Gadget Hacks News — Page 57 of 129

News: Yahoo! Japan's Maps App Unveils AR Mode with an Unbearably Cute Mascot to Guide the Way

Whenever Japan does something new in tech, the cute factor is almost always taken into account. The same holds true for augmented reality, as Yahoo! Japan has just revealed its take on AR map navigation with a new AR Mode.

News: Magic Leap Confirms Massive New $461 Million Investment from Saudi Investors & Others

Just a week after rumors surfaced of a massive new investment in Magic Leap led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the investment has been confirmed by the company's CEO Rony Abovitz.

News: Jurassic World Augmented Reality Game Wants to Be Pokémon GO for Real Dinosaurs

Following in the augmented reality footsteps of Pokémon GO, Universal Studios has decided to give us an AR version of Jurassic World.

News: Huawei Teases P20 Announcement Date in New Videos

It looks like the Huawei P20 has moved from rumor to all but confirmed. Thanks to a series of YouTube videos released by Huawei Mobile Netherlands, we now have a few confirmations about the latest entries in the flagship series.

News: Magic Leap's Biggest Problem May Not Be Legal Fights but a Major Battery Charging Issue

While everyone was marveling at the latest drama over at Magic Leap involving employees last week, a major rumor listed in one of the reports, related to the company's flagship device, was mostly overlooked.

News: Indie Artists Invade MoMA with Augmented Reality to Reimagine Jackson Pollock's Works

Remember that scene in Tim Burton's Batman where the Joker and his goons defaced dozens of priceless works of art? A collective of digital artists have found a less criminal, more geeky way to do the same thing.

News: Google Has Trained a Neural Network to Change Your Video Background in Real-Time Video

The research team at Google has found yet another way for machine learning to simplify time-intensive tasks, and this one could eventually facilitate Star Wars-like holographic video.

News: iOS 11.3 Beta 4 Released for iPhone with Under-the-Hood Improvements

The fourth beta for iOS 11.3 was released by Apple to developers and public beta testers on Monday, March 5. The update comes just under two weeks after the company released beta 3 on Feb. 20, which mostly added bug and stability patches. It appears that beta 4 is much of the same, but we'll learn more as we sink our teeth into it.

News: Introducing the LG Q7 — Flagship Display & Audio at a Budget Price

In July 2017, LG announced a new smartphone lineup, the Q series. These devices focus on providing some flagship features at a more affordable cost — features such as an 18:9 1080p display. LG's goal here seems to be adding value for the more budget-conscious users, and in 2018, they've continued the series with the Q7.

News: Magic Leap Filed Police Report on Over $1 Million Theft Linked to Employee

It turns out that coming up groundbreaking technology and raising billions may actually be the easy part for Magic Leap, as a new report has revealed yet another legal entanglement at the Florida-based company.

Dev Report: 3D Live Tiles, Two-Handed Manipulation & More Are Finally Coming to the HoloLens

It is finally happening. After not having a major update since August of 2016, HoloLens owners everywhere will soon get a number of new features added to their devices. At least if they are members of the Windows Insider program.

News: 3 Reasons You Might Want to Switch to the Galaxy S9 from an iPhone

It's human nature to wonder if the grass is greener on the other side. This is no more true than for people who use iPhones, and those who use Galaxy S phones. While iPhones were initially the gold standard for smartphones, Samsung's phones equal them in many ways and surpass them in others. If you use an iPhone and you're on the fence, here's the case for making the switch to a Galaxy S9 or S9+.

News: Meet the LG V35 ThinQ — the V30's Exterior with the G7's Internals

After two years of poor sales, LG decided to shake up its mobile division. New executives are at the helm, and changes to their flagship lineups are already underway. Specifically, the V series is expanding, as LG announced the second new device in the series, the LG V35 ThinQ.

News: Not Digging the Notch on the Leaked OnePlus 6? Don't Panic Yet

Last week, the first possible image of the upcoming OnePlus 6 leaked. It was met with mixed reactions, most notably for its apparent iPhone X-style "notch." OnePlus fans seem concerned that the company is implementing a design choice based on what it thinks is trending, not necessarily what's best for the product. If you're one of those uneasy about OnePlus' future, don't be. At least not yet.

Market Reality: Magic Leap & Apple Stockpile Funds & Talent as Samsung Reveals AR-Focused Smartphone

This week, two companies preparing the most anticipated augmented reality devices for consumers were the subject of reports regarding strategic moves to put them in better positions to move those products forward.

Apple AR: This App Uses the iPhone X's TrueDepth Camera to Conjure 3D Illusions

A Swedish digital artist has developed an app for the iPhone X that creates mind-bending 3D illusions that correlate to the user's point of view.

News: Snap Inc. Planning Smartglasses Version of Spectacles for 2019, Report Says

What many thought was inevitable, based on recent hints, has been revealed to be in the planning stages: Snapchat is working on smartglasses. The surprising information came out on March 2 in a report that also claims Snap Inc. is planning to release version two of its Spectacles product in the third quarter of 2018.

News: Meet the Nokia 7 Plus — Budget Phones Just Got a Whole Lot Better

With Nokia's relaunch, the iconic company attempted to reimagine the budget phone market. The series of phones they introduced last year challenged the idea that good phones can't be cheap. This year, Nokia introduced the Nokia 7 Plus, a phone which offers perhaps the best balance of specs, software, and price.

