Gadget Hacks News

News: Oscars Fashion History Lives via New LA Times Mobile AR Experience

The Oscars are just a couple of days away when Hollywood will celebrate the best crop of films from 2019 in the US and internationally.

News: This Dongle Lets You Connect Wireless Headphones to Anything with an Aux Cable — Airplanes, Nintendo Switch, You Name It

In this post-3.5 mm world, Bluetooth is the most universal option. But a lot of older electronics still don't support wireless audio. Welp, now there's a dongle for that.

News: USA Today Examines the Problems with the Boeing 737 Max Aircraft with Latest AR Story

After jumping to the head of the class of augmented reality journalism in 2019, USA Today is continuing to push the medium forward in 2020.

News: Magic Leap, Intel Bring Augmented Reality Cinema to SXSW

In the late nineteenth century, the advent of the motion picture wowed audiences with a new storytelling medium. Nearly a century and a half later, augmented reality is establishing a new frontier in film.

News: 33 New Features & Changes for iPhone in iOS 13.4

So far, iOS 13's major point updates have all been pretty exciting for iPhone. We've seen iOS 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3 come and go, offering more than 60 new features and changes combined to that very first version of iOS 13. While iOS 13.3.1 was a minor update, its successor, iOS 13.4, is a return to form.

News: Daqri's Patent Portfolio & Trademarks Put Up for Sale

After closing its office last year, enterprise AR company Daqri has moved on to the final stage of its lifecycle with the liquidation of its assets.

News: Your Apple Watch Is a Secret Social Media Machine

When you think about your Apple Watch, what comes to mind? Fitness tracking? Replying to texts? There are a lot of things Apple Watch is good for, but social media doesn't appear to be one of them based on the App Store. If that's your perception, however, it's time for a reality check because you can start browsing Twitter and Reddit on your Apple Watch right now.

News: Apple's iOS 13.4 Developer Beta 1 for iPhone Includes New Memoji Stickers & More Convenient Mail Tools

What could Apple be planning here? Are we going to see some revolutionary new features for the iPhone? Will we see mostly bug fixes and security patches? It's time to find out, as Apple just released the first developer beta for iOS 13.4.

News: Google Just Made It Easier to Get Your Hands on Glass Enterprise Edition 2

Last December, Google unceremoniously killed off Google Glass Explorer Edition with a final software update, leaving the Glass Enterprise Edition 2 as the only remaining AR wearable from Google.

News: 10 Accounts That Will Make You Sign Up for TikTok

Does TikTok scare you? Trust me, I get it. It's a strange, unfamiliar place to those of us not accustomed to its ways, populated by teenagers and college students with their own subcultures, memes, and humor. But here's the thing: TikTok has something for everyone, you included.

News: The Lynx Mixed Reality Headset Will Be the First Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Device — Arriving This Summer

The first headset running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset from an original equipment manufacturer is official.

News: Apple Adds Multiplayer AR Spy Game 'Secret Oops' to Arcade Subscription Service

With No Time to Die, the 25th installment in the James Bond saga, arriving in April and Black Widow, the first solo film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's own secret agent, following a month later, what better way to get in the espionage mood than some augmented reality spy gaming?

Market Reality: Apple Sets Stage for AR Smartglasses, Spatial Adds Funding, & Pinterest Enters AR Makeup Game

We may or may not see Apple's long-awaited take on AR smartglasses this year, but the company is more than getting its practice swings in with its current wearables business, which hit record revenue in 2019 according to financial results released this week.

News: Squarepusher Music Video Layers Tokyo, Japan with Augmented Reality Through the Lenses of Concept Smartglasses

Legendary drum-and-bass artist Squarepusher, the Warp records labelmate of fellow electronic music legend Aphex Twin, is back with his fifteenth album called Be Up a Hello, which is set to drop on Feb. 1.

News: Pinterest Adds AR Makeup Try-On Feature to Its Mobile Lens Tool

It's time to make some more room at the augmented reality cosmetics counter. This week, social media giant Pinterest unveiled "Try On," a virtual make-up visualization tool running on its Lens visual search tool.

News: Spatial Raises $14 Million to Improve Augmented Reality Telepresence Platform for HoloLens & Magic Leap

Having emerged as one of the leading augmented reality video conferencing apps, Spatial is ready to improve upon the experience.

News: What Apple's Record Wearables Earnings Could Mean for Its AR Smartglasses Future

This week's Apple earnings offered a report of solid performance and guarded optimism about future iPhone sales, which may be impacted later this year by issues around the current coronavirus epidemic in China.

News: Google Arts & Culture Builds AR Replica of Bangladeshi Mosque as Part of Historic Site Preservation Project

In recent years, Google's Arts & Culture project has been leading the way in terms of innovating the practice of using technology to preserve landmarks and great works of art via digital 3D copies. Increasingly, these efforts are also giving history buffs the chance to experience classic works and spaces with unparalleled intimacy through the wonders of augmented reality.

News: Apple Releases iOS 13.3.1 for iPhone, Fixes Security Bug in Mail App

After three rounds of beta testing, Apple finally released iOS 13.3.1 today, Jan. 28. It's the latest update to iOS 13, coming exactly seven weeks after the release of iOS 13.3. So, what's new?

News: 8th Wall & Trigger Build AR Lego Playground for Web to Promote Fox's 'Lego Masters'

Lego has shipped several apps and products that add an augmented reality dimension to their playsets. But it has taken a reality TV show from Fox to allow brick fans to build with virtual bricks in augmented reality.

News: Here's Why You Should Be Using Private DNS on Your Phone

Nearly every connection to the internet is dependent on the Domain Name System. DNS, as it's more commonly called, translates domain names like gadgethacks.com into IP addresses, which is what network devices use to route data. The problem with DNS servers is that they don't have your privacy in mind.

