Hot Gadget Hacks News Stories

News: iPhone XS vs. Samsung Galaxy S9: The Battle of the Small Giants

Until next March, the iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy S9 will be the only phones considered by many. Whether you're an Apple fan wanting to see how your new phone stacks up against the competition or a buyer on the fence, here's how the latest flagships from the two biggest brands compare.

News: NBA Star Steve Nash & Classic Galaga Game Come to AR to Show Off ARKit 2.0 as Apple Unveils New iPhone Lineup

On Wednesday, as expected, Apple unveiled the next generation of iPhones, namely the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max along with the more affordable iPhone XR, each equipped with a TrueDepth sensor.

News: Everything You Need to Know About the iPhone XS

Apple's successor to the iPhone X is a beautifully made smartphone with much of the same characteristics, including a 5.8-inch OLED screen, two storage choices, and Face ID. But many features set the iPhone XS apart from its predecessor, as well as the other 2018 lineup of iPhones, making it a worthy choice to upgrade to if you're in the market for a new mobile device.

News: The iPhone XS & XS Max Are IP68 Water-Resistant — Here's What That Really Means

They're finally here. Apple announced three new iPhone models at their "Gather Round" event in Cupertino, and they're all absolutely gorgeous phones. With bezel-less screens and polished titanium edges, the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR are truly marvels of engineering — but perhaps the most impressive design feat Apple pulled off is the fact that two of these models are rated IP68 under the IEC standard 60529.

News: Everything You Need to Know About the iPhone XS Max

Three new iPhones means you have to make a choice: Do you go with the smaller iPhone XS, the larger iPhone XS Max, or the cheaper iPhone XR? There's lots to like about each model, but if you want to make an informed decision, it's time to learn what each has to offer. Here's what the iPhone XS Max brings to the table.

News: Preorder & Release Dates for the iPhone XR, XS & XS Max

The world finally received its first official look at the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max, Apple's 2018 suite of smartphones, on Wednesday, Sept. 12. If you're someone looking to get their hands on one, two, or three of these new iPhones as soon as possible, you'll need to know all of the important dates so you don't end up missing out to others ahead of the line.

News: Niantic Begins Accepting Nominations for PokéStops in Pokémon GO

Augmented reality gaming developer Niantic has decided to give its players the opportunity to make their mark on Pokémon GO with a PokéStop nomination system.

News: Magic Leap Expands to Switzerland with New Optics Center, Reveals More About Seattle Facility

Facing mixed reviews for the Magic Leap One, Magic Leap has already returned to the lab to improve on the device's successor.

News: 8th Wall Beats Google & Apple to Market with an AR Platform for Web

Google and Apple are working to enable augmented reality content for the web, but startup 8th Wall has managed to launch a web AR platform that works on mobile browsers now.

News: Samsung's Super Budget Friendly Galaxy J3 & J7 Coming Unlocked on September 14

Earlier this year, Samsung released the Galaxy J3 and J7 to select markets. These two devices are the latest in the J series, Samsung's super-budget series that tries to rewrite what it means to be a budget phone. Now, starting September 14th, you will be able to get them GSM unlocked.

News: Meta Company's Funding Fallout Followed by Furloughs, Report Says

After a $20 million funding round fell through, augmented reality headset maker Meta Company has been forced to furlough (or place on temporary leave of absence) approximately 65% of its workforce for 30 days.

News: Samsung Is Bringing the Galaxy A6 to the US — Budget Phone with a Flagship Screen

Samsung makes more than just the Galaxy S and Note series. With a large portion of the world not able to afford phones with flagship specs, Samsung makes several different series that focus on price. The latest is the Galaxy A6, a budget option with a flagship feature.

News: After 5 Years, Touch ID Is About to Get Read Its Last Rites

RIP Touch ID. Apple's fingerprint sensor on iPhone and iPad models with Home buttons is about to become phased out on Wednesday, Sept. 12. While Touch ID will remain an integral part of models from the iPhone 5S to the iPhone 8 Plus, as well as the iPad Air 2 through the sixth generation iPad, Face ID will completely take over as the default security method for unlocking future iOS devices.

