Gadget Hacks News

News: HTC U Spec Leak Shows Off Internals

The HTC U isn't set to be revealed until mid-to-late-April, but that isn't stopping the leaks from creating hype. Weibo user Ann Bunny just leaked a spec sheet for the new HTC phone, which can be seen below. Keep in mind, though, all details are still just rumors at this point, but they're certainly juicy.

News: Snapchat Has Made This App Explode

Bitmoji has experienced explosive success this year thanks to Snapchat. The app allows users to create their own personal emoji and send responses to other friends, and even though it's only two and a half years old, this customizable emoji app is growing at an impressive pace.

News: Apple Expected to Fall Behind Android in App Sales This Year

For a long time, Apple has kept the upper hand on Android as far as app revenue is concerned. However, this tradition looks likely to change this year, as Android's app sales are expected to surpass Apple's.

News: This App Notifies You Every Time a Trump Tweet 'Triggers' Your Stocks

Every time Donald Trump tweets about a stock you own, Trigger Finance, or just Trigger—the app founded on the "if this, then that" rule to track and invest in the stock market—alerts you with a notification for real-time analysis of financial data.

News: Samsung Galaxy S8 Preorder Links & Pricing for Major US Carriers & Retailers

The new Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are two of most head-turning phones we've ever seen, thanks to gorgeous build quality and a seemingly bezel-less Infinity Display. Combine that with flagship-grade internals for top notch performance, and you can almost guarantee that Samsung has a hit on its hands—which means it's probably not going to be easy to get your hands on one of these beauties.

News: Augmented Reality Can Make Good-for-You Food Look More Attractive, Making It Easier to Eat Well

Augmented reality seems to be the talk of the town lately, with everything from glasses to furniture stores prepping to implement exciting, new AR technology. Well now, it looks like even our food is getting a makeover for the augmented reality future.

News: Watch the Galaxy S8 Live Stream at Samsung UNPACKED 2017

All the news and rumors regarding the Galaxy S8 have finally coalesced and brought us to this moment, and it couldn't come soon enough. Samsung's flagships are making their official debut live on Wednesday, March 29. The stakes are especially high for the South Korean tech giant, following the Note7 debacle and the political scandals that plagued its highest echelons. Simply put, Samsung's fortunes are now riding on the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Will the Galaxy S8 and S8+ be the ultimate Android sma...

News: The Most Exciting Events Coming Up at Augmented World Expo 2017 in May

Coming up at the end of May is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to all things augmented and virtual reality, the Augmented World Expo, more commonly known just as AWE. And this year, a few of us from NextReality are going to be there.

News: HTC Rumored to Reveal Snapdragon 835 Flagship with Touch-Sensitive Frame

HTC is working on another flagship device that's expected to be released in mid-April. After the disastrous reception of the recently released HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play, this new model could be the true HTC 10 successor we've all been waiting for.

News: ASUS Rumored to Turn AR & VR Departments into Independent Startup

ASUS is gearing up to move its augmented and virtual reality departments into an independent startup named Glamorfy, according to a recent report from tech news site Fudzilla.

News: Step Right Up, Your Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Is Now Ready to Go with Waze's New Order Ahead Option

Oh, Waze—you know, that Google-owned traffic navigation app that tempts drivers into stopping at local food joints like Dunkin' Donuts and Taco Bell? Well, now you can even order a large iced coffee through the app before you even arrive at a fast food hotspot.

News: Safari Security Breach Fixed in iOS 10.3 Update

Don't ignore the update sitting in your Settings app; you'd be leaving your iPhone's security vulnerable.

Fitness Lovers Alert: Get Ready for the New Adidas Workout App 'All Day', Out in Beta Today

Adidas' new app All Day isn't going to be your average fitness app. Oh no, the company had the "versatile athlete" in mind when it came to creating the well-rounded program that not only encompasses fitness, but also provides nutrition plans, encourages a balanced mindset, and makes sure you get an adequate amount of rest.

News: iPhone 8's 3D Camera More Than a Rumor, Thanks to an Analysis from Morgan Stanley

The rumor that the iPhone 8 will ship with 3D camera system is not a new one, but a new analysis by Morgan Stanley's Charlie Chan lends credibility to the speculation. Now, it appears more likely than ever that Apple's next iPhone will ship with 3D capabilities, increasing potential for AR and VR integration in the future.

