Hot Gadget Hacks News Stories
News: Full Galaxy Z Flip Spec Sheet Review — Samsung's New Clamshell Phone Is a Flagship Even Without the Fold
Samsung decided to jump into the foldable category early, announcing the Galaxy Fold in February 2019. After a major hiccup, Samsung released the phone four months later to praise. But Samsung's not finished with foldables, as the new Galaxy Z Flip is just on the horizon.
News: Apple Releases iOS 13.3.1 Developer Beta 2 for iPhone
Did you take a vacation this holiday season? It appears Apple did. After the release of iOS 13.3.1 developer beta 1 (then public beta 1 one day later), iOS beta testing went silent for almost a full month. With 2019 now in the books, it seems Apple is back to work, as developers received iOS 13.3.1 beta 2 today, Tuesday, Jan. 14.
News: Apple Launches Reality Converter to Prepare 3D Objects for Reality Composer
After introducing and launching Reality Composer alongside iOS 13 and ARKit 3 last year, Apple is making it easier for developers to create apps with it.
News: Artists Transform Brooklyn Light Installation into Instagram AR Filter That Doubles as Dimensional Portal
What if you went to an art installation at one of the coolest venues in New York that you could then take with you anywhere in the world?
Market Reality: Samsung Prototype, Mastercard App, Plus Vuzix, 0Glasses, & Pacific Future AR Wearables Shown Off at CES
In years past, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) mostly dabbled in the future as far as the long-term vision for augmented reality was concerned. This year, however, objects in the future are much closer than they appear.
News: Hong Kong Startup's Am Glass Wearable Offers Powerful Augmented Reality Smartglasses Alternative to Nreal Light
We've been predicting the rush of augmented reality wearable makers from China for a couple of years, and now it looks like it's in full swing, with one of the most promising entrants coming from startup Pacific Future.
News: BMW Augmented Reality Windshield Concept Adds Gaze Detection for Natural Interaction
While the automotive industry is moving towards adopting AR displays in future models, BMW is already shifting into the next gear with its vision of the technology.
News: Mastercard Develops Mobile AR App to Explain Rewards & Benefits to Cardholders
It's a good sign for any emerging technology when one of the leaders of an industry adopts it. So when Mastercard, a brand so recognizable that it dropped its name from its logo at CES last year, decides to develop a mobile augmented reality app, the moment is a milestone for the AR industry.
News: Unity Previews Immersive Art Experiences for Mobile AR, Magic Leap One, & HoloLens at Upcoming Sundance Festival
The Unity 3D engine is not only responsible for facilitating the creation of 60% of AR and VR content but it also plays a significant role in producing the immersive stories that increasingly push the boundaries of cinema.
News: China-Based Startup 0glasses Looks to Challenge Nreal Light with Its RealX Augmented Reality Smartglasses
Brace yourselves: Nreal Light clones are coming. Since the China-based startup wowed the crowd at CES 2019 with its consumer-centric smartglasses, a number of followers from Asia have emerged, and all with very similar aesthetics to Nreal Light.
News: Samsung Demos AR Smartglasses, Virtual Workout Partner at CES
The world of CES, the annual technology conference in Las Vegas, usually brings a few surprises, but few expected Samsung to fire off its first real augmented reality salvo at the event.
News: Vuzix Reveals Next-Gen M4000 Enterprise Smartglasses, Shows Off Smart Swim AR Wearable for Aquatic Athletes
While consumer-grade smartglasses are the holy grail for tech companies, smartglasses maker Vuzix knows where its bread is buttered, and that's in the enterprise segment.
News: Nreal Light Intros Nebula for Augmented Reality Interfaces on Android Apps, AR Cloud & 6DoF Controllers
With the consumer edition of its Nreal Light headset, scheduled to ship in 2020, Nreal is prepared to bring the entire Android app ecosystem into augmented reality.
News: Explore the Grueling Wartime Trenches of Golden Globe Winning Movie '1917' via Web-Based AR Experience
Filmed in what appears to be a single continuous shot, war film 1917 is now the front-runner to conquer the Best Picture category of the Academy Awards after bringing home the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in the drama category.
Market Reality: The Year in AR — HoloLens 2, Magic Leap's Rocky Ride, Apple's Future, & AR Startups Under Pressure
When filtered through the prism of the top stories of the year, the business of augmented reality 2019 was defined as much by epic failures of AR startups as it was by the promising developments that propelled the industry forward into 2020.
News: Instagram Creators Launch Filters for Harry Potter, Pokémon & Simpsons Characters in Augmented Reality
The developer who gained notoriety for his What Disney Are You? augmented reality filter on Instagram is striking again while the iron is hot.
News: The Only Cat Litter Scoop You'll Ever Need
If you have a cat, trying to get all of the little clumps out of the litter probably feels like an impossible task. It pretty much is, but we've found the best cat litter scoop that gets more of those tiny pieces out than any other scoop. Plus, it's sturdy, degradable, and ethically sourced.
News: OnePlus 8 Pro Leaked Spec Sheet & Rumored Features
UPDATE: The OnePlus 8 Pro has been released! Check it out on the official OnePlus website or read through the rumored specs we've left below for posterity.
News: USA Today Deepens Story on Afghanistan War with AR Experience
The augmented reality team at USA Today closed out a prolific year of immersive storytelling with a hard-hitting companion piece exploring the controversial conflict in Afghanistan.
News: Android Chrome Browsers Get More WebXR Support via Open Source Platform A-Frame & ARCore
While Apple and Google have paved the way for developers to create web-based AR experiences through their respective mobile toolkits, an open source option has entered the space.
