Gadget Hacks News

News: WhatsApp Receives Thousands of Fake 5-Star Reviews After Months of Ranking Below Average

During the last few months, WhatsApp's Google Play Store ratings have been tanking—all the way down to an average of 3.4 stars from the instant messenger's usual average of 4.1. Within the last week, though, WhatsApp has received thousands of seemingly fake 5-star reviews that have bumped up the company's overall average to a 4.4.

News: This One Chart Lays Out All the AR Companies You NEED to Know About

Super Ventures has published "The AR Landscape," a chart encompassing the major players and startups that are shaping augmented reality. Launched in February as the first incubator and fund focused on augmented reality, Super Ventures outlines companies working augmented reality applications, tools, devices, input/output methods, and components. The AR Landscape lists 312 companies, representing $12.1 billion in funding and $69.6 billion valuation. It runs the gamut from startups and innovato...

News: 'Turkish Crime Family' Demands $75,000 in Bitcoin from Apple in Exchange for Hacked iPhone Accounts

Rumor has it that a gang of hackers—or possibly, one lonesome individual—holds the power to remotely wipe millions of iPhones and iCloud accounts, unless Apple coughs up some ransom money by April 7.

News: Google Maps Update Brings Real-Time Location Sharing

Google Maps now allows users to share their location in real time and update their friends and family on their location and estimated time of arrival when making a trip.

News: 27 Cool New Features & Changes in Android 8.0 Oreo

It's official — the newest version of Google's mobile operating system is called Android 8.0 Oreo, and it's in the process of rolling out to many different devices. Oreo has plenty of changes in store, ranging from revamped looks to under-the-hood improvements, so there's tons of cool new stuff to explore.

News: Huawei's Latest Effort to Crack the US Market—Getting into AT&T Stores

Huawei is making a fresh attempt at launching into the US market to challenge Apple and Samsung's monopoly on premium smartphones. In its latest attempt to break into America, Huawei is trying to get its Chinese mobile chipset accredited by AT&T.

News: Snapseed Update Launches Three Amazing New Tools

The newest version of Snapseed features three awesome new tools for you photo-editing enthusiasts. The 2.17 update for the editing app was rolled out on Tuesday, March 21, and its new additions are something to behold.

News: UC Berkeley Team Commands Drone Fleet with HoloLens

User interfaces for computers have evolved over the years, from the introduction of the keyboard and mouse on the personal computer, to touchscreens on mobile devices, to natural voice recognition. However, the same cannot be said for robots or drones—until now.

News: Google Releases Android O Developer Preview—Here's a Rundown of the New Features

The first sneak peak of Android O is finally here. The developer preview promises more features, stabilization, and better performance, according to the Android Developers Blog. Furthermore, there's speculation that the latest operating system will be code-named "Android Oreo," so it definitely sounds like we're in for a treat.

News: French Art Exhibit 'Mirages & Miracles' Combines Sculptures, Drawings & AR

The conversation around augmented reality has largely been focused on apps and gaming, and how AR can be used as a marketing tool. However, a new exhibit at France's Scène Nationale Albi is using AR for more artistic expression.

News: 2 Exciting New Features Coming in Apple's Clips App for iOS

Apple has yet to create a successful social networking app, but that doesn't mean they want to be left out of the social video conversation. Case in point: Today they announced a new video app set to debut for iOS in April called Clips.

News: You Can Now Save Your Live Instagram Videos

Starting today, you'll have the opportunity to save all your live Instagram videos to your phone at the end of each broadcast session. The latest update to the Instagram app now allows you to rewatch already-played broadcasts and gives you the ability to share them later on.

News: Design Your Dream Room with Pottery Barn's New Augmented Reality App

Pottery Barn has teamed up with Google to create 3D Room View, a new mobile app to allow all wannabe interior designers (like me) to pick out the perfect couch, table, or whatever, and then overlay it onto a spot in his or her house.

News: Apple Built Its Augmented Reality Group with Outsiders from Oculus & Microsoft

Apple is combining internal and external talent in an effort to give them in edge in the augmented reality market, though we still don't know what form their foray into alternative realities will actually take.

