Hot Gadget Hacks News Stories
Google vs. Samsung: How Does the Galaxy S9+ Stack Up Against the Pixel 2XL?
Google and Samsung are the biggest players in the Android world. Despite a rocky launch, Google's Pixel 2 XL became one of the premier Android devices of 2017, headlined by fast performance and a pure version of Android. Still, many users prefer Samsung's offerings, and their Galaxy S9+ is poised to be the phone to beat in terms of specs.
Samsung vs. LG: Comparing Specs for the Galaxy S9 & the LG V30
With the Galaxy S9 finally making its debut, flagship season is officially underway. But even though Samsung's latest offerings are the newest phones out there, they already face some stiff competition — namely, the LG V30.
News: The Galaxy S9 Is IP68 Water-Resistant — Here's What That Really Means
The day has finally arrived — Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S9 and S9+. Apart from minor upgrades, the two might not appear to be much different from last year's S8 and S8+, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. One feature that hasn't changed is the Galaxy's IP68 water-resistance rating. That's a great score, but it begs the question — what does that number really mean?
News: 44 Cool New Features & Changes in Android 9.0 Pie
Even though most phones don't have Oreo yet, Google has released Android 9.0 Pie. It's available on Google's own Pixel devices, and updates should soon be available to partnered devices from Essential, Nokia, Oppo, Sony, Vivo, and Xiaomi. We're already digging into it to highlight all of the features and changes.
Market Reality: Magic Leap, Microsoft & Movie Theaters Reveal Big Money Plans for AR
In any business, there are a number of questions companies must answer in order to get customers to buy a product or service. The same holds true for companies selling augmented reality headsets.
News: Ghostbusters World Might Be the Killer App for Google's ARCore Platform
As part of its ARCore release announcement, Google also revealed a forthcoming app that's sure to excite those who celebrate '80s pop culture.
News: Google Finally Releases ARCore 1.0 for Android Users, Adds Google Lens to Photos App
In one of the worst-kept secrets of the upcoming Mobile World Congress, Google has officially released ARCore on the Play Store for owners of the latest flagship Android smartphones.
News: We're Not Ready for Samara from 'The Ring' to Chase Us in Augmented Reality
Before you read further, you may want to make sure you're wearing brown pants if you scare easily. Developer Abhishek Singh conjured an augmented reality experience that recreates the spine-tingling scene from The Ring where (spoiler alert) the ghost of Samara (or Sadako, from the original Ringu) emerges from the television.
Dev Report: New ARKit Updates & Native Level Design Features Finally Come to Unity
Continuing to take the steps necessary to reign supreme among the top game engines of the world, with a steady stream of major updates, enhancements, and new features, the team at Unity are keeping the user base in a regular state of surprise. At this rate, it's almost like Christmas every few days.
News: Magic Leap Partner Weta Workshop Confirms Shooter Game Coming in 2018
A controversial video from Magic Leap's past has once again surfaced, but this time it comes with a lot more credibility and a good bit of excitement around the Magic Leap One headset.
News: Google Quietly Adds Samsung Galaxy S7, S8+ & Note 8 to ARCore Supported Devices
A very low-key update to the ARCore developer's site has expanded the universe of officially-supported devices for Google's augmented reality toolkit to include the Samsung Galaxy S7, S8+, and Note 8 handsets.
News: Concept Apple AR Smartglasses Offer Powerful Vision of Company's Next Wearable
After years of rumors, we got our Apple Watch, and we have our anniversary iPhone, so now everyone has moved on to a new Apple rumor obsession: Apple smartglasses. And, in keeping with Apple rumor tradition, we're getting some pretty imaginative ideas of what the next big Apple product might look like.
News: Microsoft's HoloLens Transports One of Japan's Oldest Temples into the Future in Kyoto
The oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, Japan, is now firmly rooted in the future with the launch of the MR Museum on Thursday.
News: Brian Eno Brings Interactive Music Composition to Augmented Reality in 'Bloom: Open Space' Event
Famed musician and composer Brian Eno is giving the air guitar and drumming crowd the means to make music from their gesturing through the Microsoft HoloLens.