News: Startup Phiar Prepares Beta Launch of AR Driving Navigation App for iPhone

Google pushed a new kind of augmented reality walking navigation to the mainstream last year, and now startup Phiar is hoping users will use its AR app in the same way for driving navigation.

Market Reality: Apple, Snap, & Google Execs Talk AR, Form Takes AR to the Pool, & Octi Pivots to AR Social Networking

Some of the leading big tech companies are still working in the lab on actual products, but at least some of their leadership did have some thoughts to share on the future direction of the technology this week.

News: Apple Recruitment Video Features Augmented Reality Clues at the Center of Call for New Team Members

Whenever a new Apple event invite arrives, the entire tech industry begins tearing the invite's graphics apart in a bid to decipher what the company may be planning on releasing in the coming weeks.

Hands-On: Form Smart Swim Goggles Hit the Mark for Aquatics Athletes

Despite some of the biggest players in tech still lagging in terms of offering smartglasses options, there are nevertheless a number of smartglasses makers, including North and Vuzix, with consumer-grade smartglasses on the market right now.

News: Qualcomm & Accenture Upgrade Event Planning with AR App for Nreal Light & Mobile

One of the hallmarks of augmented reality's coming of age is that the technology is starting to find a home in business categories that are less obvious compared to typical AR enterprise use cases.

News: Mobile AR App Octi Evolves into Social Network via Facial Recognition Tech

In a world full of augmented reality camera effects apps, one app is going in a more social direction.

Grab It Fast: 2nd Generation AirPods with Wireless Charging Case Drop to Lowest Price Since Black Friday

Second-generation AirPods just went on sale with the best prices since Black Friday's deals. So if you missed your shot at snagging a set of AirPods with the Charging Case or Wireless Charging Case, you've got another chance. But you'll need to act quickly to take advantage.

News: Apple Releases iOS 13.3.1 Public Beta 3 for iPhone

While some of us thought Apple might pass on a new beta update in favor of an official release, it appears iOS 13.3.1 is here to stay in beta testing. This time, it didn't take four weeks to get here. The third public beta for 13.3.1 is now available, eight days after the release of public beta 2.

News: Apple Releases iOS 13.3.1 Developer Beta 3 for iPhone

Beta testing on iOS is as Wild West as Apple gets. From feature-filled to featureless releases, there's a high level of unpredictability for what to expect. And not everything is found right away. For instance, last week's developer beta 2 added a new feature that was left undiscovered until three days later. So what has Apple hidden in today's iOS 13.3.1 dev beta 3 update?

News: Apple's Tim Cook, Google's Sundar Pichai, & Snap's Evan Spiegel Deliver Strategic Insights into AR in 2020 & Beyond

The words of three of tech's most important executives in the last 48 hours are providing some valuable insight into the near term future of augmented reality and the cloud infrastructures that support it.

Market Reality: Apple & Snap Boost AR Features, Magic Leap & Nreal Work on Truce, & Mojo Vision Unveils Smart Contacts

While the big names in augmented reality demonstrated the breadth of opportunities in the industry's landscape this week, one new startup showed off what is possible further in the future.

News: This Is Why All Augmented Reality Startups Suck

People fundamentally distrust magicians. And they should. The illusions they proffer are just that, illusions meant to astound rather than tangible interactions and results that have weight and meaning in our real world. Our lizard brains know this, and, no matter what the outstanding feat of "magic" presented, we nevertheless hold fast to our survival-based grip on the truth: we just saw simply "can't be real."

News: Apple Is Releasing 5 New iPhones This Year. What the Hell Are They Thinking?

Are you thinking about upgrading your iPhone this year? Apple sure wants you to. Of course, that's no different than any other year, but Apple really wants you to upgrade this year. How do we know this? The rumors point to not three, not four, but five brand new iPhones in 2020, with two very different release schedules. All this begs the question what the hell is Apple thinking?

News: Startup Mojo Vision Seeking FDA Approval for First Augmented Reality Smart Contact Lens

After more than two years of teasing, augmented reality startup Mojo Vision has confirmed that "invisible computing" means what we've suspected all along.

News: Startup Ubiquity6 Expands 3D Object Social Network into AR Cloud Creation with Display.land Studio

After dipping its toes into the AR cloud arena last year, Ubiquity6 is now jumping in with both feet this year.

News: Snapchat Turns Real World into AR Scavenger Hunt with Nearly Instant Object Recognition

While Snapchat is no stranger to location-based AR scavenger hunts, the app's new world-facing game adds some environmental understanding to the mix.

News: Magic Leap Trade Secrets Lawsuit Against China's Nreal on Hold as Mediation Begins & Court Sets Tentative Trial Date

This week, the beginning of an epic legal battle was set to begin between augmented reality players Magic Leap and Nreal, the small China-based startup accused by the former of stealing trade secrets.

News: Apple Just Released iOS 13.3.1 Public Beta 2 for iPhone

The great iOS beta hiatus is over. After 28 days of waiting, Apple finally seeded the second developer beta for iOS 13.3.1 Tuesday, Jan. 14. Lucky for us public beta testers, we didn't need to wait long to get our version of the beta, as Apple just released 13.3.1 public beta 2.

News: Sony Xperia 5 II Rumor Roundup — 3 Cameras Plus a Headphone Jack?

Despite making great phones for years, Sony continues to struggle to penetrate the US market. Sales volume has fallen year after year, with 2019 limited to only 5 million units sold globally. To help alleviate this drop, last year, Sony released the Xperia 5, the return to compact smartphones. This year, rumors indicate a sequel is first on their agenda.