Hot Gadget Hacks News Stories

News: Not Digging the Notch on the Leaked OnePlus 6? Don't Panic Yet

Last week, the first possible image of the upcoming OnePlus 6 leaked. It was met with mixed reactions, most notably for its apparent iPhone X-style "notch." OnePlus fans seem concerned that the company is implementing a design choice based on what it thinks is trending, not necessarily what's best for the product. If you're one of those uneasy about OnePlus' future, don't be. At least not yet.

Market Reality: Magic Leap & Apple Stockpile Funds & Talent as Samsung Reveals AR-Focused Smartphone

This week, two companies preparing the most anticipated augmented reality devices for consumers were the subject of reports regarding strategic moves to put them in better positions to move those products forward.

Apple AR: This App Uses the iPhone X's TrueDepth Camera to Conjure 3D Illusions

A Swedish digital artist has developed an app for the iPhone X that creates mind-bending 3D illusions that correlate to the user's point of view.

News: Snap Inc. Planning Smartglasses Version of Spectacles for 2019, Report Says

What many thought was inevitable, based on recent hints, has been revealed to be in the planning stages: Snapchat is working on smartglasses. The surprising information came out on March 2 in a report that also claims Snap Inc. is planning to release version two of its Spectacles product in the third quarter of 2018.

News: Meet the Nokia 7 Plus — Budget Phones Just Got a Whole Lot Better

With Nokia's relaunch, the iconic company attempted to reimagine the budget phone market. The series of phones they introduced last year challenged the idea that good phones can't be cheap. This year, Nokia introduced the Nokia 7 Plus, a phone which offers perhaps the best balance of specs, software, and price.

News: Everything You Should Know About the New Nokia 1

During Mobile World Congress 2018, OEMs started to introduce the world to Android Oreo (Go edition). Android Go offers smooth performance on entry-level specs, allowing for genuinely good cheap phones. At first, the US only had one Android Go device, but it looks like a second will join in the near future, the Nokia 1.

News: Magic Leap Takes Legal Action Against Employee Who Alleges HoloLens Trade Secret Violations

Accused of violating whistleblower and age discrimination laws by its security director, Magic Leap has taken an internal situation to the US District Court to clear its name of the allegations.

News: BBC Brings Ancient Artifacts into Your Living Room with Augmented Reality App for iOS & Android

According to Indiana Jones, certain things belong in museums, but, thanks to augmented reality, you can now see some of the ancient treasures of the world in your own home via the Civilisations AR app from the BBC.

News: Patent Applications Offer Closer Look at Magic Leap One & How It May Work

Eventually, even the most private company has to file its patents and unveil its tightly-held secrets, and Magic Leap is no exception.

News: Galaxy S9+ Camera Beats Pixel 2 & iPhone X with Highest DxOMark Score Ever

DxOMark, an independent camera reviewer, has become the go-to place where consumers and OEMs alike hope for good camera scores on major new smartphones. The Google Pixel 2 has topped the charts since Oct. 2017, when the score no doubt helped pull the phone out from its troubled launch, but it has just been dethroned by the Samsung Galaxy S9+, which received the highest DxOMark score yet.

News: Now the HoloLens Can Measure Your Heart Rate by Scanning Your Face

Researchers have developed a new method that harnesses the power of augmented reality to detect a patient's heart rate using a Microsoft HoloLens and computer vision.

News: Snapchat's Controversial Redesign Only Made It More Popular

As you've probably heard by now, Snapchat's new redesign isn't going over too hot with its users. Its stock plummeted last week when Kylie Jenner said she'd be moving on to more Instagram-y pastures. With all these factors, you'd probably assume that there is some empirical evidence that Snapchat is in the tube. Well, you'd be wrong.

News: Everything You Need to Know About the New OnePlus 6 — Specs, Release Date, Pricing & More

Last year, OnePlus released not one but two excellent flagship devices with the OnePlus 5 and 5T. While the 5T released sooner than expected, it brought some worthwhile upgrades, such as a near bezel-less display and a much-needed camera enhancement. Now, that the OnePlus 6 has arrived, it's time to see what OnePlus has in store for 2018.

