Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
News: Galaxy S9 & S9+ Will Support T-Mobile's New 600 MHz LTE Band — Rural Users Rejoice
In 2017, after purchasing a majority of the 600 MHz frequency, T-Mobile began a massive rollout of the new LTE Bands across the US. However, there are currently only two devices that support the frequency, also known as LTE Band 71. Thanks to a recent FCC listing, we've learned this number will double when the Galaxy S9 and S9+ debut next month.
Apple AR: Art.com & Houzz Apps Take Imaginative Approaches to Hang AR Art Until ARKit Update Arrives
One of the more obvious benefits that vertical surface detection will bring to iPhone and iPad apps with the spring 1.5 update to Apple's ARKit platform is the ability to hang virtual artwork that rests realistically on walls.
News: 5 Things We Want to See from Nintendo's Upcoming Mario Kart Tour on the iPhone
Nintendo set the internet ablaze Wednesday night with two big announcements. First, Nintendo revealed that the Switch's paid online service will begin in September (boo), but it was the other report that really got fans excited — Mario Kart is coming to your iPhone.
News: It's Time to Ask — Is Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates Secretly a HoloLens Hater?
Despite their sometimes fluffy reputations and occasionally ethically compromised viewpoints, tech evangelists are important, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The right passionate voice behind the right technology platform or piece of hardware can sometimes spell the difference between fostering a community of potential users and watching a product die on the vine.
IFTTT 101: How to Use Widgets to Control Your Favorite Applets on iPhone or Android
IFTTT is the king of simple automation apps. With minimal setup, you can easily add applets that companies and users create. You can also create your own applets to suit your needs. Sometimes, though, you need to trigger an action on your own. For times like these, adding a widget to your home screen is exactly what you need.
News: 14 Cool New Features in Android Oreo for the OnePlus 5T
When OnePlus announced the 5T, many were disappointed that it wasn't shipping with Android Oreo. To curb some of this disappointment, OnePlus quickly introduced an open beta for both the 5 and 5T and promised that each would receive the official version by Q1 2018. Well today, OnePlus has met this promise and pushed the OTA out for the official stable version of Android Oreo.
How To: 4 Apps to Help Keep Your Android Device Secure
As of 2016, there are approximately 1.85 billion Android smartphones worldwide. This growing popularity has led to an increasing number hacks and cyber attacks against the OS. Unfortunately, Android users need more protection than what is offered by Google. The good thing is that there are a number of options available.
News: Almost a Year Later, Android Oreo Is Still on Less Than 1% of Phones
The first developer preview build of Android P (Android 9.0) is right around the corner, but less than 1% of Android phones are running Oreo. The fragmentation on Android (the number of devices on different versions of the operating system) is staggering, and a problem that has plagued the operating system since it first debuted in 2008 — despite Google's best efforts to fix it.
News: Google AR Product Head Defects to Facebook to Lead Camera Efforts
Facebook just ratcheted up its ongoing augmented reality war against the competition by stealing away Google's director of product for AR, Nikhil Chandhok. In his new role, the executive will serve as Facebook's director of product on the company's Camera/AR team.
Notes 101: How to Undo Typing, Sketch Strokes, Deletions & More on Your iPhone
Many of us use the Notes app to jot things down in a hurry. Most of the time, that's no big deal. However, the faster the typing, the higher the chance of error. If you happen to make a typo, or if you accidentally delete that chart you worked so hard on, there's an easy way to undo the changes.
News: Augmented Reality in Cars — the Companies & Tech Driving Us into the Future
While autonomous vehicles are almost assuredly the future of personal transportation, we are likely many years from seeing self-driving cars become as ubiquitous as manually-driven ones, as the auto industry has a myriad of government regulations and other constraints to contend with. Until then, augmented reality is looking like the next big thing in automotive technology.
News: 1 in 4 iPhone Users Still Haven't Updated to iOS 11
From its official launch back in September, iOS 11 has been equal parts revered as it has been criticized. Even with all the great, new features we've come to expect from a major iOS update, plenty of bugs and glitches have forced users to overlook the positives. Perhaps that is why, four months later, 25% of iPhone owners are still running iOS 10.3 or earlier.
How To: 4 iPhone Apps That Will Help Start Your Morning Off Right
For some of us, mornings are difficult. But if you can manage to start your morning right, you can trigger a chain reaction that leads to a more productive day. Fortunately, our phones have the tools to help us get off to a good start.