News: Japan's VR Girlfriend Is Coming to Augmented Reality to Creep Us Out in the Real World
We already know that the connection between virtual and augmented reality is pretty tight, with tools like Unity making porting some apps between the two platforms fairly frictionless. But there are some things currently going in VR that just don't need to come to the world of AR.
News: A Return to Glory? HTC Releases the U12+ with 4 Cameras, Edge-to-Edge Display & Edge Sense 2
2017 was a down year for HTC. First, the U11 and U Ultra were widely criticized. Later, Google purchased a large chunk of HTC's manufacturing division, leaving the Taiwanese company running with a skeleton crew after losing 2,000 key employees. But that's not stopping HTC — their flagship U12+ was just announced, and it's quite impressive.
News: Facebook Is Making It Easier to Post AR Content in Its News Feed
A recent update to Facebook's News Feed could significantly broaden its reach when it comes to delivering augmented reality content.
News: LG V30 & G6 Are Getting Android 8.1 Oreo
Attention LG V30 and G6 owners — Android 8.1 is coming to a device near you. While fans of LG's latest smartphones are still stuck on Nougat here in the US, we now have confirmation that Oreo's first major update will find its way here, even if we aren't sure when.
Dev Report: IBM & Unity Partner to Offer AI Tool That Could Make Augmented Reality Apps Smarter
This month, the power of artificial intelligence will be coming to more augmented reality developers as a leader in the game and 3D software development space and a major force behind the current school of cloud-based AI have officially announced a new partnership.
News: AR Cloud Startup 6D.Ai Plans to Use Smartphone Cameras to Create Accurate 3D Maps, Facilitate Multiplayer AR Games
San Francisco-based 6D.ai is preparing to launch a beta of its AR cloud platform that's capable of constructing a real-time dense mesh from crowdsourced data for use in 3D mapping and multi-user AR experiences.
News: Samsung Event App Leak Reveals Augmented Reality Version of Galaxy S9
In just a few days, all the Galaxy S9 and S9+ leaks will come to an end, as Samsung will officially unveil its latest top-tier smartphone. But before that happens, we're all getting another leaked image of the handset thanks to a bit of snooping and the magic of augmented reality.
News: Blippar Adds Landmark Recognition to Its Bag of AR Tricks
Mobile augmented reality developer Blippar's mission is to construct a computer vision map the world, with visual recognition of thousands of notable buildings, bridges, castles, holy places. A major step toward that goal has been taken by the company this month with the announcement of its landmark recognition API.
News: Theaters Turn to Mobile AR Gaming to Reclaim Pre-Show Movie Experience
Moviegoers who arrive at the theater early are no longer a captive audience for the ads, trivia, and miscellaneous content that precede the movie trailers than run before the feature presentation, as the ubiquity of the smartphone has become the preferred distraction for early birds at the theater.
News: Microsoft's Alex Kipman Predicts Three Trends in Augmented & Virtual Reality for 2018
In a LinkedIn post published on Tuesday, Microsoft's leading advocate for the HoloLens made a prediction that the mixing of immersive technologies will define augmented reality in 2018.
News: The Latest News & Rumors on Huawei's Upcoming P20, P20 Pro & P20 Lite
UPDATE: The P20 and its variants are officially available now. However, there's no official North American variant. You can purchase the international version of the P20 Pro or P20 Lite on Amazon, but be aware that it may not work perfectly on US carriers.
News: iOS 11.3 Beta 3 Released for iPhone with Mostly Under-the-Hood Improvements
Apple just released the third beta for iOS 11.3 on Tuesday, Feb. 20, which comes exactly two weeks after the release of iOS 11.3 beta 2 that brought battery health data and performance-throttling controls. At first glance, iOS 11.3 beta 3 seems to be mostly under-the-hood improvements, but we'll know more as we dive into it.
News: Cornell Researchers Use Augmented Reality to Craft 3D Printed Objects in Real Time
We've seen a number of unique mashups of augmented reality with other bleeding edge technologies, but somehow it took until 2018 for someone to come up with a now obvious complement to AR: 3D printing.
News: Why the Galaxy S9's Dual Aperture Camera Is a Milestone for Mobile Photography
The Galaxy S9 and S9+ have a new camera feature that Samsung is calling "Dual Aperture." On the surface, that may sound like your typical techno-jargon, but it actually has some significant implications for the future of smartphone photography.
