Hot Gadget Hacks News Stories

News: Apple Releases iOS 12.4 Beta 5 for Developers & Public Beta Testers

Right now, Apple is testing two versions of iOS. On the one hand, you have iOS 13, buggy but feature-filled. On the other, iOS 12.4. The latter just got an update to the fifth developer and public beta versions, 13 days after the release of iOS 12.4 developer beta 4.

News: Apple Just Released iOS 13 Public Beta 1 for iPhone

Earlier than expected, Apple just released the first public beta for iOS 13 today, June 24, three weeks after Apple first seeded the beta to developers. The general testing pool now has access to iOS 13's expansive list of new features, including system-wide dark mode, robocall prevention, adaptive charging, and more.

News: Snapchat Turns Wrigley Field into the Upside Down for 'Stranger Things' Promotion

With the third season of Netflix's hit series Stranger Things set to debut July 4, it's time to crank up the hype machine, this time, in augmented reality.

Market Reality: Magic Leap Sues Nreal, Airbus Sells HoloLens Apps, & Harry Potter Takes on AR Gaming

The enterprise sector is where the money is for augmented reality at the moment, and remote assistance apps are the go-to app for many enterprise customers. We took a look at the leading apps and platforms from this category, from the top contenders to the underdogs with unique features.

News: Live Nation & Hyundai Roll Out Augmented Reality Experiences for Concert Goers at Music Midtown Festival

For those about to rock, Live Nation salutes you, now with augmented reality. This week, at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival of Creativity in France, the live entertainment giant unveiled a suite of AR experiences that music festivals and their sponsors will be able to deploy in their mobile apps to engage attendees.

Hands-On: Niantic's Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Brings New Magic to the World of Augmented Reality

Can lightning strike twice? Niantic is betting that it can with its latest augmented reality game based on the best-selling multimedia franchise Harry Potter.

News: 15 Remote Assistance Apps Driving the Enterprise Sector of Augmented Reality, from HoloLens to iPhone

Comparing the present-day states of the consumer and enterprise sectors of augmented reality is like evaluating the merits of sports car versus work trucks. Like consumer AR, sports cars are sexy and exciting, but perhaps a bit impractical at times. On the other hand, enterprise AR is utilitarian, but it gets the job done and, in the long run, pays for itself.

News: Pokémon GO Is Dropping Support for Older Android Devices — Is Yours on the Chopping Block?

Even three years after its initial release, Niantic's Pokémon GO is still going strong. If you're an Android user still on the hunt for your city's latest Pokémon haul, however, you'll want to listen up — Niantic is cutting support for aging Android devices, meaning soon your dream of catching 'em all may be coming to an end.

News: Niantic Sets Launch Date for Harry Potter Augmented Reality Game, Releases New Trailer

After more than a year of teasing and testing, Niantic and Warner Bros. are finally ready to release Harry Potter: Wizards Unite to muggles of the world.

News: Google Courts Advertisers with Virtual Makeup for YouTube, Immersive Display Ad Format, & 3D Editor for Poly

After building a tech empire on revenues from search advertising, Google is not about to sit back and let Snapchat, Facebook, 8th Wall, and others draw all the AR marketing attention to their platforms.

News: Snapchat Showcases Its Creative Chops at Cannes Lion with Marker Tracking & Landmarker AR Lens

One of the most prestigious annual events for the advertising industry, the Cannes Lions is the ideal backdrop for Snapchat to show the brands and agencies in attendance what it's got.

News: Unity Bulks Up Advertising Capabilities with Responsive AR Ads

Augmented reality has taken the advertising industry by storm, but the technology has a steep learning curve. Luckily for advertisers, Unity is here to flatten the curve a bit.

News: Magic Leap Claims He Stole Augmented Reality Ideas as an Employee, but Who Is Chi Xu, the Founder of Nreal?