News: Japan Startup Launches What Could Be the First AR Barbie Doll for Your iPhone

We already showed you the dark side of augmented reality in the form of a virtual girlfriend from Japan, but now the same country has given us something a lot less creepy that could be the future of virtual pop stars everywhere.

News: The New Nokia 6.1 Is a Solid Upgrade to One of Last Year's Most Durable Budget Phones

HMD (the company currently making Nokia-branded phones) only released one flagship device last year, with the rest of the phones falling in the mid-range and entry-level tiers. However, at Mobile World Congress 2018, HMD announced their ambition to become a top five smartphone maker in 3–5 years. Meeting this goal will require penetration in all markets — especially the United States — and it looks like Nokia will get the ball rolling early this year.

Report: OnePlus & HTC Are the Worst US Phones for Security Updates in 2018

As far as overall security updates are concerned, we all know that iOS reigns supreme over Android. But just how bad do Android devices fare against Apple in general? A recent report will have you second guessing some companies the next time you're in the market for a handset.

News: Leap Motion Exec Posts Early Peek at Hand Interaction Project via Meta 2

It's been months since Leap Motion, the hand-tracking interface startup, announced the hiring of Keiichi Matsuda as the VP of design and global creative director based in London. Since then, Matsuda's normally active social media stream has been fairly quiet — until now.

News: Apple Boosts Augmented Reality Team with Former Twitter Engineering Exec, Report Says

In hopes of strengthening its growing augmented reality team, Apple has reportedly hired Michael Abbott, an engineering and investment veteran with past ties to Twitter, Microsoft, Palm, and others.

News: How Android Go Is Bringing Flagship Performance to Low-End Phones

Ever since Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the helms of the world's most valuable brand, he has made it his mission to bring smartphones to lower-income communities. Born in India, Mr. Pichai has created several programs to address the needs of the Indian market, particularly the lower income families.

News: Volkswagen Teases AR Co-Pilot for Self-Driving Concept Car

On Tuesday, at the Geneva International Motor Show, Volkswagen gave the world an early peek at a futuristic autonomous concept car that includes a virtual AI host embodied in an augmented reality interface.

News: How Samsung's AR Emoji Stack Up to the Competitors

Apple's Animojis took the world by storm with their ease of use and fluidity. They added new life to your emojis by mapping your face with the technology that lives inside the iPhone X. Now, Samsung is also adding new life to emjojis with the introduction of AR Emojis in the Galaxy S9 and S9+.

News: ZTE Tempo Go Brings Google's New Version of Android to Most US Carriers

When Google first announced Android Oreo (Go edition), many believed these devices would be focused more on developing countries. However, thanks to ZTE, we'll be getting Android Go stateside, so US customers on even the tightest of budgets can still enjoy the convenience of a smartphone.

News: Snapchat Makes Its World Lens More Social with 3D Friendmojis

Because it takes two to tango, your dancing Bitmoji World Lens on Snapchat is getting a dance partner.

News: Magic Leap Working on $400 Million Extension of Last Year's Series D Round Funding, Report Says

As the Notorious B.I.G. once said, via his hit single, "Mo Money, Mo Problems." However, it would appear that Magic Leap feels a bit differently about piling on the cash.

News: Amazon AR View Video Reveals Android Version of Augmented Reality Shopping Feature

If the end of every year is focused on new iPhones, then February, which coincides with Mobile World Congress, is often when we get new Android news, and this month is no different.

News: Mapbox Launches Location-Based AR Platform with Multi-User Support

Location services provider Mapbox is giving developers a means for building location-based AR apps and multi-user experiences with its new Mapbox AR toolkit.

News: Here Are All the Things in You Can Do in Augmented Reality with the Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+

Samsung's big reveal of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ at Mobile World Congress revolved around its "reimagined" camera and augmented reality capabilities.

News: Samsung Makes Multitasking Easier on the Galaxy S9

Multitasking on a smartphone has never been better, but it still has some ways to go to compete with a desktop experience. Samsung hopes to change that with a new multitasking view on the Galaxy S9, which allows the user to open notifications in a new, smaller window on top of the app they are currently using.

News: Here's Everything Samsung Upgraded from the Galaxy S8 to the S9

If you're not looking closely, it's easy to mistake last year's Galaxy S8 for the brand new Galaxy S9. Design, build materials, screen size, software — it's all virtually identical, save for a few exceptions. But those minor differences can add up.

