Hot Gadget Hacks News Stories
News: Scope AR Snags $9.7 Million to Expand Its Enterprise Augmented Reality Platform
While the tech industries giants and eager startups chase the dream of widespread consumer augmented reality, enterprise AR is living the dream today.
News: Google Backs Mojo Vision's 'Invisible Computing' Augmented Reality Platform in $58 Million Funding Round
Four months have passed since Mojo Vision emerged from stealth, and we are no closer to seeing exactly what its "invisible computing" technology looks like.
News: Angry Birds Returns to Its Mobile Roots with 'Isle of Pigs' Augmented Reality Game
After launching its first augmented reality title for Angry Birds on the Magic Leap One, Rovio has doubled back to the platform that made its franchise famous.
News: Magic Leap & Weta Workshop Preview Multiplayer Mode for Dr. Grordbort's Invaders at GDC
Visitors to the Unity booth at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco will get a special augmented reality treat courtesy of Magic Leap and Weta Workshop.
News: Mapbox Beta Gives Developers Tools for Integrating Augmented Reality into Car & Mobile Device Navigation Apps
Location services provider Mapbox is expanding the reach of its augmented reality development capabilities to include apps for automobiles as well as smartphone navigation.
News: Miller Lite & Trigger Global Turn St. Patrick's Day into an Augmented Reality Celebration
Every year, fans of Irish culture, as well as those looking to celebrate their own culture, come together on St. Patrick's Day, March 17.
News: Apple's iOS 12.2 Public Beta 6 Available for iPhone, Adds New Warranty & AppleCare+ Status in Settings
Right after Apple released iOS 12.2 dev beta 6 on Monday, March 18, it seeded the public beta version. So far, from what we can tell, the sixth beta includes a patch for an Apple Pay issue and yet another update to the "About" page in Settings, this time with a new section for warranty and insurance information.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.2 Beta 6 for iPhone to Developers, Adds New 'Warranty Status' in Settings
Apple just released the sixth beta release for iOS 12.2 today, Monday, March 18. Just as expected, the update to the developer version dropped just past 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT), and comes with new changes and features from iOS 12.2 beta 5 and beyond, including a new warranty status in the "About" page in Settings.
News: Torch App Teams with 6D.Ai to Add Occlusion & Persistence to AR Creations
Over the past year, two trends have emerged among augmented reality development software: make it easier to create AR content, and give AR apps better environmental understanding with just a smartphone camera.
Market Reality: HoloLens 2 Secrets Revealed, Nreal CEO on AR Future, Meta Lawsuit Update, & Verizon Teams with Vuzix
As Microsoft continues to bask in the glow of its HoloLens 2 unveiling and begins ramping up the hype to launch, Nreal and Vuzix are carving out their own niches in the AR hardware landscape.
News: Puppetoon Promises to Give Your iPhone the Freedom to Create Augmented Reality Animations
Current-generation mobile augmented reality apps offer users numerous opportunities to punch up photos and videos with 3D content, but there's surprisingly few options for users to express themselves using virtual characters.
News: 5 Things You'll Hate About Android 10
New updates are always exciting, even more so when Google's behind the wheel. Yes, Android 10 "Q" is here, at least in beta form, ready for software testers to dive in and explore all the new changes. Among those changes, however, lie some issues. We won't sugarcoat it — there are some annoying things baked into Android 10.
News: Spatiate Brings Multi-User Augmented Reality Painting to Magic Leap One
While painting in augmented reality is not a groundbreaking pursuit, the ability for Magic Leap One, iPhone and iPad, and Android users to collaborate remotely on virtual artwork would be.
News: Vuzix Strikes Reseller Partnership with Verizon for Enterprise Customers
It looks like it's cuffing season for AR hardware makers and telecommunications corporations. With AT&T aligned with Magic Leap as its exclusive wireless retailer on the high-end AR side, Verizon has also reached a master reseller agreement with Vuzix, according to a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission.
Exclusive: Meta Company Patent Lawsuit Update, Court Denies Startup's Request for More Time
In the latest update to the ongoing Meta Company patent infringement case, the court has responded to a request from the defendants, and the answer isn't good news.
News: Microsoft's HoloLens 2 Team Answers More Questions About Biometric Security, Audio, & Hand Tracking
Now that the dust has finally settled on Microsoft's big HoloLens 2 announcement, the company is circling back to offer more granular detail on some aspects of the device we still don't know about.
News: Christian Dior Fashion Fans Can Now Try on Sunglasses & Headbands via Augmented Reality on Instagram
Fashion brand Christian Dior is using augmented reality as a carrot to drive up their follower counts on Instagram.
Interview: Nreal Founder Explains Why Smartglasses Tethered to Smartphones Are the Future of Augmented Reality
If you've ever spent any serious time examining the Chinese tech startup world, you know that it moves fast — very fast. The tech startups hailing from Beijing and Shenzhen are moving so fast that they're now in serious competition with Silicon Valley.
News: Niantic Conjures Preview of Harry Potter Augmented Reality Game, Opens Pre-Registration on Google Play
While a release date for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has not yet materialized, co-developers Niantic and WB Games have finally released gameplay footage and an in-depth game description to whet the appetites of eager Harry Potter fans.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.2 Public Beta 5, Includes Minor UI Changes
Public beta testers are in for a treat today. While Apple is extremely inconsistent with the release schedules for the developer and public betas, the company has once again released both versions of iOS 12.2 beta 5 today, March 11. If you're a public tester, you now get to experience all of iOS 12.2's new additions for yourself, instead of needing to read about them for up to 24 hours in advance.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.2 Developer Beta 5 for iPhone with Tiny UI Tweaks
If you're an iOS app developer, your Monday just got better; Apple just released iOS 12.2 developer beta 5 to your Software Updates today, March 11. This fifth beta includes a number of small UI changes and tweaks, and likely some degree of under-the-hood improvements and bug fixes.
