.
How To: Get Snapchat's Super Bowl Filters & Show Your Eagles or Patriots Pride
Snapchat has been known to jazz it up for big events. They went deep on the Grammys, taking you behind the scenes — and adding a James Corden lens to boot. So when Snapchat had a super cool filter up their sleeve for Super Bowl LII, we weren't exactly shocked.
How To: Video or Audio Chat in Instagram Direct Messages for Quick Calls with One or More Users
The app that started as simply a photo-sharing social media platform has expanded to encompass so much more than that. Between live videos, stories, chat, and animated stickers, Instagram is more than the sum of its pictures. Now, there's a new feature to add to that list for Android and iOS — video and audio calls.
HoloLens Dev 101: Building a Dynamic User Interface, Part 10 (Scaling Objects)
An incorrectly scaled object in your HoloLens app can make or break your project, so it's important to get scaling in Unity down, such as working with uniform and non-uniform factors, before moving onto to other aspects of your app.
Market Reality: Apple, Niantic, Intel & Facebook Pursue the Trophy in the Super Bowl of AR
With the Super Bowl just days away, it seems appropriate to draw parallels between football and the professional sport of technology business, or, more specifically, the augmented reality segment.
News: New York Times Adds AR to Its Coverage in Time for Winter Olympics
After devoting a number of resources toward developing VR content to modernize the delivery of its news content in recent years, The New York Times is expanding its capabilities to include augmented reality as well, a mission outlined in a manifesto published on Thursday.
Safari 101: How to Close All Your Open Tabs at the Same Time
If you're like me, your iPhone has way too many Safari tabs open. Links from other applications open up new tabs automatically, it's too easy to open up new tabs to search, and sometimes you're skittish about closing pages you don't want to forget about. This all creates a massive mess that requires cleaning house, and there's an easy trick to doing just that.
Apple AR: This Is What Apple CEO Tim Cook Said When Cornered About Possible AR Smartglasses
Prior to Apple's earnings report on Thursday, the storm clouds were gathering as Wall Street prepared for bad news in the wake of reports of slower iPhone sales. But it turns out that those fears were mostly unwarranted. Apple managed to increase iPhone revenue during the December quarter, despite selling slightly fewer phones.
How To: 4 Apps to Help Improve Security on Your iPhone or iPad
As the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, Apple devices are a constant target for hackers everywhere. While iOS has seen fewer common vulnerabilities and exploits (CVEs) in recent years, iPhones still aren't hack-proof. Fortunately, you can strengthen your security with the help of a few apps.
How To: This App Makes It Easy to Actually Hear the TV at a Loud Bar
In 2018, there are more ways than ever to watch your favorite sporting events. You can stream them with a number of services, or you can simply watch it on a TV. Many fans will even watch it at a sports bar. The problem with a sports bar is that you won't be able to hear the game over the sound of dozens of loud bargoers.
How To: 5 Ways to Stream the Super Bowl Without a Cable Subscription on iPhone or Android
Super Bowl LII will bring millions of football and non-football fans together to watch the big game on the big screen. But without a cable subscription, this process can be a little daunting. Luckily, the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store offer a few ways to accomplish this — no cable contract required.
News: Snapchat Launches In-App Store with 'World's First AR Superstar' Hot Dog Toy & Other Swag
It used to be that the best kind of swag was T-shirts and hats from your favorite music artists, but now the symbol of casual insider cool falls to the tech companies, and Snapchat has just joined the ranks of branded apparel purveyors.
News: Consumer Smartglasses Powered by Intel Could Arrive This Year, Report Says
Intel Corp.'s augmented reality division could ship consumer-focused smartglasses before the end of the year, according to reports.