Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
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.
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.
How To: Use Face ID on iPhone X to Approve Family Sharing Download Requests
For parents that have an iPhone X, things are about to get a lot easier for you in iOS 11.3, which finally lets you approve app and media downloads on your child's iPhone using Face ID instead of typing in a password.
IFTTT 101: Secure Your Automations with 2-Step Verification
If you want to automate tasks with your smartphone, IFTTT is a great app. It does a tremendous job of helping you find applets or creating your own from scratch, so it's easy to connect your favorite online services and make them react to each other. With all this personal information, though, you should ensure that your data is secure by enabling two-step verification.
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.
How To: 4 Android Apps That'll Help Start Your Morning Off Right
Starting your morning right is an essential first step to a productive day. Whether you're running late, rushing to catch up on the day's news, or lagging behind with early emails, little hiccups like these can have a trickle-down effect and ultimately ruin your day. Like with many problems, though, your smartphone can help.
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.
How To: Import Your Health Records onto Your iPhone
Mobile phones are not only essential for work and communication, they're quickly becoming an integral asset to our health. Your iPhone can store valuable data about fitness, nutrition, heart health, and so much more. And since iOS 11.3, your iPhone can even import a list of allergies, medications, immunizations, hospital visits, and other health information from your doctor or hospital.
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.
How To: 7 Tips to Make You Feel Like a Nova Launcher Master
Nova Launcher is one of the most popular apps on the Play Store thanks to its rich features and fluid navigation. But one downside that comes with this abundance of features is that much of Nova's functionality is lost on the masses. Fortunately, I've used Nova for several years and learned a few tricks along the way.
How To: Play & Control Music in Multiple Rooms with AirPlay 2 on Your iPhone
Back in June 2017, Apple promised us AirPlay 2, a simple way to connect and control multiple speakers together via an iPhone or other Apple device. While the feature was included in early iOS betas, by iOS 11's official release, AirPlay 2 was nowhere to be found. After all the numerous subsequent iOS 11 updates, it's finally here in iOS 11.4.
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.
News: This App Turns the iPhone X into an AR Face-Painting Booth
Thanks to Face Maker, a new app for the iPhone X, children everywhere can now avoid the trauma of face painting.
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.
News: Apple iPhone X App Lets You Wear Your Friend's Face Like a Mask & Put Words in Their Mouth
On Wednesday, Apple released a new batch of Animoji characters that gives iPhone X users more virtual masks to play around with, but what many have been waiting for is an app that lets you put on a virtual mask of another person, not an animated emoji. Well, that day has finally arrived.
News: Vuzix Launches Program Allowing Consumers to Order Blade AR Smartglasses Along with Business & Developer Customers
After Vuzix's scorching hot week at CES, the future of AR is so bright, we have to wear (smart) shades. Luckily, Vuzix is making it easier for consumers to grab a pair.
News: iOS 11.3 Makes Multitasking Faster on the iPhone X
Apple released iOS 11.3 beta on Jan. 24 and the public stable release on March 29, and it didn't take us long to find plenty of cool new stuff. Aside from new Animoji, Health Records, and some upcoming changes related to the recent battery fiasco, most of the new features are about polish. One such feature we've found should make iPhone X users a little happier.
News: Augmented Reality & VR Take Flight in New Airbus iPhone App
While flying can be a frustrating and sometimes nerve-racking experience, Airbus is banking on augmented reality features in its new iflyA380 app for iPhones and iPads to help passengers learn to love the ordeal.
Snapchat 101: How to Use Memories to Save Snaps, Edit Old Snaps & More
Snapchat is an app built on sending quick-to-disappear pictures to your friends and family. Sure, this is the primary function of the app, but sometimes users want longer-lasting Memories while interacting with Snapchat. While My Story allows snaps to stick around for 24 hours, they still disappear in time. This is where Memories come in handy.
News: 24 Cool New Features in iOS 11.3 for iPhone
While iOS 11.3 doesn't have as many new features as iOS 11.2, there's still a lot to love about Apple's latest update for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, even if some of the best features we were expecting didn't make the cut.
Apple AR: Apple Adds Much-Needed Vertical Surface Recognition in ARKit Update
When Apple unboxes the next major update to its mobile operating system this spring, iPhones and iPads will gain some significant new features for augmented reality experiences: verticality.
News: Apple iOS 11.3 Update Introduces Brand New Set of Animoji Characters
We knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when. Apple has just announced iOS 11.3, a new update for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, and it will include a brand-new set of Animoji for the iPhone X.