News: 5 Features That Make the Pixel 4 a Great Workout Companion
The Pixel 4 isn't for everyone, but it does have its appeal in several specific use cases. Thanks to Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms, the fitness industry and smartphone world are now intertwined like never before, and it appears Google's aware of this.
News: This Viral Instagram Augmented Reality Filter Will Tell You Which Disney Character You Really Are
One Instagram creator's augmented reality homage to Disney's deep bench of animated characters has earned him fifteen minutes of fame.
Hands-On: Spotify Premium on Magic Leap One Is Futuristic, But Not Quite the iPod of AR
Back when I worked in the music industry, I never imagined there would be a day that I'd be able to sit in a room surrounded by virtual album covers while listening to beats, but that day is really here.
News: 13 Ways a Good Smartwatch Can Enhance Your Workout
Thanks to numerous smartwatch deals this holiday season, many people are receiving their first one. But what exactly can they do? In regards to fitness, quite a lot. With a growing list of sensors and software updates, these small devices can be the very thing you need to ultimately reach your fitness goals.
Market Reality: Google Lens Pairs with L'Oreal, 8th Wall Riffs on Pink Floyd, & Magic Leap Delivers Holiday AR
In his famous 1996 "Content is King" essay, Bill Gates predicted that content is where tech companies will make money on the Internet. The adage clearly holds true in the current phase of augmented reality experience.
News: Star Wars Baby Yoda Unofficially Comes to Magic Leap via This Developer Experiment
The first season of Star Wars: The Mandalorian may be over, but the love for its biggest star, Baby Yoda, persists.
News: Snapchat, Facebook, Google, 8th Wall, & Immersion Bring Holiday Cheer via Augmented Reality
Sending Christmas cards via snail mail is so passé. Why spend the time and money for a bougie photoshoot, saccharine card design, and postage when you can use augmented reality to instantly dress up photos and videos to send to friends and family instead?
News: Magic Leap Wraps 2019 with Immersive Holiday Experience
The book is almost closed on 2019, but Magic Leap has one more gift to offer its users before the new decade arrives.
News: Our Writers & Editors Pick Their Favorite Phones of 2019
One of my favorite perks of this job is the opportunity to try out all the big flagship phones each year. Whether it's rating their suitability for a particular use-case or just entering their specs into our comparison tool, we have to get our hands on all major phones released in the US. We pride ourselves on being fair in our reviews and roundups, but that doesn't mean we don't have preferences.
News: Google Lens Delivers AR Try-On for L'Oreal's Garnier Products at Walmart
Sure, it's the giving season, but sometimes you've just got to treat yourself to some cosmetics. If you're shopping at Walmart, L'Oreal just made that a shade easier when shopping for Garnier hair color products with an assist from Google Lens and the Modiface AR platform.
Market Reality: AR Leaders Predict 2020, Nreal Fights Back, Elon Musk's Vision in AR, & Magic Leap's Boosters
As the year comes to a close, we've invited some of the leaders of the AR industry to take the time to look back at the progress the AR industry has made while looking forward to what's ahead in 2020. A report on the top apps of 2019 — and the decade — also offers some insights on the progress and direction of mobile AR.
News: 8th Wall's Web AR Brings Album Art of Pink Floyd to Life
What better band than Pink Floyd, the pioneers of psychedelic and progressive rock, to show the music industry how to reinvent album art for the augmented reality age?
Vision Forecast 2020: AR Execs Weigh in on Recent Industry Milestones & What We Can Expect in the Coming Year
The year 2019 was filled with all the normal peaks and valleys of the tech business cycle, but this year was particularly important in a space as relatively young as the augmented reality industry.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 13.3.1 Public Beta 1 for iPhone
Yesterday, Dec. 17, Apple released the first developer beta for iOS 13.3.1. The update marked the first new beta in almost a month since iOS 13.3's fourth beta dropped on Nov. 20. Now, one day later, Apple has pushed out iOS 13.3.1 public beta 1 to everyone who wants to try out new features first.
News: Augmented Reality Apps Account for Over Half of the Top 10 Most Downloaded Apps of 2019, Report Says
If there's any lingering uncertainty as to the mainstream viability of augmented reality, a list of the top mobile apps and games of 2019 serves to dispell those doubts.
News: 8th Wall, Amazon Sumerian & Trigger Team Up to Deliver Web AR Promotion for 'Jumanji' Movie Sequel
Augmented reality already seemed like the ideal technology to advertise for a movie based on the premise of being sucked into a video game world the first time around. For the sequel, how about two times the immersion?
News: HyperloopTT Uses Magic Leap to Show How Elon Musk's Futuristic Vision of Transport Will Work in the US
While Elon Musk is in Los Angeles showing off the future of personal transport via the Cybertruck, another, unaffiliated group is taking one of his most popular ideas to market, with augmented reality as a key part of the plan.
News: Niantic Bringing Buddy Interactions to AR+ Mode in Pokémon GO, Shared Experiences with Other Trainers to Follow
It looks like Pokémon GO players may get a surprise gift from the game's developer, Niantic, this holiday season.
News: Apple Releases iOS 13.3.1 Developer Beta 1 for iPhone
We spent four beta updates with iOS 13.3. In that time, we saw fun new features like Communications Limits in Screen Time, an off switch for Memoji stickers in the Emoji keyboard, and new mouse options, among other things. Once Apple made 13.3 available to the public, it was only a matter of time before it began beta testing new software. That software is iOS 13.3.1, and that testing starts today.
Exclusive: Nreal Fires Back at Magic Leap with Motion to Dismiss Trade Secrets Lawsuit
In a stunning end-of-year twist to the Magic Leap versus Nreal legal saga, the China-based startup is now filing a motion against Magic Leap.