News: Everything You Should Know About the New Nokia 1

During Mobile World Congress 2018, OEMs started to introduce the world to Android Oreo (Go edition). Android Go offers smooth performance on entry-level specs, allowing for genuinely good cheap phones. At first, the US only had one Android Go device, but it looks like a second will join in the near future, the Nokia 1.

News: Magic Leap Takes Legal Action Against Employee Who Alleges HoloLens Trade Secret Violations

Accused of violating whistleblower and age discrimination laws by its security director, Magic Leap has taken an internal situation to the US District Court to clear its name of the allegations.

News: BBC Brings Ancient Artifacts into Your Living Room with Augmented Reality App for iOS & Android

According to Indiana Jones, certain things belong in museums, but, thanks to augmented reality, you can now see some of the ancient treasures of the world in your own home via the Civilisations AR app from the BBC.

News: Patent Applications Offer Closer Look at Magic Leap One & How It May Work

Eventually, even the most private company has to file its patents and unveil its tightly-held secrets, and Magic Leap is no exception.

News: Galaxy S9+ Camera Beats Pixel 2 & iPhone X with Highest DxOMark Score Ever

DxOMark, an independent camera reviewer, has become the go-to place where consumers and OEMs alike hope for good camera scores on major new smartphones. The Google Pixel 2 has topped the charts since Oct. 2017, when the score no doubt helped pull the phone out from its troubled launch, but it has just been dethroned by the Samsung Galaxy S9+, which received the highest DxOMark score yet.

News: Sony Xperia XZ2 & XZ2 Compact Specs, Features & Highlights

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium brought 4K HDR to a Sony flagship along with some competitive internals, while the Xz1 brought some powerful specs in a more midrange, traditional form factor. Now, Sony has unveiled the XZ2, which sees not only an upgrade in performance, but a complete design overhaul as well.

News: Now the HoloLens Can Measure Your Heart Rate by Scanning Your Face

Researchers have developed a new method that harnesses the power of augmented reality to detect a patient's heart rate using a Microsoft HoloLens and computer vision.

News: Snapchat's Controversial Redesign Only Made It More Popular

As you've probably heard by now, Snapchat's new redesign isn't going over too hot with its users. Its stock plummeted last week when Kylie Jenner said she'd be moving on to more Instagram-y pastures. With all these factors, you'd probably assume that there is some empirical evidence that Snapchat is in the tube. Well, you'd be wrong.

News: Everything You Need to Know About the New OnePlus 6 — Specs, Release Date, Pricing & More

Last year, OnePlus released not one but two excellent flagship devices with the OnePlus 5 and 5T. While the 5T released sooner than expected, it brought some worthwhile upgrades, such as a near bezel-less display and a much-needed camera enhancement. Now, that the OnePlus 6 has arrived, it's time to see what OnePlus has in store for 2018.

News: Japan Startup Launches What Could Be the First AR Barbie Doll for Your iPhone

We already showed you the dark side of augmented reality in the form of a virtual girlfriend from Japan, but now the same country has given us something a lot less creepy that could be the future of virtual pop stars everywhere.

News: The New Nokia 6.1 Is a Solid Upgrade to One of Last Year's Most Durable Budget Phones

HMD (the company currently making Nokia-branded phones) only released one flagship device last year, with the rest of the phones falling in the mid-range and entry-level tiers. However, at Mobile World Congress 2018, HMD announced their ambition to become a top five smartphone maker in 3–5 years. Meeting this goal will require penetration in all markets — especially the United States — and it looks like Nokia will get the ball rolling early this year.

Report: OnePlus & HTC Are the Worst US Phones for Security Updates in 2018

As far as overall security updates are concerned, we all know that iOS reigns supreme over Android. But just how bad do Android devices fare against Apple in general? A recent report will have you second guessing some companies the next time you're in the market for a handset.

News: Leap Motion Exec Posts Early Peek at Hand Interaction Project via Meta 2

It's been months since Leap Motion, the hand-tracking interface startup, announced the hiring of Keiichi Matsuda as the VP of design and global creative director based in London. Since then, Matsuda's normally active social media stream has been fairly quiet — until now.

News: Apple Boosts Augmented Reality Team with Former Twitter Engineering Exec, Report Says

In hopes of strengthening its growing augmented reality team, Apple has reportedly hired Michael Abbott, an engineering and investment veteran with past ties to Twitter, Microsoft, Palm, and others.

News: How Android Go Is Bringing Flagship Performance to Low-End Phones

Ever since Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the helms of the world's most valuable brand, he has made it his mission to bring smartphones to lower-income communities. Born in India, Mr. Pichai has created several programs to address the needs of the Indian market, particularly the lower income families.

News: Volkswagen Teases AR Co-Pilot for Self-Driving Concept Car

On Tuesday, at the Geneva International Motor Show, Volkswagen gave the world an early peek at a futuristic autonomous concept car that includes a virtual AI host embodied in an augmented reality interface.

News: How Samsung's AR Emoji Stack Up to the Competitors

Apple's Animojis took the world by storm with their ease of use and fluidity. They added new life to your emojis by mapping your face with the technology that lives inside the iPhone X. Now, Samsung is also adding new life to emjojis with the introduction of AR Emojis in the Galaxy S9 and S9+.

News: ZTE Tempo Go Brings Google's New Version of Android to Most US Carriers

When Google first announced Android Oreo (Go edition), many believed these devices would be focused more on developing countries. However, thanks to ZTE, we'll be getting Android Go stateside, so US customers on even the tightest of budgets can still enjoy the convenience of a smartphone.