News: Nokia Mobile Networks Head Leaves, Division Splits in Two in Face of Falling Sales

Nokia, the Finnish telecommunications company, is about to shake things up a bit after its networks sales in the final quarter of last year declined 14% compared to sales in 2015.

News: Vodafone Set to Become India's Biggest Mobile Contender

Vodafone India has merged with telecom company Idea Cellular to become India's largest mobile player this week.

News: Bixby Is Official—Meet Samsung's Siri Competitor

The rumors have been confirmed by Samsung themselves: Samsung has developed a virtual assistant of their own, named Bixby.

News: Google Maps V9.49 Beta Gets a Manual Parking Location Tracker & Weather Indicator

Google Maps beta version 9.49 now allows users to manually save their parking location, and includes weather forecasts in mass transit, according to Android Police. There's also a notification toggle for mass transit station notifications.

News: From Dogs to Clothes, New Roadie App Helps You Move Your Stuff

A new app called Roadie now makes life a little easier by connecting users to people who can transport their stuff. The app allows users to transport anything from dogs to getting rid of your ex's things. Furthermore, anyone can register as a sender, or become a driver to make an extra buck. The app is very easy to use: simply download (the app is available on both iOS and Android) and register using an email address or with Facebook. Using the profile you've created, users then select whethe...

News: Google's New Patent Suggests Phone Packaging That Doubles as a VR Headset

Google has produced millions of low-end Cardboard VR headsets, but now it's upping its game with virtual reality phone packaging. Yep, you heard that right. A patent application published in February would suggest that the tech giant has developed phone packaging that doubles as a VR headset.

News: Spotify Considers Restricting Big Album Releases to Paying Users Only

All you paying Spotify users are about to get another exclusive privilege besides getting out of all those annoying "Ever wonder what it would be like to have Spotify premium?" ads. The Sweden-based company is looking to lower the royalty fees they have to pay to major record labels for their music, by compromising on their policy that all their music be free to paying and nonpaying users. Spotify would for a limited time restrict access on major album releases to their paying subscribers.

PSA: TrueCaller Is Sharing Your Phone Activity

TrueCaller is sharing your phone activity by revealing the last time your phone was used to contacts. The application used to identify unknown callers launched in 2009 and has faced a wealth of privacy concerns before.

News: Apple Granted Patent to Make Augmented Reality Maps—Hinting at a Cool, Futuristic Version of Our Well-Worn Maps App

Apple recently scored a patent (number 9,488,488) to create augmented reality maps, hinting at possible AR integration into the iOS Maps application for iPhone. Does this mean we'll be seeing super visionary projections of places in the app in the near future? Maybe.

News: Thanks to Google, iPhone Users Can Finally Pick a New Frame for Their Live Photos

Thanks to Google's latest update to their Motion Still app, iPhone users can now pick a new frame for Live Photos. The app fixes everything annoying about Apple's Live Photos, and this is just another great feature to add to Motion Still's impressive features list.

Hands-On: Our Detailed Look at Osterhout Design Group's R-8 & R-9 Smartglasses

I had the opportunity to speak with the COO of Osterhout Design Group, Pete Jameson, shortly before the announcement of the company's R-8 and R-9 smartglasses models at CES in January. And while I sadly could not make it to CES to test the smart specs out right away, ODG invited me to do just that while I was in San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference.

Deal Alert: Get a Free Season of Game of Thrones from Google Play—Right Now!

The Google Play Store is known for some pretty random promotions and offers, most of the time it's a free book or a discounted movie. But this time, an entire season for Game of Thrones is up for grabs. Yes, that's right, all of Season 5 of Game of Thrones is free to download, watch, or just stash in your library for later.

News: The Washington Post to Start Using Augmented Reality to Tell Better Stories

The Washington Post believes augmented reality adds an extra layer to stories, and they're doubling down on that belief by adding in new AR features into their already popular "rainbow" news (iOS and Android) and Classic (iOS and Android) news apps.