Snapchat 101: How to Use Your Selfies to Create a Bitmoji Deluxe
Accompanying Snapchat's core features, like editing snaps and applying filters to them, is Bitmojis. These are small avatars that you create in your own likeness and use all throughout Snapchat. Formerly, there were two "styles" that you could pick from to make your Bitmoji: Bitstrips style and Bitmoji style. But Snapchat has a third style now that will redefine the way you use Bitmojis.
News: Apple News Glitch Spammed iPhone Users with the Same Notification Over & Over
Well, that was annoying. Earlier today, iOS users — including myself — were getting plagued with the same CNN news alert over and over again. While the news itself is significant (the guy who sent that false missile alert in Hawaii was fired), people usually get the gist after just one alert, not dozens.
News: Apple May Be Holding Back Crucial Key to ARKit's Gaming Success Until 2019, Report Says
Now that we finally have vertical plane recognition in ARKit (at least on a developer level until the spring iOS 11.3 release), the real promise of mobile augmented reality is beginning to come into focus on iOS. But a new report indicates that a major near future advancement of ARKit that could change everything has been put on hold by Apple.
How To: 3 Tips to Get to Inbox Zero Faster in Gmail
On average, an office worker receives 121 emails a day. Many of these emails are trivial and don't require immediate attention. While Gmail's automatic spam filters catch plenty of irrelevant emails, some still make their way into your inbox. Fortunately, Gmail's tools aren't limited to just spam filters.
News: Magic Leap May Have Shed Light on the Name of Its AR Operating System in Trademark Filing
It looks like Magic Leap is getting its ducks in a row to launch its Magic Leap One: Creator Edition as the company's name is once again showing up in US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) filings.
Binance 101: Sell Your Stellar, Ripple & Other Alt-Coins for Bitcoin or Ethereum
Selling alt-coins like Stellar (XLM) or Ripple (XRP) in exchange for more widespread coins like Ethereum (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC) can be a daunting task if you're new to cryptocurrency. Though you'll still need to do your research to avoid potential disasters, Binance takes the hassle out of trading digital currencies on your smartphone.
News: Lack of Resources Could Force Apple to Delay the iPhone SE 2
Earlier this year, rumors began to swirl regarding Apple's upcoming iPhone SE 2. They predicted an A10 processor and a glass back for wireless charging, all at a price point at least $150 cheaper than the iPhone 7. While it wasn't poised to turn heads like the iPhone X, it would have been a reasonable upgrade for many users looking for a more budget-oriented Apple device.
News: This Is How Much the Galaxy S9 Will Cost in the US
Although expected to be only a modest upgrade over the S8, we can't help but be excited about the Galaxy S9's unveiling late next month. Among the many rumors and questions we're looking to see addressed, one of the biggest queries we have is, of course, with the price tag. We might not have to wait a month for the goods, however, thanks to a new pricing announcement out of South Korea.
Apple AR: Apple's ARKit Update Already Being Taken to New Levels in These Developer Experiments
Thanks to Apple's beta preview of iOS 11.3 released last week, app developers are already experimenting with the ARKit capabilities that will be available to regular users this spring.
News: Apple Invades Grammys with iPhone X Animoji Karaoke for Childish Gambino & Migos
On Sunday, the annual Grammy Awards delivered its usual mix of fashion, live performances, and music industry magic, but this time with one important difference: Animojis.
How To: 3 Easy Steps Clean Up Your Home Screen with Nova Launcher
One of the standout features of Nova Launcher is its vast customization options. Not only does it includes numerous tweaks to alter the aesthetics of your home screen, but it even has plenty of features that reduce clutter. One area of our device that has a high potential for disarray is our home screen.
How To: 5 Tips to Increase Your Productivity Using Nova Launcher
Nova Launcher is more than just a home screen replacement. It is a tool which can reshape how users interact with their Android devices. Thanks to a regularly growing feature list, Nova has evolved into more than just a launcher. Now, Nova is an effective way to increase your productivity.
News: Galaxy S9 Tipped to Have 'Intelligent Scan' Facial Unlocking — Iris & Face Recognition Combined
Over the past few days, we've learned a lot about Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones. In addition to a full list of hardware specs, we have complete renders direct from renowned leaker Evan Blass. Of course, Samsung always has a few surprises up their sleeve, and today, we have some new information about the facial unlock method arriving on the S8.
News: Google Clips Should Be Built into the Camera on Pixel Phones
Google's new AI-powered camera, Google Clips, seems to be targeted at parents of young children in its current form, but the idea itself has unique potential. Just set it up somewhere, then you'll never miss a moment trying to capture the moment — you'll have a robot photographer taking care of that stuff for you.
