Hot Gadget Hacks News Stories — Page 12 of 129

News: Samsung Just Gave Us the First Snapchat AR Smartphone, Sort Of

During this week's unveiling of the new Samsung A Series of smartphones, much of the focus was on the high-end features at a more affordable price as the South Korean tech giant looks to regain its status as the world's top smartphone maker versus Apple's iPhone.

News: NexTech AR's Paul Duffy on How Mobile AR & Holographic Performances Are Changing How We Work & Play

As augmented reality space continues to move into the mainstream, the competition to offer immersive services is ramping up as well.

News: Facebook Plans to Enhance Hand Gestures for Future AR Smartglasses with Wristband That Can Read Nerve Signals

While Apple has been rather secretive about its work on AR wearables (despite the abundance of leaks revealing details about their unannounced devices), Facebook has been rather chatty about its plans for smartglasses.

News: This Atari 3D Sneaker NFT Auction Is Using Snapchat to Let You Try Before You Buy on the Blockchain

When you're talking about collectibles, in 2021 it's heresy not to include the world of sneakerheads. Nowadays, a single, limited batch of newly designed sneakers from Nike can quickly sell out and then go on to be resold for many thousands more than they were purchased for at launch.

News: Apple Releases iOS 14.5 Public Beta 4 for iPhone, Features Reference to New 'City Charts' Playlists in Apple Music

Apple released the fourth public beta for iPhone today, Monday, Mar. 15. The update (build number 18E5178a) comes three hours after the fourth 14.5 developer beta, and includes references in its code to a new "City Charts" playlist feature in Apple Music.

News: Pizza Hut Delivery Now Comes with Slice of '80s Gaming via Pac-Man in AR

What is old is new again. In this case, a classic arcade game gets the augmented reality treatment. In a new promotion playing off its ad campaign featuring actor Craig Robinson (The Office, Hot Tub Time Machine), Pizza Hut has turned its pizza boxes into a virtual Pac-Man game via web-based AR technology.

News: Apple Releases iOS 14.5 Developer Beta 4 for iPhone

Apple released the fourth developer beta for iPhone today, Monday, Mar. 15. The update (build number 18E5178a) comes 13 days after Apple seeded developers the third 14.5 beta, and 12 days after public testers received their third 14.5 update.

News: Augmented Reality Masks from MF Doom Auctioned as NFTs Fetch $1.6 Million

The hype surrounding non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has reached astronomical levels over the past few weeks, and now the technology has intersected with augmented reality's orbit in a fantastic way.

Market Reality: Reggie Watts & Looking Glass NFT Auction, Sketchfab Courts Google Poly Users & Apple Smartglass Rumors

The augmented reality industry has grown steadily over the past four years, but now it is on a collision course with uber-popular non-fungible tokens technology, with Looking Glass and music artist Reggie Watts among the latest to strike while the iron is hot.

News: Snapchat's Body Tracking AR Tech Lends Hand for Organ Donation Education

Sure, Snapchat AR Lenses can be fun, but they can help communicate complex issues as well. While our Facebook news feeds were filled with references to 311 Day, March 11 is also World Kidney Day, the United Kingdom's National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) used the occasion to educate its constituents about organ donation.

News: Google Arts & Culture Drops AR Synth Exhibit That You Can Play

Museum curators typically frown upon visitors touching paintings, sculptures, and artifacts, but not when those exhibits are displayed in augmented reality.

AR Snapshots: Your Cats & Dogs Can Join in Your AR Antics with These Pet-Friendly Snapchat Lenses

The face tracking of cats and dogs are probably my favorite AR innovations that have come to Snapchat Lenses over the past few years.

News: USA Today Teams Up with 8th Wall to Launch AR Basketball Game for March Madness

Just as the NCAA men's basketball tournament is set to start later this month, USA Today has decided to trot out an augmented reality mini-basketball game to promote its bracket competition.

News: Sketchfab Rescues Google Poly Creators with New Transfer Tool

Google Poly, a repository of 3D objects for use in AR and VR experiences, is the latest Google offering to fall victim to the company's habit of axing products and services, regardless of popularity.

News: Looking Glass Teams with Reggie Watts to Auction Holographic NFT Art, Paving Way for Popularizing AR Art You Can Hold

The moment many of the crypto savvy insiders in augmented reality and VR have been waiting for is here: we're finally getting our first big auction of NFT art that exists purely as a hologram.

News: Apple Releases iOS 14.4.1 for iPhone, Includes New Security Fixes

Apple just released iOS 14.4.1 for iPhone today, Monday, Mar. 8. The event marks 41 days since Apple released a public update for iPhones, with iOS 14.4 back on Jan. 26.

News: Apple's AR Wearables Roadmap Includes Mixed Reality Headset in 2022, Smartglasses in 2025 & More by 2040, Report Says

Based on recent reports, we've got a pretty clear picture of what to expect from Apple's rumored augmented reality headset expected to arrive next year, but the outlook is more opaque concerning its consumer-grade AR smartglasses.

Market Reality: 'WandaVision' in AR, Cleanbox CEO Fights Pandemic for AR/VR & Behind Seek's AR Patent Power Move

The year is still off to a roaring start, with augmented reality at the center of nearly everything, from enterprise solutions, to entertainment, to safety.

News: Cleanbox CEO Amy Hedrick Is Saving the AR & VR World One Headset at a Time Through Virus-Fighting Tech

The process of trying out new augmented reality and virtual reality hardware is as personal as it gets. Bottom line, if you can't directly try these immersive devices on, it's difficult to really understand the benefits they can bring to your life and work.

