While "Baby Yoda" from The Mandalorian threatens to overshadow it, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters next week, which means it's time for Disney and Lucasfilm to ramp up its promotional strategy. And there's little surprise that augmented reality is part of ...more
Continuing its unrelenting (and mostly successful) campaign against Snapchat, on Tuesday, Facebook announced the addition of "World Effects" to its Messenger app. If that sounds familiar, it's because the name and general execution mirror Snapchat's popular "World Lens" featu ...more
The last update to iOS 12 featured more emoji, Group FaceTime, eSIM functionality, real-time depth control for new iPhones, and a few other interesting tidbits and fixes. Now, in the latest for iPhones, iOS 12.1.1, Apple brought back a few things that were removed or made more ...more
Apple's own Photos app received some pretty amazing updates in iOS 11, but does iOS 12 have what it takes to one-up last year's Photos improvements? We think so. While there were eight new features revealed for the Photos app in iOS 11, including many Live Photos improvements ...more
Facebook just ratcheted up its ongoing augmented reality war against the competition by stealing away Google's director of product for AR, Nikhil Chandhok. In his new role, the executive will serve as Facebook's director of product on the company's Camera/AR team. Over the pa ...more
The developer who gained notoriety for his What Disney Are You? augmented reality filter on Instagram is striking again while the iron is hot. This time around, content creator Arno Partissimo has brewed up a version of the filter for Harry Potter fans via Spark AR, Facebook' ...more
The bandwagon for NFL teams using augmented reality to engage fans isn't exactly full, but it is starting to get a bit crowded. The Philadelphia Eagles (iPhone | Android), the Houston Texans (iPhone | Android), and the Denver Broncos (iPhone | Android) are the latest teams to ...more
Dark mode themes for mobile apps are all the rage these days, but YouTube is taking that a bit literally with its latest augmented reality experience. On Monday, to promote the release of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, which debuts in US theaters on Friday, Disney released a v ...more
If you've got a MacBook, I'm sure you've spent some time messing around with the Photo Booth app. Who would have thought that adding simple effects like Comic Book or Stretch could make a selfie look so hilarious. Photo Booth is available for all Mac OS X computers running 10. ...more
For the average consumer, augmented reality is a fun way of dressing up photos and videos for social media. However, AR is also gaining momentum as a medium for storytelling, particularly in sharing powerful messages. In light of the protests stemming from the death of George ...more
Ever since 2009, you could send a photo or video that you've already taken right from the Messages app on your iPhone. You would just tap on the camera icon next to the new message box, then choose either to take a new one or select one from your library. If you're running iOS ...more
In a world full of augmented reality camera effects apps, one app is going in a more social direction. On Tuesday, a rebooted version of Octi (which first debuted in 2018) dropped on the Apple App Store. Now, instead of merely adding AR effects to photos and videos, the app u ...more
You probably know Lenovo from their low-cost Windows PCs here in the states, but something you may not be aware of is that they also make smartphones. Right now, their biggest market is in China, but a rumored merger with BlackBerry could make Lenovo a contender in North Ameri ...more
This year's big iPhone update, iOS 12, aims to solve many of the issues that arose during iOS 11's controversial, buggy tenure. With that in mind, it may be tempting to jump on board the new software immediately and leave iOS 11 in the dust for good. Here are some reasons why ...more
With the Super Bowl just days away, it seems appropriate to draw parallels between football and the professional sport of technology business, or, more specifically, the augmented reality segment. Like the Patriots and Eagles, businesses have to deal with the media, as Apple ...more
It's time to make some more room at the augmented reality cosmetics counter. This week, social media giant Pinterest unveiled "Try On," a virtual make-up visualization tool running on its Lens visual search tool. Don't Miss: Pinterest Is Comparing Their Lens Update to Cher's ...more
If there's any lingering uncertainty as to the mainstream viability of augmented reality, a list of the top mobile apps and games of 2019 serves to dispell those doubts. Of the top 10 most downloaded apps of 2019 according to app analytics service App Annie, six include augme ...more
Lenovo brought out the big guns for CES 2014, with the Vibe Z showcased as the Chinese company's' first foray into the LTE smartphone space. Slated for a February release, the ultra-thin and extremely light smartphone will certainly be in the running for top smartphones of thi ...more
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 n ...more
Apple released iOS 12 beta 9 to public beta testers on Monday, Aug. 27. The update comes at the same time as the release of dev beta 11. This is surprising, as Apple typically releases developer betas at least a few hours before the public version. Then again, everything Apple ...more