News: Facebook Copies Snapchat Again by Putting Augmented Reality Camera Filters in the Main Facebook App

Facebook is aware that Snapchat is killing the social media game amongst the youths, which makes sense, because in 2017, video is king in social media currency. Facebook has continually shown that Mark Zuckerberg and crew seem to think the best strategy to keep up is to simply copy them.

News: 'Create Magic in Seconds' with Lightform's New Computer Made to Project Augmented Reality

Lightform might just be the thing to have at your next party. The San Francisco-based company just created the first computer ever able to connect to a projector and instantly scan 3D scenes to mix reality with projected light.

News: Shopping for a New Couch? Amazon Wants You to See It in Your Home (While You're Still in the Store)

Amazon has been toying with the idea of opening physical retail stores for some time now, even opening old-fashioned bookstores in select locations and teasing cashier-less convenience stores. But the online retailer has some new ideas in the works, including implementing virtual and augmented reality into retail home stores.

News: Latest Facebook Messenger Update Adds Live Location Sharing

Facebook Messenger has now incorporated a live location sharing feature, one week after Google Maps revealed its own real-time location tool. On Monday, the social media giant announced the new feature, which will allow users to share their live whereabouts with friends at the press of a button.

News: New iWork Update Lets You Unlock Password-Protected Documents with Touch ID

Monday has been a big update day for Apple. Alongside the release of iOS 10.3, iWork has been updated across both iOS and macOS. The biggest change is the ability to unlock password-protected files with Touch ID, either on iPhone and iPad, or on the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.

News: Android Co-Founder Andy Rubin Gives Us a Sneak Peek into Essential's New Bezel-Less Smartphone

Andy Rubin, the cofounder of Android, departed Google in 2014 to go on and start his own smartphone company, Essential. Rubin first gave us a clue at what he would be working on when he announced in January that he wanted Essential to create a premium smartphone with a bezel-less edge-to-edge display.

News: Galaxy S8 Spec Sheet & Pictures Leak—Here's Everything We Know

WinFuture, a German tech-news site, has leaked a spec sheet for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. We previously covered all speculation and leaks in our rumor roundup, but thanks to Roland Quandt, we now have a very clear look at what to expect from Samsung's latest flagship release.

News: Samsung's Working on an Ultra-Thin Dual Camera System According to a New Patent

Dual cameras are increasingly popular right now for smartphones, but so far, Samsung has steered clear of all the hype. However, a new patent application shows that Samsung has been working on a dual camera system of their own, featuring tech potentially more advanced than what is currently on the market.

News: The Fake Review Saga Continues—Gmail & Messenger Latest in Google Play's 5-Star Spam

Earlier last week, there were a number of fake five-star WhatsApp reviews to be found on the Google Play Store. Now, Gmail, Chrome, Messenger, and Firefox are all the latest victims to be saturated in five-star spam that wrongly refers to the word "game" in reference to non-game apps.

News: These Guys Hacked Together a Raspberry Pi & Car Steering Wheel to Play Mario Kart

Oh, Mario. The guy that's been a part of our lives since as long as we can all remember. Well, Adam Ringwood and his friends did something pretty cool with one of Mario's most exciting games at the HackIllinois event in February 2016—they hacked a Chevrolet Volt's steering wheel into one big Nintendo 64 controller for Mario Kart.

News: Bob Iger Says AR, Not VR, Is the Way of the Future for Disney Parks

Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger has out and out rejected Virtual Reality (VR) as a component of any Disney Theme park. While Knott's Berry Farm, why-hasn't-this-chain-shut-down-yet Sea World (seriously, RIP Tillikum), and Six Flags have all invested in VR to help spice up their parks in this theme park depression period, Iger has "ordered his team not to even think about it." Iger instead is very much onboard the Augmented Reality (AR) train.

News: Google Docs Meets Instagram in Google's Next Social App

When it comes to social media, Google has had it a bit rough. But its next big app in this category is apparently steps away from completion, with a platform that allows small groups of users to edit and organize photos in unison.

