Hot Gadget Hacks News Stories

News: Next Reality Is Giving Away Free Tickets to AWE

You already know that the best place to learn about the cutting edge of augmented reality is Next Reality, but the best event to meet the people and companies pushing the space forward is the annual Augmented Reality Expo (AWE), and we're giving away free tickets!

News: Magic Leap Acquires Augmented Reality Telepresence Startup Mimesys

Just months after we previewed the augmented reality, volumetric video conferencing powers of Mimesys, the company has undergone a major change — it's now a part of Magic Leap.

News: Jeri Ellsworth's Tilt Five Teases Forthcoming Augmented Reality Twist on Board Gaming

While augmented reality industry continues to grow, analog board games are also making a comeback. So, why not join the two together?

News: Apple Releases First iOS 12.4 Beta to Developers, Includes Support for Apple Card

If you're an iOS developer, welcome back to beta testing. Apple just released the first iOS 12.4 developer beta today, Wednesday, May 15, just two days after the public release of iOS 12.3. While Apple has not shared any release notes, we know this latest version of iOS will support Apple Card, Apple's upcoming credit card.

News: Samsung Joins Niantic in Backing DigiLens with $50 Million Funding Round

Smartglasses are the future of augmented reality, and Samsung is betting on waveguide maker DigiLens to emerge as a leader in the growing AR wearable industry.

News: Google & Magic Leap Developer Create Augmented Reality Mobile Apps for Warping Real World into Art

Because of its ability to place digital content into the real world, augmented reality lends itself well to artists and creatives.

News: The OnePlus 7 Pro's GPS Is So Much Better Than Other Phones Thanks to This Unique Feature

We've all been there — using Google Maps for navigation and waiting for the app to find our location. As we drive around, we keep hoping it will get a lock in time to make the next turn. Well in the US, we finally have a solution to this problem, and it's the OnePlus 7 Pro.

News: Unity Beta 2019.2 Adds Face, 2D & 3D Image Tracking to AR Foundation

Fresh off of shipping version 2019.1 in April, Unity has already dropped the beta of 2019.2, and it has a bunch of new AR Foundation toys to test.

News: You Can Get a OnePlus 7 Pro with INSANE Specs for the Price of the XR or S10e

OnePlus unveiled its latest device — the OnePlus 7 Pro — Tuesday, May 14. Usually, the company touts a device with impressive specs, build quality, and price, all without sacrificing too much. This time around, however, OnePlus decided to include a Pro device without compromise, while retaining those core values, making the 7 Pro highly competitive against the "low end" phones of their competitors (the iPhone XR and Samsung S10e).

News: Lenovo's New Android-Based AR Headset Hits the HoloLens Where It Hurts — Enterprise Applications

Now that Microsoft has squarely focused on the enterprise market with the HoloLens 2, it appears Lenovo is content to play follow-the-leader with its new augmented reality headset.

News: iOS 12.3 Features You Don't Want to Miss, Including Apple TV Channels, AirPlay 2-Enabled TVs & Apple Pay in Apple Apps

Apple released iOS 12.3, the latest version iOS 12 for iPhone, on May 13. Great features to know about include Apple TV Channels such as HBO and Showtime that you can subscribe to in the TV app, support for audio, image, and video streaming to AirPlay 2-enabled TVs, and the ability to use Apple Pay to pay for content and subscriptions inside Apple's own apps.

Market Reality: Google Adds AR to Search, AWE Turns 10, & Nike Makes AR Part of Its Sales Strategy

As the Augmented World Expo (AWE) prepares to open its doors to AR developers and enthusiasts, we sat down with founder Ori Inbar to talk about AR's growth over the past decade, and what the future may hold.

News: After Nearly a Decade of AWE, Founder Ori Inbar Unpacks the Past, Present, & Future of Augmented Reality

In just a few weeks, on May 29, the annual AWE (Augmented World Expo) conference will take place once again in Silicon Valley (Santa Clara, California, to be exact).

News: Why Facebook Co-Founder's Call for a Breakup Is Focused on the Wrong Target — AR Is Zuckerberg's Next Big Data Bonanza

Next to Apple, Snap is currently one of the most important companies on the planet in terms of delivering products that are moving augmented reality into the mainstream. That's why it's no surprise that Facebook, which is also focused on AR and tried to acquire the company for $3 billion several years ago, duplicates many of the smaller company's features.

News: Nike Begins Using Augmented Reality for Sneaker Fitting in Mobile App & in Retail Stores

After applying augmented reality as a solution for the sale and marketing of sneakers, Nike is taking the next step in its adoption of AR to improve the customer experience.

News: Snapchat & Facebook Messenger Deliver Augmented Reality Camera Effects for Mother's Day

If you need some help expressing how you feel to your mom for Mother's Day, Snapchat and Facebook are here with some augmented reality help.

News: Google's ARCore Updates Bring Scene Viewer for AR on Web & Search, Improvements to Image Recognition & Ambient Lighting

After announcing at Google I/O 2019 that augmented reality content would come to Search, Google revealed how it would make that happen with the latest round of updates to ARCore.

Hands-On: Epson Joins the Move to Android Smartphones with Moverio BT-30C Smart Glasses

In recent weeks we've talked about the growing trend of smartglasses makers moving the brains of their devices to smartphones, and now a veteran of the space has joined that movement.

News: Google Expands Preview of Maps AR Navigation to Pixel Phones

Alongside its official unveiling of the lower-cost Pixel 3a smartphone at Google I/O, Google took the opportunity to extend its early preview of AR walking navigation in Google Maps to all Pixel devices.