Apple released the eleventh developer beta for iOS 12 to registered software testers on Monday, Aug. 27, only four days after the company unexpectedly released both dev beta 10 and public beta 8. Apple has ramped up its beta release schedule as of late, offering minor updates ...more
Apple released the tenth iOS 12 developer beta unexpectedly Thursday afternoon, Aug. 23. The update comes only three days after the release of iOS 12 developer beta 9, a surprising move for Apple, even with the irregular releases the company has made in recent weeks. Dev beta ...more
Can't say we didn't see this coming — Apple released iOS 12 public beta 7 on Monday, August 20, the same day it seeded the ninth version of the beta to developers. While the two betas may have different names, public beta 7 and dev beta 9 are virtually identical, so public tes ...more
Apple released iOS 12 beta 9 to developers on Monday, August 20. The company seeded the update just five days after releasing dev beta 8 to testers, itself a quick replacement for the problematic beta 7. This update was followed closely by public beta 7, confirming Apple's new ...more
Apple developers, check your iPhones — Apple released the eighth developer beta for iOS 12 on Wednesday, August 15. This update arrives just two days after the release of dev beta 7, which Apple quickly pulled after complaints of unusual performance and stability issues. Whil ...more
This time last year, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and his company were faced with an erosion of its user base that cratered its stock price. This year, on the strength of Snapchat's AR camera effects, the company has reversed course. And that's why Spiegel tops the NR30, our annual l ...more
ARKit is a marketer's dream. By providing tools for creating augmented reality experiences on mobile devices, AR apps can now be deployed easily alongside just about any campaign. As expected, we now have ARKit apps pushing wares ranging from automobiles to tequila. Of course ...more
While there are over 100 cool features iOS 12 has to offer, there are some things Apple has made more annoying on iPhones or just has not addressed yet. While the main issues below are direct changes to iOS for iPhone in the latest 12 update, some of the lesser issues near th ...more
Apple's latest mobile operating system for iPhones, iOS 12, was released to everyone Monday, Sept. 17, and it's the same exact build that developers and public beta testers received as the "golden master" on Sept. 12, the day of Apple's 2018 special event. Install it to start ...more
Old school media stalwart The New York Times launched its augmented reality news content in 2018 with a feature on the athletes of the Winter Olympics. However, after a solid year of AR reporting, the Times all but abandoned its AR news coverage via its mobile app, instead op ...more
Augmented reality avatars that mimic facial expressions are no longer the exclusive province of Animojis on the iPhone X or AR Emojis from Samsung. Camera app Snow has added its own alternative to Apple and Samsung's features, which it also calls AR Emoji, for iOS and Android. ...more
First, there was SnapCat. Now, we have DogChat! Or SnapBark? In October, Snapchat took social media by storm with its Lenses for cats. But the latest addition to the camera app has given dog lovers an augmented reality Christmas gift they won't want to return. Don't Miss: Sn ...more
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 a ...more
In a surprise twist, Apple released iOS 12 public beta 8 to software testers on Thursday, Aug. 23, right alongside iOS 12 dev beta 10. The release comes as a bit of a shock, as the company released iOS 12 public beta 7 just three days earlier. The official build of iOS 12 now ...more
We're nearly there — Apple released the seventh iOS 12 beta to developers Monday, August 13. While not totally unexpected, beta testers understand the struggle of predicting the next update, as Apple has switched haphazardly between two-week, one-week, and irregular release sc ...more
For the second time in a row, Apple pushed out a new iOS 12 developer beta on a Monday, and for the first time this round, they've done it only one week after the last one. While the August 6 release of iOS 12 developer beta 6 doesn't contain a wealth of updates, there are sti ...more
Apple released the fifth developer beta for iOS 12 on Monday, July 30, only 13 days after the release of dev beta 4 and 12 days after public beta 3. Until this release, Apple kept a consistent two-week schedule for developer beta updates, so we were a little surprised to see t ...more
As the official release of iOS 12 nears closer each day, Apple continues to update its betas. The company released the fourth beta of the upcoming software to developers Tuesday, July 17, exactly two weeks after the release of the third developer beta which came out just a few ...more
After pouring out $10 million for 60 seconds of Super Bowl advertising time, Doritos and Mountain Dew continued their Sunday marketing binge on Snapchat. For their spot during the game, Doritos and Mountain Dew staged a lip-synched rap battle between highly meme-able actors P ...more
Front and center for iOS 12 this year is Group FaceTime, which allows users to chat with up to 31 additional people at once. While that ambitious feature is sadly delayed, don't cast away FaceTime just yet — you can always pick up your iPhone and start a call with any single c ...more