When I first found out about Nreal, back in the spring of 2018, the most interesting thing about the company's story was the founder's background. Chi Xu, the CEO and founder of Nreal, previously worked at Magic Leap as a software engineer.

News: Magic Leap Takes Nreal to Court Over Trade Secrets Theft

In a legal brief entered on Monday, Florida-based startup Magic Leap has filed suit against the founder of Nreal, a former employee of Magic Leap, claiming that the company's Nreal Light smartglasses were built using Magic Leap's intellectual property.

News: This iPhone & Android App Lets You Celebrate 50th Anniv. Of Moon Landing by Taking the Trip in Augmented Reality

With all the talk about returning to the moon via SpaceX, NASA, and international agencies, some have forgotten some of the magic surrounding the original Apollo 11 mission.

News: Wacom Video Shows Off More of Magic Leap's Upcoming Design & Drawing Software Spacebridge

The collaboration between Magic Leap and Wacom, which was first announced during last year's L.E.A.P. conference is progressing rapidly.

News: Apple Releases iOS 13 Developer Beta 2 with Config Profile OTAs, Plus Controls & New Effect for Portrait Lighting

There's no doubt iOS 13 has dominated the talk around the Apple community this month. Since the announcement and release of the first developer beta, we iPhone users have had a treasure trove of new features and changes to explore and discuss. Now the fun continues with iOS 13 dev beta 2. Who's ready to start up the conversation all over again?

News: Airbus Partners with Microsoft to Begin Selling HoloLens 2 Software After Successful AR Pilot Program

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is so impressed with the boost in productivity it has gained from Microsoft's HoloLens, the company will begin offering augmented reality software to its customers.

Market Reality: Lenovo Misses the Mark, Vuzix Targets Security Market, & 8th Wall & Blippar Capitalize Web-Based AR

During the recent Augmented World Expo (AWE), we had a chance to try out the Lenovo ThinkReality A6 AR headset. Unfortunately, the experience was all downhill from there.

Hands-On: Hands-On with CNN's Magic Leap News Video App

Magic Leap has done a great job of aggressively releasing new apps, software updates, and major franchise tie-ins. But aside from all the creative and entertainment apps, what's it like to use one of the apps the company hopes you'll use every day?

News: Blippar Bounces Back with Web-Based AR Platform

After one of Britain's "Brothers Bling" bought Blippar out of bankruptcy, the mobile augmented reality company is getting back to business with the addition of web-based AR capabilities to its platform.

Hands-On: Hands-On with Lenovo's ThinkReality A6, a Disappointing Step Back from Augmented Reality's Cutting Edge

In the technology space, there are certain brands you grow to depend on. Whether it's due to a long, multi-decade track record of success, or new innovations that blow you away, some tech names accrue a rare kind of brand equity with users that's difficult to earn.

News: Vuzix Drops Blade Price to $699, Adds Support for Netflix & Amazon Prime Video

After North cut the base price of its Focals smartglasses, Vuzix is now testing the waters of a lower price point for its Blade smartglasses.

News: Toyota Rolls Out Web-Based AR Advertising Campaign via 8th Wall

While Toyota ranks as the leading automotive brand in the world, the company is a follower when it comes to augmented reality.

News: Apple Releases iOS 12.4 Public Beta 4 for iPhone

While iOS 13 is not ready for public beta testers just yet, Apple is still testing iOS 12.4 out, and you can install that right now on your iPhone. The latest version, iOS 12.4 public beta 4, was released June 12, a day after its developer version.

News: Apple Releases Fourth iOS 12.4 Developer Beta Today

With iOS 13's developer beta in full swing, it can be easy to forget that there's an entirely separate iOS beta cycle still running right now. Yes, iOS 12.4 is still in beta, and unlike iOS 13, it's available to the public for testing.

News: Vuzix Blade Teams with Facial Recognition Company to Provide Law Enforcement Solution

Perhaps it's a coincidence that the Vuzix Blade smartglasses look like the sunglasses that a police officer would wear, but a new partnership with an AI software company makes the wearable a perfect fit for law enforcement.