News: Why Project Treble Is a Huge Win for Exynos Galaxy S9 Owners

Because of quirks with cell radios and how Android was previously set up, custom ROM support for Galaxy S phones has been sparse these past few years. It's been almost nonexistent for US customers, while international users would see some ROMs. Thanks to Android Oreo's Project Treble, this will all be changing soon.

News: Here Are Some of the Cool New Home Screen Features on the Galaxy S9

While millions eagerly await the arrival of the Galaxy S9 and all the new features it has to offer, we can actually get a glimpse of its capabilities right now — if we know where to look. The S9's home screen, in particular, is one such area that has new features we can preview now.

News: Everything on the Galaxy S9+ That You'll Be Missing with the Regular S9

The S9 and S9+ are both fantastic phones. However, there's no getting around the fact that the S9+ has its advantages. In fact, it's an objectively better smartphone than its smaller counterpart — Samsung has given the S9+ features not found in the S9, meaning you'll be missing out if you choose the 5.8" Galaxy over the 6.2".

News: The Galaxy S9's Keyboard Has a Few New Tricks Up Its Sleeve Thanks to Oreo

Thanks to Samsung Experience 9.0 on the Galaxy S8 (AKA TouchWiz Oreo), we know the upcoming Galaxy S9 is going to enjoy some of the new keyboard changes coming to Samsung's iteration of Android 8.0. Those who preorder the device on March 2 or pick it up on March 16 can expect these changes out of the box, as the S9 will be running Samsung Experience 9.0 on day one.

News: 5 Snapdragon 845 Features That Are Better Than the 835

After the success of the Snapdragon 835, Qualcomm now has its eyes set towards the future with the arrival of its next-generation SoC, the Snapdragon 845. Debuting alongside the Samsung Galaxy S9, the 845 is now set to take over the market for flagship Android phones in 2018.

News: 20 New Software Features in Android Oreo for the Galaxy S9

They're finally here — Samsung has officially revealed the Galaxy S9 and S9+, which run Android Oreo out of the box. Since we've spent plenty of time with the Oreo beta for the Galaxy S8, we already know about some of the best new software features coming to the Galaxy S9. Like previous updates, Samsung has enhanced its software with a fresh look and brand new functionality.

News: Thanks to Project Treble, the Galaxy S9 Should Actually Get Fast Updates

Oreo, the latest and greatest Android OS, lets you enjoy a ton of new features such as app shortcuts and an improved keyboard. But thanks to a feature that's required of all phones that ship with Android Oreo out of the box, your S9 may be the first Galaxy phone to finally receive timely software updates.

News: Should You Upgrade to a Galaxy S9 from Your Note 8?

When the Nintendo 3DS XL came out, I traded in my regular sized Nintendo 3DS for one — but I ended up hating it. The XL just felt big and unwieldy, and because the screens were larger (with the same resolution), it ended up looking blurrier than the regular 3DS. This, to a less severe extent, is the argument for the Galaxy S9 against the Note 8.

News: Should You Upgrade to the Galaxy S9 from Your S8?

Sure, you just got your Galaxy S8. But now, Samsung came out with their latest and greatest device — the Galaxy S9. While the S8 is still a great device, it's possible that the Galaxy S9 completely outclasses it, almost forcing you to pick it up. It is worth it though? That's a harder question to answer than you may think.

News: Time for an Upgrade? Here's How the Galaxy S9 Compares to the S7 Edge on Paper

Samsung has legions of loyal fans, and for good reason — their Galaxy S lineup ticks so many boxes that it would be a downgrade to switch to any other phone. Though if you're still rocking an older model like the Galaxy S7 Edge, the all-new Galaxy S9 can tick all the same boxes plus a few more. But is it worth the money to upgrade at this point? That's actually a tougher call than you might think.

Apple vs. Samsung: How Does the iPhone X Stack Up Against the New Galaxy S9?

Samsung and Apple are the two titans of the mobile phone industry. After Apple deployed the iPhone X in November, Samsung had three months to brood until Mobile World Congress, where they unveiled the Galaxy S9. Now that both phones are out, it's time to put them head-to-head.