In these times of social distancing, video calling is becoming the technological substitute for face-to-face connections. For those who carry an iPhone, the art of video calling defaults to FaceTime, the native app on iOS that is exclusive to Apple devices. But what do you do ...more
In the wake of reports of slow iPhone X sales and a possible early end to its shelf life, Apple CEO Tim Cook is on a public goodwill tour of sorts, espousing the virtues of Apple AR. While iPhone X may have underwhelmed the AR community, it has since carved a niche (if not a ...more
When Facebook launched its first hardware products last year, the Portal and Portal+ smart displays, the company mostly touted its video-calling features as it faced off against Amazon and its Echo Show. But Facebook also had an interesting feature that mostly flew under the ...more
If we were to assign a theme for the 2019 edition of the Next Reality 30 (NR30), it might be something along the lines of, "What have you done for me lately?" Many of the top names in the industry from the 2018 edition remain the same, but their positions have shuffled. The p ...more
The new WandaVision series is perhaps the hottest TV show on the Disney Plus streaming service since...well, its own The Mandalorian wrapped up its second season late last year. Now, after publishing AR experiences in partnership with Google to promote the latter, Disney has ...more
Apple released the third beta of iOS 12 for developers on Tuesday, July 3. The update comes exactly two weeks after the release of the second developer beta, which introduced a variety of fixes as well as new issues, and just one week after the release of the public beta. Publ ...more
Just because augmented reality is the technology of the future doesn't mean it can't reach into the past of computing. Shared via Twitter on Monday, Instagram product designer George Kedenburg III has published the "Desktop 96" camera effect, which emulates the classic deskto ...more
The cosmetics brands are among the earliest adopters of augmented reality, using virtual try-on tools to preview shades of makeup before buying. But, on Monday, fashion brand Christian Dior took a different approach, using Facebook's Spark AR platform on Instagram to deliver ...more
Despite the wide availability of markerless augmented reality experiences for mobile devices, there is still a market for scanned triggers for content, as evidenced by the new image recognition capabilities on Facebook's Camera AR platform. AR experiences for the movies Ready ...more
Whether you loved or hated the blockbuster hit Joker for its slapdash violence and unflattering portrayal of mental illness, if you have been online lately, you know you can't afford to miss it. If you are in the former camp, you can now show your appreciation using a new fil ...more
Snapchat users are used to raising their eyebrows or opening their mouths to activate augmented reality face effects. Now, they get to use their voices as well. On Wednesday, the speech-activated Lenses will begin appearing in the carousel and will continue to show up occasio ...more
With the 2018 FIFA World Cup underway in Russia, soccer (aka "football") fans worldwide can show support for their favorite teams and players in augmented reality via Snapchat and Facebook. On Snapchat for iOS and Android, fans can don virtual glasses painted with their team' ...more
The marketing team for Marvel Studios is doing "whatever it takes" to make sure you see Avengers: Endgame when it hits theaters in a couple of weeks, including offering an updated set of augmented reality Playmoji for the Playground app on Google Pixel. Included in an update ...more
While augmented reality headset makers are faced with tackling numerous challenges before the category is truly ready for prime time, a start-up comprised of former Microsoft engineers may have nailed fast and precise tracking of hand gestures and full-body locomotion. Operat ...more
The creative possibilities are part of what makes Apple's ARKit so exciting. We've seen new camera effects, painting, and new ways to tell stories through ARKit. Now, the app developer studio "Orb" has created an app to let you create scenes with 3D objects of your choosing. ...more
After a lengthy video and a series of leaks got us a good look at what we can expect from the new HTC One, codenamed M8, the guys over at GSMArena have brought it full circle. The New HTC One's Design Not only did they get their hands on the full spec sheet, but also what ap ...more
If it's not official by now, it really should be: if you're going to sell cosmetics, you need an augmented reality app. Of course, that's not all augmented reality is good for. It can be used to animate medical models and engage sports fans. Read on below… Meitu Launches Look ...more
It looks like Facebook really likes Google's augmented reality leadership talent, as the social media giant has hired away another employee from the AR and VR team at Mountain View to lead its team for a product that brings Facebook's AR platform into homes. On Wednesday, Fac ...more
In the past few years, augmented reality software maker 8th Wall has worked to build its platform into a cross-platform augmented reality toolkit for mobile apps, as well as web-based AR experiences. Now, the company founded by former engineers from Facebook and Google is mak ...more
In an effort to raise awareness regarding the impact of emissions on the environment, Snap has partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme to use augmented reality to show how much ocean levels will rise over the next 80 years. For the entirety of Earth Day, Snapc ...more