News: WhatsApp Stops Trying to Be Like Everyone Else & Brings Back Its Text-Based Status Option

In February, the popular Facebook-owned WhatsApp Messenger service jumped on the "stories" bandwagon and replaced their in-app, text-based "About Me" status (you know, those lovely little messages where you can say "Sleeping" or "Not Sleeping" under the tiny nub of your profile picture). Taking its place was a clone of Snapchat's Stories feature, continuing the social media giant's recent trend of shamelessly copying Snapchat.

News: McDonald's Tests Mobile Ordering Using Geofencing to Ensure Your Order Is Hot & Fresh When You Get It

It's 2017 and finally ordering "fries with that" at McDonald's is an even easier prospect for all you lovers out there ball and chained to the fast food game. The great big golden arches are moving one step closer to making your order as golden as it ought to be through a mobile ordering app using geofencing technology to track your location.

News: Watch a Demo of Leap Motion's Mobile Hand Tracking in New Video

Leap Motion, an augmented and virtual reality control system, has proven to be a force of nature when it comes to pushing hand-tracking tech forward. Now they've released a video showcasing their "Blocks" demo, which is already integrated into the reference headset kit designed by Qualcomm for VR companies "to take and sell their own branded devices with."

News: New Nexus 6 Update Downgrades Your Android Version Back to 7.0

Google has done it again—they've pushed another broken OTA update for the Nexus 6. Except this time, it almost completely softbricks your Nexus 6 instead of just screwing up Android Pay and SafetyNet. Apps are force-stopping left and right, making the phone practically unusable.

News: Google Home's New 'Listen' Tab Makes It Easy to Discover Music You'll Love

Google Home now helps users to discover new music with an added "Listen" tab in the app. The feature offers suggestions based on the Cast-enabled apps on a phone, while offering other apps to download if you'd like to broaden your musical horizons. The playlists are curated to your individual taste and will adjust for different artists and activities, which is a pretty nifty feature. This means that Google Home can cater to your momentary mood change with music, which is a welcome addition to...

News: OnePlus Introduces the 3T Colette Edition in Black with 128 GB of Storage

OnePlus just unveiled a new version of their popular OnePlus 3T—a limited edition all-black "colette" version for the boutique's 20th anniversary today. The slick device will feature the iconic colette logo on the back.

News: DAQRI Hires Xbox Creator to Accelerate AR Development

Augmented reality upstart DAQRI announced today that it has strengthened their in-house talent by recruiting renowned physicist Seamus Blackley and acquiring a team of 15 engineers and scientists from Heat Engine, LLC.

News: Coachella Partnered with Camera IQ to Alter Your Festival Experience with Hidden AR Easter Egg Hunts & More

Any stoked Coachella-goers out there? Well, get even more excited, because the celebrated music festival has partnered with virtual reality company vantage.tv and software platform Camera IQ this year to take the Coachella VR/AR app to augmented reality paradise.

News: Google Assistant Updates Add Screen Search Button & Tweaks the Search Interface

Google Assistant has introduced tappable shortcuts on the Google app for Android, iOS, and Google.com this week.

News: Order for iPhone 8's 3D Touch Sensors & AMOLED Panels Suggest Higher Price & No Launch in September

The infamous iPhone 8, or iPhone Edition, may take longer than the anticipated September release date due to manufacturing complications of the 3D Touch modules equipped with AMOLED panels.

News: iPhone 7 Remains Top-Selling Phone as iPhone Market Share Grows—But Takes a Hit in China

2017 has been a good year for Apple thus far. The new Kantar data is out, showing that from November 2016 to January 2017, the iPhone 7 has held steady as the top-selling phone in all the largest markets.

News: Chrome for iOS Updated to Add a 'Read Later' Feature

Google just pushed out an update to Chrome for iOS, with the main change being a new feature called "Read Later". Read Later is a nifty little feature that allows you to download and save web pages that you can read even if you're offline. Being a subway rider in NYC, I know very well how annoying the lack of an internet connection can be when traveling, which makes this feature all the more handy.

News: Shazam Sets Sights on AR Advertising with iPhone & Android App Updates

The company that pioneered music scanning for mobile devices is moving into the augmented reality advertising arena. Included in an update of their iOS and Android apps last week, Shazam can now scan special codes to immerse users in 3D animations, 360-degree videos, mini-games, and other AR content.