News: Exec Shuffle — Snapchat Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan Resigns, Lampix Marketing VP Gordon Meyer Exits

In an SEC filing published on Monday, Snap, the company behind Snapchat, disclosed that Imran Khan, its chief strategy officer and a member of the NR30, is leaving the company to "pursue other opportunities."

News: KLM Packs AR Suitcase into iPhone App to Help Passengers Check Luggage

Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) is making it easier for its passengers to travel by employing an incredibly practical new augmented reality feature included an update to its iOS app.

Market Reality: Apple, Snapchat, Magic Leap, & Unity Demonstrate Why They Make Up Top 4 of the NR30

This week, Next Reality published its annual feature on the leaders in the augmented reality industry, the Next Reality 30. So it's no coincidence that the companies represented in the top four spots of the NR30 also made business headlines in AR this week.

News: Warner Bros. Conjures 'The Nun' Snapchat AR Lens to Scare Up Ticket Sales

The latest sponsored augmented reality experience on Snapchat from a movie studio might be its scariest — and perhaps most popular — yet.

News: 3D Scanning App for iPhone Makes Capturing & Sharing AR Content as Easy as Taking a Picture

Augmented reality app developer Laan Labs has shared a preview of a beta app that achieves 3D scanning with just an iPhone and produces highly-detailed models for sharing with others.

News: First Truly Mainstream, Hit Augmented Reality App May Arrive Through Advertising, Says Unity CEO

Despite the launch of ARKit a year ago, and ARCore this year, a true killer app has not arrived for either platform, that's according to the head honcho for one of the leading development environments for 3D applications.

News: Why You Still Shouldn't Use iCloud Keychain to Store Your Passwords in iOS 12

With iOS 12, iCloud Keychain has become a more useful password manager for your iPhone with strong password suggestions, password reuse auditing, and Siri support. However, before you jump ship from your current password manager, you should consider all the reasons why iCloud Keychain doesn't make sense as your primary password manager.

News: The 8 Best FaceTime Features in iOS 12 for iPhone

From its introduction and all the way through iOS 11, FaceTime has been restricted to one-on-one calls. Apple will be changing that in a future iOS 12 update with Group FaceTime, which adds support for up to 32 people total in group audio and video calls. But that's not all we'll be getting in iOS 12 — there are more features that FaceTime has or will be getting soon that you should know about.

News: 7-Eleven Puts Augmented Reality in the Game to Attract Football Fans

Not content to let NFL's official pizza sponsor corner the market for feeding football fans, 7-Eleven has taken a page out of Pizza Hut's playbook with a promotional augmented reality game.

News: Turn the Sky into a Shared Canvas with This Fun Augmented Reality App

While we've seen Snapchat apply sky segmentation to AR content, the makers of the Blue Sky Paint app have applied similar capabilities to create and share airborne art.

News: Magic Leap Teams with Andy Serkis Effects Studio Imaginarium for New AR Experience

The critics of Magic Leap have been circling for a couple of weeks now, but that isn't stopping the company from pushing forward with major new partnerships. The latest Magic Leap tie-up is with none other than motion capture actor Andy Serkis and his UK-based The Imaginarium Studios.

News: Case Makers Are Ready for the New iPhone XR, XS & XS Max with Buy & Preorder Pages Live Right Now

While the three new iPhones won't even be announced until Sept. 12 during Apple's fall event, case makers are already primed for the launch of the devices. Some case designs are already live on manufacturer websites, and you can even buy or preorder cases for the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Plus to have right now or on launch day.

News: Model Ashley Graham Struts Through Augmented Reality via 3D Capture by the New York Times

Traditional media institution The New York Times continues to break new ground in its augmented reality news coverage, this time with a 3D volumetric capture of model Ashley Graham.

NR30: Next Reality's 30 People to Watch in Augmented Reality in 2018

Welcome to the first annual Next Reality 30, our list of people who've made the biggest impact on the augmented reality space in the last 12 months — and what a 12-month roller-coaster ride it's been. Apple introduced ARKit-powered apps last fall, Google launched ARCore for Android soon after, Snapchat began monetizing AR, and the Magic Leap One headset finally came out. These are historic times.