News: HBO Crowns Snapchat as King of Its 'Game of Thrones' Augmented Reality Promotion at SXSW
The hype for HBO's Game of Thrones reached proportions as epic as the series itself this week with the latest release of the final season's official trailer, but it's a Snapchat promotion that will truly make fans at SXSW bend the knee.
Market Reality: Microsoft's HoloLens 2 Team Speaks, Apple AR Glasses Update, Matterport Lands $48 Million
While the long awaited HoloLens sequel is scheduled to arrive later this year, Apple may force Microsoft to share the AR wearables spotlight, if reports of the company's first entry into smartglasses territory end up coming to fruition.
News: Apple to Start Augmented Reality Smartglasses Production Later This Year, Report Says
The Apple rumor mill is getting its first real workout of 2019, and this time the whispers are more exciting than usual.
Interview: Microsoft HoloLens 2 Team Speaks — Inside the Specs, Design, & Future of Enterprise Augmented Reality
As I've mentioned in recent days, it was refreshing to discover that Microsoft's HoloLens 2 stage production was every bit as accurate as presented (check out my hands-on test of the device for more on that).
News: Microsoft to Debut HoloLens 2 Livestream Video Series with Demos, Updates, & Developer Info
To build hype for the HoloLens 2 among developers, Microsoft is borrowing a page out of Magic Leap's playbook.
News: Google & Actress Tilda Swinton Help CERN Tell the Story of the Big Bang in Augmented Reality
Every now and then, Hollywood has a moment where two (or more) movies arrive at around the same time, most recently with the release of dueling Fyre Festival documentaries.
News: Matterport Lands $48 Million Investment for 3D Content Capture Technology
The augmented reality industry has an insatiable lust for 3D content, which makes an investment of $48 million into Matterport a no-brainer for investors.
News: Google Turns Annual Android Partner Walk at MWC into Showcase for ARCore
Last week at Mobile World Congress 2019, Google put an augmented reality twist on its annual Android Partner Walk via its ARCore toolkit.
Exclusive: Meta Company Asks Court for More Time in Patent Infringement Lawsuit Case
The legal drama framing the closure of Meta Company continues even after the company's assets have been sold to a new owner.
Hands-On: Hands-On with Google Maps Walking AR Navigation Experiment, a Peek into Our Smartglasses Future
While Google isn't ready to commit to a wide release of the AR walking navigation mode for Google Maps, the company has begun testing the feature with members of its Local Guides crowdsourcing community.
News: Apple Releases iOS 12.2 Public Beta 4 to Software Testers Early, Includes New Icons & Other Small Tweaks
Apple released iOS 12.2 beta 4 to developers on Monday, March 4, then shortly thereafter also pushed it out to everyone on the iOS 12.2 public beta program. All previous public beta updates for iOS 12.2 were released the following day, but this one changes course. In the iOS 12.2 public beta 4, there are new icons, an updated "About" page, and better Now Playing tile.
News: Apple Just Released iOS 12.2 Developer Beta 4 for iPhone, Includes New Icons, Updated About Page & More
Apple released iOS 12.2 beta 4 to developers on Monday, March 4, and that means public beta testers will likely get the update on Tuesday. The update features a fresh "News" app icon, a new "Apple TV Remote" tile in Control Center, and a tweaked "About" page, in addition to seemingly under-the-hood updates. If you're not yet on the beta, now's your chance to see it for yourself.
News: The Xperia 10 & 10 Plus — Sony's Widescreen Media Powerhouses Are Less Than $500
In 2019, Sony is mixing up its design, attempting to stand out among the sea of familiarity. Instead of emulating Samsung with punch hole cameras, they decided to target a rare section of the market, content consumers. There's the Xperia 1 for those who want the best, and the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus for the budget crowd.
Market Reality: As the HoloLens 2 Arrives, Magic Leap Aligns with SK Telecom & CNN
On Sunday, Microsoft did what everyone expected the company to do by unveiling the long awaited HoloLens 2.
News: Magic Leap & SK Telecom Seal Exclusive Wireless Partnership for South Korean Market
As Magic Leap continues to spread its influence in the US with the help of wireless carrier AT&T, the augmented reality startup is also working its way into East Asia.
Hands-On: Hands-On with the Nreal Light, Smartphone-Powered Augmented Reality Immersion
While Microsoft dominated the augmented reality news at this year's Mobile World Congress, a small AR startup we've covered in the past arrived in Barcelona, Spain, to unveil the next phase of its mission.
News: Magic Leap Reveals First of Developer Grant Winners & Promises More Recipients Amid Developer Complaints
Ten days after Magic Leap declared that it had selected the winners of its Independent Creators Program, the company has officially released an almost full list of grant recipients.
News: CNN Brings Its News Networks to Magic Leap One
News junkies who own the Magic Leap One received some good news on Thursday, as CNN has published an app for the headset to display the network's news coverage in augmented reality.
News: The LG V50 ThinQ 5G Is Rocking a Massive Battery, New Cooling System & Next-Gen Connectivity
Similar to last year, LG is mixing up its releases. Instead of the G series in the first half of the year and the V series in the second half, LG is releasing both heavy hitters together. However, unlike last year, this is a true upgrade from its predecessor, the LG V50 ThinQ 5G.