News: Siemens Adds Augmented Reality Visualization to Its 3D Industrial Design Software

It's no secret that the enterprise sector is hot for augmented reality, but the move into the enterprise AR software market by one of the biggest names in industrial engineering announces the technology's arrival loud and clear.

News: Google Helps Tell the Story of Stonewall in Augmented Reality

Snapchat isn't the only tech company transforming landmarks with augmented reality for Pride Month. About four miles southwest of New York's iconic Flatiron Building, which is getting its own Pride makeover via Snapchat's Landmarker AR, Stonewall National Monument is also receiving some augmented reality treatment by way of the Stonewall Forever mobile app published by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center (better known as The Center) in partnership with Google.

News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.3.2 with Fix for Portrait Mode on iPhone 8 Plus

If you're noticing issues with Portrait Mode on your iPhone 8 Plus, you aren't alone. Apple confirmed the problem by introducing a new software update Monday, June 10, 17 days after the release iOS 12.3.1, and exactly four weeks after iOS 12.3. The update, iOS 12.3.2, is available only for the iPhone 8 Plus and not other iPhone models, so every other device will still be on iOS 12.3.1 for now.

Market Reality: Apple Unveils New ARKit & Dev Tools, Unreal Engine Comes to HoloLens 2, & North Expands Focals Pop-Ups

While Apple's smartglasses development reportedly moves forward behind-the-scenes, the company continues to build on its AR software foundation in its mobile ecosystem with further iterations to its ARKit platform and the introduction of new AR development tools.

News: Unity Hustles to Add ARKit 3 Support to AR Foundation

After Apple unveiled ARKit 3 at WWDC on Monday, Unity Technologies wasted little time on ensuring its developers can take advantage of it.

Hands-On: The Varjo XR-1 Developer Edition has Seamless AR to VR Imaging & Low-Latency

The ability to shift between virtual reality and augmented reality seamlessly on one device is a dream of many AR fanatics, but the execution is usually fairly buggy or underwhelming.

News: Magic Leap's Neal Stephenson Visits Microsoft HoloLens Headquarters to Talk Augmented Reality

One of the masters of science fiction, Neal Stephenson, may be on staff at Magic Leap, but that doesn't mean he can't take a moment to visit the halls of competitor Microsoft, the maker of the HoloLens.

News: North Hits the Road Again with New Focals Smartglasses Pop-Up Stores Across North America

After testing the waters with a few pop-up stores along the West Coast earlier this year, North is bringing its smartglasses to more cities across the US and Canada.

News: Amazon Adding Virtual Try-On from L'Oréal's ModiFace to Its Beauty Products

Cosmetics augmented reality specialist ModiFace appears to be really benefiting from the brand power of L'Oréal, which acquired the company last year.

News: Snapchat Celebrates Pride Month with New Landmark AR Experiences

While the 49th Annual Gay Pride Parade and Festival will take place on Santa Monica Boulevard and West Hollywood Park, revelers will also be able venture Northeast to the TCL Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard to continue celebrating via Snapchat.

News: Epson to Launch Moverio Assist as Easier to Deploy Smartglasses Remote Assistance Tool

The idea of remote assistant apps in augmented reality has been taking off in the last couple of years, but Epson is introducing a differing kind of solution for companies that may benefit from a more straightforward dynamic before going full-on immersive with higher-end AR remote assistance tools.

News: Magic Leap Adds Sketchfab Support to Its Native Helio Web Browser

New York-based virtual content startup Sketchfab is usually at the forefront of the latest developments in augmented reality, so it's no surprise that the company has locked in yet another major platform.

News: Here's What You Need to Run ARKit 3 on Your iPhone or iPad

If you've been putting off upgrading your iPhone or iPad, you might want to start shopping for a current-generation device to take advantage of the latest capabilities in ARKit 3.