News: Seek's CEO Reveals How Its New AR Patent Could Change the Entire 3D Space & Looks into the Future of Smartglasses

Among the various components of the emerging augmented reality space, the most lucrative is the advertising market. The prospect of turning every object, every location, ever signpost in the real world into a discount code or virtual transaction interface is why AR will ultimately be more profitable than VR.

News: Apple Releases iOS 14.5 Public Beta 3 for iPhone, Adds New 'Items' Tab in Find My

Apple released the third public beta for iOS 14.5 today, Wednesday, Mar. 3. The update introduces a new "Items" tab in the Find My app that hints at the company's long-rumored "AirTags," a new Apple Watch icon when unlocking your Face ID iPhone with your watch, as well as small UI updates.

News: Google Adding Stereo Depth Support for Dual Cameras to ARCore Starting with Pixel 4 & 4XL

In response to Apple's implementation of LiDAR sensors in iPad Pro and iPhone 12 Pro models, Google is looking to leverage the dual-camera setups in recent flagship devices as depth-sensing components.

News: Apple Releases iOS 14.5 Developer Beta 3 for iPhone

Apple released the third developer beta for iOS 14.5 today, Tuesday, Mar. 2. The company promptly pulled the update from the developer portal, before finally making it available for all shortly after. The update was surprising to begin with, since Apple released it at an unusual time, and was only available as a download from the dev portal, without any OTA option.

News: Microsoft Unveils Mesh Platform for Collaborative HoloLens Apps, Previews Pokemon GO Proof of Concept

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for virtual and remote collaboration, and Microsoft has a solution that may serve as the catalyst for more such apps for augmented and virtual reality in the near future.

News: Epson Boosts Display Specs, Adds Optional Android Controller in Moverio BT-40 Series Smartglasses

The average business person likely recognizes Epson for its printers or even its projectors, not the futuristic AR wearables.

News: Visit WandaVision's Reality-Bending Living Room with This Facebook Messenger AR Portal

The new WandaVision series is perhaps the hottest TV show on the Disney Plus streaming service since...well, its own The Mandalorian wrapped up its second season late last year.

Market Reality: Snap Attracts AR Storytellers, Samsung AR Dreams Revealed & Qualcomm + Nreal Unveil New AR Hardware

The Lens Studio creators have published more than 1.5 million AR effects to Snapchat. One of them is Audrey Spencer, who shared her story with us and provided her insights into Lens Studio as a storytelling device. Meanwhile, Snap has added new capabilities to the platform to stoke more creativity from its creators.

AR Spotlight: How Snapchat Lens Creator Audrey Spencer Is Bending Reality on Your Smartphone

The rapid advance of Lens Studio as a platform for easily developing augmented reality experiences is just one indicator that immersive computing is becoming the norm.

News: Snap's Lens Studio 3.4 Update Improves Hand & Body Tracking for Snapchat AR Effects & Adds Asset Library

The Lens Studio app has become a cornerstone of Snap and its augmented reality technology portfolio by giving developers, creatives, and novices the ability to create augmented reality camera effects for Snapchat.

News: Scope AR Streamlines Its WorkLink AR Content Creation Platform into Browser-Based Tool

San Francisco-based augmented reality company Scope AR has made building AR instructional content for mobile devices and AR wearables as easy as throwing together a PowerPoint deck, primarily via its WorkLink platform.

News: Prehistoric Creatures Return to Life via New iPhone AR App from Celebrity Historian David Attenborough

Apparently, we learned nothing from Jurassic Park, as scientists are still working on bringing extinct species back to life. Until that day comes, you can interact with long-lost animals through augmented reality...if you have a newer model iPhone.

AR Snapshots: Become a Cat for Video Calls, Rock Out as an Elephant, Then Have Fun with Poems & Emojis in AR

Outside of plastic surgery disasters or costumes, augmented reality is the closest we can get to morphing our likenesses into those of animals.

News: Qualcomm Unleashes Its Own Snapdragon XR1 AR Smart Viewer Reference Design to Support AR Smartglasses Makers

The augmented reality smartglasses race is getting a major new entrant that could significantly change the entire landscape.

News: Nreal Announces Move to Expand AR Smartglasses Sales to US, Europe & Launch Enterprise Edition in 2021

After piloting the Nreal Light in South Korea and Japan via carrier partnerships and securing another round of funding, Nreal is now ready to begin selling the consumer edition of the smartglasses to the western world as well as introduce a version for enterprise customers.

News: FinchRing Controller Handles Gesture Control & Hand-Tracking for Nreal Light & Other AR Headsets

High-end augmented reality devices like the HoloLens and the Magic Leap 1, as well as the Ultraleap motion tracking modules, have demonstrated robust hand-tracking capabilities. However, many AR wearables (including Magic Leap) still rely on handheld controllers for interactions in AR space.

News: Samsung Reveals Its Vision for Smartglasses & Wearable Computing in Leaked Videos

Roughly a year ago, Samsung demoed its AR smartglasses prototype on stage at CES 2020. Now, videos showing off a new smartglasses model along with the company's imaginings of future AR experiences have surfaced through unofficial yet reliable channels.

Market Reality: Magic Leap & Epson Cater to Enterprise Customers, Lego & Smithsonian Launch New AR Apps

When it comes to augmented reality wearables, it's currently an enterprise world. As such, Magic Leap's latest Lumin updates are centered on features that appeal to enterprise customers. And Epson and Spinar are joining forces with a solution for distributed workforces.