News: Apple's iOS 12.3 Public Beta 5 for iPhone Now Available

Eight days ago, Apple pushed out iOS 12.3 public beta 4 for anyone who wants to try it out. Now, there's a new version, iOS 12.3 public beta 5, released May 7, less than an hour after the developer software update. Just like it's developer version, the fifth iOS 12.3 beta for the public is a simple update with seemingly under-the-hood changes only.

News: Google Brings Augmented Reality to the Mainstream by Adding AR Content to Search

If Google hasn't already demonstrated that it is serious about augmented reality, then it made it abundantly clear at the Google I/O keynote on Tuesday.

News: Apple Releases iOS 12.3 Beta 5 for iPhone to Developers

Apple just released iOS 12.3 developer beta 5 today, Tuesday, May 7. The release coincides directly with Google I/O, Google's big hardware and software presentation, and comes eight days after the release of 12.3 dev beta 4.

News: Pikachu Celebrates New Movie by Photobombing the AR Camera in Pokémon GO

The perfect promotion for Pokémon: Detective Pikachu has finally come to fruition as Niantic has added some movie-related perks to Pokémon GO.

News: Microsoft Teases Minecraft Augmented Reality Game for Mobile at Build 2019

It looks like Microsoft will finally make good on its promise to bring Minecraft to augmented reality, as foreshadowed via a HoloLens demo in 2015.

News: Microsoft's Live HoloLens 2 Apollo 11 Demo Didn't Take Flight, but You Can See It Thanks to Unreal Engine's Video

On Monday, the Microsoft Build conference kicked off, showcasing a series of demos that went off without a hitch — except for one big one.

News: Microsoft Adds Spatial App Functionality to Office 365's Teams App, Android & Web Interaction Demoed

Months ago, we showed you some of the powers of Spatial, the HoloLens app that allows groups of workers to collaborate in augmented reality using 3D avatars.

Market Reality: Game of Thrones in AR, Microsoft Preps HoloLens 2 for Devs, & Epic Gives Out Magic Leap Headsets

Developers in the augmented reality industry got a lot of love this week.

News: North Adds Sports Updates, Language Flashcards, & Trivia Games to Focals Smartglasses

While North has yet to add third-party app support to its Focals smartglasses, the company has been diligent as of late in its efforts to add more functionality to the bare-bones AR device.

News: Snapchat Gives John Wick Fans the Tools to Build Their Own AR Effects via Lens Studio

For the release of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, Snapchat and Lionsgate aren't just creating AR experiences to promote the movie, they are giving fans the opportunity to create and share their own AR experiences.

News: Microsoft Launches HoloLens 2 Development Edition, Offers Free Unity Pro & PiXYZ Plugin Trial Package

Much of the excitement around the HoloLens 2 has moved on to many wondering when we'll finally be able to get our hands on what is now the best augmented reality device on the market.

News: 'Detective Pikachu' Pokémon Pop Up in Augmented Reality via Google's Playground App for Pixel Devices

The Avengers aren't the only shiny new toys available to Pixel handset owners, as the animated stars of the upcoming Pokémon Detective Pikachu movie have arrived in the Google Playground app.

News: Zappar Expands Its ZapWorks Platform with ARKit & ARCore Compatibility

Augmented reality platform maker Zappar and its marker-based augmented reality technology have been around well before Apple and Google brought markerless AR to mobile apps.

News: Niantic Launches Harry Potter Wizards Unite as Beta in Australia & New Zealand

The long-awaited augmented reality game based on the Harry Potter franchise from Pokémon GO masterminds Niantic is closer to release, as the developer has begun public beta testing of the app.

News: Vuzix Blade Adds Google Assistant Beta to Extend Its Voice Assistant Capabilities

Smartglasses maker Vuzix made a big splash at CES 2018 with the inclusion of Amazon's Alexa voice assistant among the AR superpowers of its consumer-centric Blade smartglasses.

News: Facebook Updates Spark AR with Windows Support & New Features, Instagram AR Arriving This Summer

Two years ago, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the F8 Developers Conference keynote with augmented reality and the introduction of Facebook's AR camera platform, now known as Spark AR.

News: Apple Augmented Reality Smartglasses Concept Tests Futuristic Fashion Approach

Whenever a new, category-defining Apple product is in the works, we usually get a series of creative concept designs to accompany the rumors swirling around the prospective launch.

News: Magic Leap Releases Game of Thrones Experience for All Magic Leap One Users

It turns out that the video Magic Leap released earlier today was indeed a teaser for the public release of the Game of Thrones experience for meant for all Magic Leap One users.

News: Apple Releases iOS 12.3 Public Beta 4 for iPhone to Software Testers

So far, the iOS 12.3 public betas have been on the heels of the developer betas by just over a day each time, but not anymore. Apple just pushed out iOS 12.3 public beta 4 today, April 29, just hours after the same dev version came out, meaning it's only been six days since iOS 12.3 public beta 3 was released.

News: Epic Games Gifting 500 Magic Leap Headsets to Developers via Grant Program

With $100 million in grant funding already available to developers via its MegaGrants program, Epic Games is sweetening the pot with some gear for Magic Leap developers.

News: Apple Releases iOS 12.3 Beta 4 for iPhone to Developers

If you're an iOS software developer, get excited, as Apple just pushed out iOS 12.3 dev beta 4 today, Monday, April 29. The new beta update comes exactly one week after iOS 12.3 dev beta 3 was released.