News: Magic Leap Job Posting Reveals Grand Plan to Tackle Brick & Mortar Retail
The once blurry and mysterious vision of Magic Leap's future is slowly coming into focus in the present, despite the company's obsessive attempts to keep any and all information under wraps until the next reveal is absolutely necessary. A new tidbit of information hints at an addition to the company's unfolding story that almost no one had accounted for: retail stores.
News: The Galaxy S9 Is Coming on Sunday — Here's What You Need to Know
With Mobile World Congress fast approaching, all eyes in the industry are set on Samsung's Galaxy S9 announcement on February 25. While leaks and rumors about the S9 and S9+ have been flooding in for quite some time, we're getting a much clearer picture of these handsets as the announcement draws near.
News: iOS 11.2.6 Released for iPhones with Patch for 'Telugu' Character Bug
Apple released the official iOS 11.2.6 update Monday for iPhones, which comes just under four weeks after Apple pushed iOS 11.2.5 to users. This latest update was released off Apple's normal release schedule to quickly patch the "Telugu" character bug that causes erratic behavior when viewed in apps.
News: Everything You Need to Know About the Galaxy S9's Camera
Mobile World Congress 2018 is here, and with it, Samsung has officially announced the highly anticipated Galaxy S9 and S9+. While we already knew much about the new phones, Samsung's presentation officially filled us in on what to expect from the S9's cameras, including dual aperture, two cameras, and super slo-mo.
News: How to Watch the Galaxy S9 'Unpacked' Event on Replay
|UPDATE: The event is now over and we've learned all there is to know about the new Galaxy S9 and S9+. But if you're still interested in watching Samsung's presentation, we've left the replay video embedded below.
News: Microsoft Enlists Rapper/Actor Common to Push Its HoloLens Future During NBA All-Star Weekend
The Microsoft HoloLens has a fairly passionate, yet relatively small group of users pushing the developer-centric device forward, mostly spreading the word about the device through word of mouth and meetups. But this weekend, during the annual NBA All-Star festivities, we got a look at how Microsoft may be planning to market the device if it ever goes truly mainstream.
News: The Snapdragon 845 Will Revolutionize 2018 Phones — Here's Why
The latest and greatest in Qualcomm's long line of mobile processors, the Snapdragon 845, is now set to touch down along with the Galaxy S9 and S9+. And as gorgeous as Samsung's newest flagships are, the processor that powers them under the hood is just as highly anticipated.
News: Samsung Unveils the Galaxy Note 9 with a Focus on Gaming & a Brand New S Pen
Samsung hopes to make a splash with the new Galaxy Note 9 to make up for the underwhelming sales of its signature Galaxy S9 series. This flagship is a radical departure from its predecessors — it's now optimized for gaming and paired with the most advanced S Pen stylus to date. Here's everything you need to know.
News: All the New Phones We Expect to See at Mobile World Congress 2018
Mobile World Congress is a four-day event that is both a showcase and conference starring prominent figures in the mobile industry. Oftentimes, OEMs will use this event to announce new products for the upcoming year — and this year shouldn't be any different. Here are all the phones we expect to be announced.
News: The LG V30S ThinQ Is a V30 with Software Updates & an Awkward Name
With only one profitable quarter in the last two years, LG's mobile division is undergoing a shakeup. With a fresh set of executives, LG has delayed the expected launch of the upcoming G7 and instead decided to start the year with yet another variant of the V30.
Rumor Roundup: Everything We Know About the Moto G6 Plus
Last year, Motorola released their Moto G5 Plus, a fantastic mid-tier machine that earned praise from both reviewers and consumers. Starting at $229, it was well-built and inexpensive considering everything Motorola managed to jam into it. This year, Motorola is looking to replicate the success of their G series with the G6 Plus.
Market Reality: Magic Leap Gets New Cash & NBA Deal, AR Supplier's Apple Rumor, & HoloLens Gets into Rental Business
While the company is adamant that the Magic Leap One: Creator Edition will ship this year, currently, it seems its CEO is more interested in striking deals with content partners than releasing details about the headset.