Hot Gadget Hacks Posts

News: Apple Patents Light Field Cameras That Could Add AR to FaceTime

Apple continues to impress the AR world with game-changing innovations that add to their already incredible products. The company's most recent endeavor has been to plunge into the world of augmented reality with the announcement of their ARKit.

Snapchat 101: How to Unlock Hidden Filters & Lenses

There's nothing more fun than unlocking a hidden Snapchat filter or lens and beating everyone to that perfect first selfie. So when a new filter or lens comes out, like the current Uganda Knuckles one, it's always interesting to see how things will turn out.

YouTube 101: How to Manage Your Notifications

YouTube is nothing without its creators — the people who make the content worth visiting the site again and again. Many of us have favorite channels and creators we return to, but it can be difficult to keep track of all the new videos they make, as the alternative is to be plagued by unwanted notifications.

News: Meta Appoints Chief Revenue Officer

Augmented reality headset and software maker Meta Company announced today board member Joe Mikhail will serve as the company's chief revenue officer.

News: Travel the World for a Price You Can Afford with Wander

Ah, the sand between your feet, the sun on your skin, and the debt you're accumulating. However strong my sense of wanderlust may be, I still can't justify dropping thousands of dollars on a vacation. Fortunately, a new site — Wander — promises to help you book vacations that match your budget.

News: Defeat the Dreaded 'Sharknado' in the Franchise's New Mobile AR Game

The Sharknado franchise is, somehow, releasing a fifth movie "Sharknado 5: Global Swarming" (groan) next month. In anticipation of the film's release, the company has decided to create an augmented reality mobile game called, prepare yourself, "Sharknado: ShARkmented Reality".

News: Break Out of Your Comfort Zone with This News App

Following the most recent election, some argue that increasing political polarization is dividing Americans. A new app, called Read Across the Aisle, is aiming to combat this by encouraging users to read news from media outlets on both sides of the political spectrum.

Facebook 101: How to Upload Photos & Videos in HD

If you are a frequent poster on Facebook, then uploading your photos and videos in HD is essential for your viewers. There's nothing worse than realizing that the Boomerang you just uploaded is grainy and probably won't get any views.

News: AR Investor Says Apple ARKit Apps Face Same Challenges as Other Mobile Apps

In a recent series of tweets, investor and entrepreneur (and NR50 member) Amitt Mahajan summarized the challenges and opportunities for iOS developers looking to leverage Apple's ARKit for augmented reality experiences.

YouTube 101: How to Make a Playlist from Your Phone

YouTube is a giant platform — over 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute. It can be difficult to keep track of your favorite videos in such a chaotic sea of content. Difficult, but certainly not impossible.

Market Reality: Lampix, Nokia, Xiaomi & More Invest in AR

Over the past week, companies took a variety of approaches to investing in augmented reality. Lampix is backing its own effort to build an ecosystem for augmented reality platforms. Nokia and Xiaomi are teaming up on numerous fronts, potentially including augmented reality.

Facebook 101: How to Block Commenters from Spamming You During a Live Broadcast

If you are fond of going live or watching live videos on Facebook, then you've probably experienced a number of viewers commenting. Sometimes these comments are good. Sometimes ... well, sometimes we could all go without them.

News: This Live Game in Times Square Will Make Your Spidey Senses Tingle

To celebrate the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming and to advertise Dell's newest gaming laptop, Dell and Sony Pictures teamed up to create a live game in Times Square. Simply walk through the tourist hotspot to unlock the game and help Peter Parker save the day.

News: Holographic Smartphone Is Coming, but We're Not Sure You Should Get It

So it's 2017 and there are no flying cars and teleportation devices around, but there might be holographic smartphones sometime soon. As cool as that sounds, should we trust a holographic smartphone from a company that has never made smartphones before?

News: Hilton Customers Successfully Unlocked Their Rooms Over 11 Million Times via App

A few years ago, the Hilton hotel group unrolled the Digital Key, a feature of the Hilton Honors app that allows you to unlock your hotel room with your smartphone.