News: Snap Shows Us the Future of AR Smartglasses Through New Styles of Spectacles 2 Camera Glasses

While they don't do augmented reality just yet, the latest styles of Snapchat's Spectacles 2 camera glasses serve as a peek into the future of how mainstream AR wearables may look.

News: Still Need the Battery Replaced on Your Older iPhone? Get It Done Soon — Or It'll Cost You

While last year's revelation that Apple slows down iPhones with aging batteries left a bad taste in users' mouths, the company's $29 battery replacement program was a step in the right direction. However, all good things must come to an end; Apple will soon shut down the program, leaving users to pay the full $79 to replace their faulty batteries.

News: Former Apple iPhone Engineer Explains Why He Thinks Augmented Reality Is the Future of Mobile

Any little bit of new light shed on Apple's rumored augmented reality plans is irresistible, and the latest comes from a fairly powerful source — a former Apple engineer who worked on the iPhone.

News: Pizza Hut Teams Up with NFL for Scannable Pizza Boxes & Augmented Reality Beanbag Game

After parting ways with Papa John's, the National Football League has drafted Pizza Hut as its official pizza purveyor, and the company has hit the field with an augmented reality game to entertain hungry football fans.

News: Hands-on with the World's First Android Phone — What a Difference a Decade Makes

These days, it seems new phones get announced every other week. We've grown accustomed to glossing over the specs, looking at some press renders, then moving on to check out the next phone. If you had done this in September 2008, you might have overlooked what would become one of the most important phones of all time.

News: Everything You Need to Know About iOS 12's New Camera Effects for Messages

With iOS 12, your iPhone's Messages app has more features than ever to enhance iMessage and FaceTime. Included in these changes are the new camera effects, which allow users to add fun and unique customizations to their photos and videos with the in-app camera in Messages. Stickers, Memoji, and more await the photos you take and send in Messages. ...

News: ARKit App WiARframe Wants to Be the Destination for AR Prototyping & Discovery

A new app for iPhones and iPads gives developers a sandbox for testing their AR experiences and sharing them with the world.

News: Samsung Sends Family Guy into Augmented Reality to Showcase Connected Home Products

On Friday, at IFA 2018 in Berlin, Samsung invited attendees into the residence of Family Guy's Griffin family to learn all about its "smart home" products via augmented reality.

Market Reality: AR Display Companies Cash in as Apple Acquires Akonia & Avegant Closes $12M in Funding

For the augmented reality hardware industry to progress towards the consumer segment, display technology needs to get better. Investors recognize that, and they are showing AR display makers the money.

News: The Best Labor Day 2018 Deals on Smartphones

While it's not the best shopping holiday of the year, Labor Day does have a few sweet deals on smartphones this weekend. There are phones from OEMs such as Apple, Motorola, and Sony on sale, to name a few, from stores such as Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart.

News: Magic Leap Releases Helio Experiments Demos, Finally Gives Us the Infamous AR Whale

You want whales? Ok, you'll get whales! That seems to be the unspoken message from Magic Leap via its latest update in the form of several new experiments posted inside its Helio app.

News: Apple Releases iOS 12 Public Beta 10 for iPhone, Fixes Bug Constantly Telling You to Update

If you've been getting that "Please update from the iOS 12 beta" alert continuously in iOS 12 public beta 9, Apple just issued a fix for it Friday, Aug. 31, with iOS 12 public beta 10 — just in time for Labor Day weekend. This marks the second update this week as dev beta 11 and public beta 9 were released on Monday. It's also just one day after Apple announced its Sept. 12 event.

News: Apple Just Released iOS 12 Beta 12 for iPhone to Developers, Fixes Software Update Bug

Right before the Labor Day weekend, Apple issued iOS 12 developer beta 12, which comes four days after dev beta 11 and public beta 9, and just one day after announcing the Sept. 12 event. This update primarily fixes a bug where you would be continuously prompted to install a new iOS update even when none existed.