News: Forget Face Masks, Facebook Is Working on Full-Body AR Camera Effects
Facebook may have shamelessly copied Snapchat and its camera effects for faces (as well as its World Lenses), but it might beat its social media competitor to virtual body augmentation.
How To: Get the Pixel 2 Launcher with Google Now & the New 'At a Glance' Widget — No Root Needed
Google's Pixel lineup hangs its hat on smooth software and a polished UI. At the core of this experience is the Pixel Launcher, a home screen app that is often imitated, but never perfectly duplicated. That is, until developer AmirZ released the latest version of his Rootless Pixel Launcher port.
Market Reality: While Apple & Vuzix Bet on AR, Game Developers Are Less Enthusiastic
This week, saw two companies leaning on AR to prop up their financial futures. On one hand, Apple made quite a bit of AR-related news ahead of its quarterly earnings report next week. On the other hand, Vuzix launched a pre-order program for its Blade smartglasses and closed the largest financing deal in the company's history to fuel its ongoing headset production.
News: GDC Survey Says Developers Are Bullish on HoloLens, Slow to Mobile AR Versus VR
A new survey of game developers paints a somewhat less than rosy future for augmented reality gaming, but there's still some hope for its long-term prospects.
How To: Personalize Your Snapchat Stories with Drawings, Emoji, GIFs & More
Snapchat is one of the best ways for people to communicate with pictures, but it has a ton of other features baked into it. From the Memories feature to My Story, there are many ways to save save and share snaps among friends. Sometimes though, you want to add a little more pizzaz to your snaps. Luckily, Snapchat gives users a myriad of ways to interact with snaps before they're sent.
How To: Stop Panic Selling & Impulse Buys by Hoarding Your Cryptocurrency in Coinbase's Vaults
As cheesy as it sounds, #HODL became a thing for a reason. A lack of discipline when dealing with cryptocurrencies can lead to impulse buys and panic selling, and ultimately, depleted funds. Luckily, Coinbase has a way to safeguard your cryptocurrency savings to not only protect them against thieves, but to also help you resist the urge to sell off your investments.
Dev Report: Live 3D Tiles Are Finally Available for Windows Mixed Reality Headsets but Not HoloLens
Longtime Next Reality readers may remember my Wish List for Microsoft early last year. It was a post in which I put my head together with a number of other community developers to create a list of features that would make Windows Mixed Reality and HoloLens better for developers. It would seem that one of the most sought-after features is finally here ... well, sort of.
News: Lenovo Mirage Star Wars AR App Gets 'Last Jedi' Update, Including Porgs & New Lightsaber Duel
Although The Last Jedi hype has mostly passed, there are still a good number of fans out there dueling Sith lords in augmented reality via their new Lenovo Mirage headsets. Now, thanks to an update on Thursday, those aspiring Jedi have a new AR challenge to engage in the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges app.
News: How the RED Hydrogen One's 4V 'Holographic' Display Works
RED has apparrantly been blowing minds with the revolutionary technology inside its upcoming Hydrogen One. Like the Razer Phone in late 2017, most of the cool tech lives inside its screen — which, also like the Razer Phone, is unlike any other on the market today. RED, too, is poised to make some major waves in the coming months, as its phone should be arriving in stores this summer.
News: Thyng Gives Anyone the Ability to Embed AR Content in Images Ahead of ARKit
Stop me if you've heard this one before: scan an image with your iPhone's camera and augmented reality content shows up.
Binance 101: How to Buy Ripple, TRON & Other Alt-Coins Using Bitcoin & Ethereum
Using Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) to buy alt-coins like TRON (TRX), Stellar (XLM), or Ripple (XRP) can seem intimidating if you're new to cryptocurrency. Though you'll still need to do your research to avoid potential disasters, Binance takes the hassle out of trading digital currencies on your smartphone.
Notes 101: How to Pin Important Notes to the Top of Folders
If the Notes app on your iPhone is anything like mine, it's a mess. Even with the addition of folders, adding note after note can really clutter things up. You need a way to quickly identify the notes that are most important, and that's where pinning comes in.
How To: It's Really No Contest — LastPass Is the Best Password Manager for iPhone & Android
When traversing the web, you'll regularly come across websites that require you to create an account. With the majority of these accounts, protection is limited to a simple password. Despite this, many people are still using weak passwords such "123456." For these reasons, you really need a password manager, and our research has shown that LastPass is still your best bet.