News: Battlefield AR Game 'Recoil' Takes Tag to a Whole New Level

The new battlefield AR game announced by Skyrocket Toys today is similar to the childhood game "Tag", except the stakes are much, much higher.

News: 2016 App of the Year Winner Prisma Releases New App 'Sticky AI'

Isn't it everyone's dream to be a sticker? No? Just me? Well, if you've ever felt like emojis just aren't conveying the exact emotion you want and you feel like your face would do a better job, have no fear. Prisma has released a new app called "Sticky AI" that allows you to transform your selfies into stickers that you can use for your messages.

News: Someone's Selling a Putin-Trump Nokia 3310 & I'm Confused Too

Russian phone customizer Caviar — you might have heard of the blinged-out iPhone 6s Pokemon GO phone they released a few months back — is taking on international relations with their newest product.

Dev Report: New Tools for Microsoft Mixed Reality and Unreal for ARKit Is Here

More platforms and more tools to make content for those platforms. It seems like the Dev Report —Next Reality's breakdown on the latest information on tools and processes to make augmented reality experiences — is going to be coming out on a much shorter cycle.

Twitter 101: How to Permanently Pin a Tweet to the Top of Your Twitter Profile

Pinning a tweet to your profile is a fantastic way to get people to view and engage with your most important content on Twitter. In fact, it could very well be the best way to improve your overall Twitter strategy.

Facebook 101: How to 'Go Live' from Your iPhone or Android Phone

It looks like "going live" is another thing we all have to figure out how to do to remain relevant in this very Facebook-driven world. But why would you ever want to go live? That's really up to you.

Hands-On: Up Close & Personal with the Meta 2 Head-Mounted Display

Last June, Meta began shipping their Meta 2 mixed reality headset, to the delight of many. In September, it was announced that shipping had been delayed until the end of the year. Then it appeared that Christmas would bring something magical when Meta sent out an email four days before the big holiday saying that the Meta 2 developers kits were finally shipping. Unfortunately, having a few on order here at Next Realit,y we are still patiently waiting for ours to arrive.

Netflix 101: Choosing the Netflix Plan That's Right for You

Netflix offers three different tiers of service. The good news is that no matter which subscription plan you choose, the available content is the same. Whether you choose the cheapest plan or the most expensive, you'll be able to watch any TV show or movie in Netflix's library. But there are other things to consider when choosing the plan that's right for you and your smartphone.

News: This Wearable AR Gear Could Change Cycling Forever

Cyclists of the world, new AR glasses are here to improve your rides. Possessing 2 GB RAM, a quad-core CPU, GPS, 16 to 32 GB of storage, an accelerometer, camera, gyroscope, magnetometer, barometer, Bluetooth, speaker, WiFi, and a mic, these aren't your regular UV-blocking sunglasses. Called the Everysight Raptor AR glasses, these shades project all of the information a cyclist could need to optimize their rides.

News: Clay VR Has Gesture Recognition Using Just Your iPhone

If you don't know Clay, you're probably going to want to. According to their website, Clay VR's goal was to not only expose users to the world of AR/VR, but fully immerse them in it. Clay does this by allowing users to feel like they were touching the objects in virtual worlds in order to make the virtual worlds feel more natural and real.

Netflix 101: How to Change the Size, Font & Color of Subtitles & Captions on Android

Whether you're hard of hearing, watching a foreign movie, or just like reading along when you're watching a TV show or film on your smartphone, Netflix includes captions and subtitles that you can use. Best of all, if you don't like the way the default captions and subtitles look (color, background, font, or size), Netflix has your back.

News: No More Texting-While-Cycling, 'Safe Lock' Blocks Your Network While Riding

Cycling accidents are more common than you think. In the past month, two men have been hit and killed while cycling in New York City. I even saw a cycling accident occur yesterday morning here in NYC. It's dangerous enough to be cycling in populated areas, it's made worse by people wanting to text while riding.