News: The Nokia Brand Is Officially Revived & US-Bound

In case we haven't beaten the '90s revival to death enough, now Nokia is coming back to the US market. The three Android midrange devices that made their debut at Mobile World Congress last month are set for a global release, meaning they will also make their way stateside.

News: T-Mobile Helps You Dodge All Those Annoying Phone Scams with New 'Scam Likely' Warnings

T-Mobile just unveiled two new services—Scam ID and Scam Block—which specifically target those pestering robo-calls that reach out to 2.4 million Americans every month.

News: Cortana Gets a Fresh Look on Android (For Beta Testers)

Cortana, a strong competitor to Apple's Siri and the Google Assistant, has just been updated for beta testers on Android. The update introduces some sleek redesigns of both the look and features of the app, developing anticipation for the official update.

News: Google to Remove SMS Features from Hangouts (Update: New Version Rolling Out)

It's fair to say that Google's messaging services are in a bit of a heap at the moment, and to make matters worse, Hangouts is removing its SMS capacities. Hangouts version 18 is now being rolled out, but doesn't appear to incorporate any functional changes.

News: Good Luck Getting the iPhone 8—Limited Quantities for September

Apple's anxiously awaited iPhone 8 with a 5.8-inch OLED display is all set to launch this September, alongside the iPhone 7s variants. However, according to MacRumors, which cites information from a number of Barclays analysts, stock will be very limited, and most won't ship until late in the fourth quarter.

News: 360world's Windows Mixed Reality Tools Will Help Air Traffic Controllers See in New Ways

360world, a Hungary-based tech company involved in motion control and augmented reality, released information today about their latest products, the CLAIRITY HoloTower and CLAIRITY SmartBinocular. These tools are designed to bring augmented reality into the hands of air traffic controllers, via Windows Mixed Reality, to greatly improve their workflow over tools already in use.

News: Lowe's New Tango-Based App Helps Shoppers Find Products They Need

Lowe's Home Improvement laid another brick in their augmented reality foundation with today's announcement of a new app for Tango-enabled smartphones.

News: DottyAR Lets You View 3D Models on Smartphones & Coming Soon to ODG Smartglasses

While augmented reality is mostly in the minds of consumers in the form of Pokémon GO, AR has been popular behind the scenes, with AR companies marketing it as a tool to help business operations become more efficient. This business-to-business market is the target of the new app DOTTYAR, which "provides 3D visualization tools for augmented reality viewers."

News: New Training Simulation Concept Enables Safe Crane Operation Through HoloLens

A proof of concept for an overhead crane training simulator is in the works. Using Microsoft HoloLens and an industrial-style controller, trainees can pick up holographic loads and transport them throughout a warehouse setting.

News: Archer AR App Deputizes Viewers as Detectives

The producers of FX's animated series Archer have devised a plan to introduce augmented reality hijinks into its eighth and penultimate season with a new app for iOS and Android devices.

News: Detailed 3D Mining Maps & Future Reclamation Views Highlighted in Proof-of-Concept HoloLens App

LOOOK, a Seattle-based mixed reality and development studio, can now peer into the future with their new geotechnical engineering visualization application for Microsoft HoloLens.

News: Apple Says iPhone & iCloud Are Safe After Claimed Breach by 'Turkish Crime Family'

New statements from Apple make it clear that they do not believe a hacker, or group of hackers, breached any of their systems. This comes after a recent report from Motherboard that a hacker gang called the "Turkish Crime Family" is threatening to remotely wipe up to 559 million iPhones by April 7.

News: 'Convert' & Watch Your Old DVDs on Your Smartphone with Vudu

Now you can watch your old copy of Bridget Jones's Diary anywhere, anytime, on your smartphone. It's a dream come true! (Disclaimer: This dream may oddly specific to me.)

News: Adobe Integrates with HoloLens for Personalized Marketing

At Adobe Summit 2017 this week, Adobe announced they are looking to occupy a new space in the market by combining their analytic capabilities with augmented reality. Teaming up with Microsoft, the company has combined Adobe Sensei software with the HoloLens, reports GeekWire. Together, the tech and software create a new tool for retailers to track their consumers' habits.