News: Can You Hear Me Now? Probably Not if You Have T-Mobile

If you're on T-Mobile, you've probably had a rough morning. Reports are coming in saying that the carrier's LTE network is down in cities throughout the country.

News: Augmented Reality Treasure Hunt Allows You to 'Snatch' Up Free Beer

Free beer and AR? What could be better? Amstel, a Dutch beer brand, has launched an innovative sampling campaign using an AR app called "Snatch." Snatch is a treasure hunt gaming app, and if you win the game, your prize is 10,000 free pints of Amstel beer, redeemable at Mitchell & Butler pubs.

News: AR Sneakers Are a Thing Now

Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger and fashion label Anrealage have teamed to produce the world's first augmented reality sneakers. The shoes — called the Anrealage Monte Z — look like a regular pair of sneakers until you view them through Anrealage's new AR app. Once viewed through the app, they become unlike any pair of sneakers that have ever existed.

How To: Use Netflix Offline by Downloading Shows & Movies

Netflix added the ability to download TV shows and movies on Android and iOS for offline binging back in Nov. 2016, and the process is the same as it is today. So if you anticipate having some downtime to catch up on Narcos or give Bright a try when you'll be away from a secure Wi-Fi connection, download videos onto your phone and save your data for more important things.

News: How to Disable Netflix Auto-Play from Within the Mobile App

It's really easy to binge-watch episode after episode, and that's exactly what Netflix wants us to do. Before you can even think twice, the next video is playing and you're stuck wallowing in the abyss of unintentionally marathon-viewing your new favorite TV show, and there's nothing you can do. Except there is something you can do — and it's as simple as disabling one little feature.

News: Stop Netflix from Eating Your Data While Streaming

If you don't have any home Wi-Fi, like to watch videos on public transportation, or just always find yourself streaming Netflix when there are no hotspots available, your cellular data is probably gobbled up fairly fast. For limited data plans, watching the next episode of your favorite TV show could mean overage charges on your cellular bill, but it doesn't have to.

Instagram 101: How to Zoom In & Out in Instagram Stories

Zooming in and out within Instagram Stories is a good way to take your videos to the next level. Whatever a next level is. Sometimes I just run out of words to describe how fun using Instagram is, so for today, I got "next level," which means whatever you want it to mean.

NR50: Next Reality's 50 People to Watch: Tony Parisi

Tony Parisi, the global head of VR/AR at Unity Technologies, has been passionately working with virtual and immersive spaces for a long time. And while the internet world we live in now is very different than when Parisi was co-authoring VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) — an early attempt at creating 3D environments that would work in a web browser — some of the questions that were assumed answered are being asked again.

News: Now You Can Add Backdrops, Voice Filters & Even Links to Your Snaps

Snapchat has added three new features, letting you personalize your snaps more than ever. One of those is links, which was not allowed at all before. The other features allow for greater personalization of snaps, with both visual and auditory choices.

ARKit Roundup: More Fun Uses for Augmented Reality & Your iPhone Keep Popping Up

Developers are really having a field day with Apple's ARKit, announced last month. Since it's release to developers, videos have been appearing all over the Internet of the different ways that developers are getting creative with the ARKit using iPhones and iPads.

News: This IG Account Will Expose Your Staged Camping Pictures

Don't even think about posting a fake camping picture to Instagram because this account is committed to calling you out. The account entitled @youdidnotsleepthere is exposing fake pictures posted by travel bloggers to its over 36,000 followers.

News: BBC VR App Lets You Travel Planet Earth II from Your Phone

The BBC's Taster VR app released July 5 is providing new experiences visible on both iOS and Android, and one of the releases is a VR version of Planet Earth II. It is viewable on YouTube and works properly when viewed with a mobile VR headset.

News: Siri's Samsung Rival Won't Launch in the US Anytime Soon

Bixby — Samsung's voice-activated digital assistant — has been delayed again because the software still can't recognize English. Although Samsung claims Bixby can execute 15,000 tasks, it appears it's inability to master English is a major obstacle that's preventing its full release in the United States.