A new augmented reality framework from Disney Research could make it possible for fans to take selfies with an augmented reality Mickey Mouse, Darth Vader, or Iron Man that mimic the user's poses. Called AR Poser, the prototype experience relies on image recognition to anchor ...more
The latest update to the Christie's app for iPhones and iPads extends its augmented reality capabilities to the famed private art collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller. The overall collection includes the works of Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Diego Rivera, ...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
The Force was awakened in many a household on Christmas morning this year, as evidenced by numerous recipients of newly unwrapped Star Wars: Jedi Challenges systems sharing their first lightsaber battles in augmented reality on social media. In case you've been exiled on Dago ...more
The first teaser for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom just hit computer screens on Sunday, but now plans for an augmented reality book for the film have also emerged. Based on a listing for the official augmented reality book on Amazon, the 32-page book by author Caroline Rowla ...more
When playing word association with Star Trek, the first thing to come to mind with regards to augmented reality is likely Holodeck, not The Game, an obscure episode from season five of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In this episode (spoiler alert), an addictive augmented rea ...more
Until Star Wars Jedi Challenges arrives in November, a forthcoming ARKit revision of HoloGrid: Monster Battle from Tippett Studios and Happy Giant, might be the closest most Star Wars fans can get to playing the HoloChess game from the movie. While it lacks the official Star ...more
If any gamer knows their gaming history, one name is synonymous with starting the gaming revolution—Atari. Founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell, Bushnell helped kickstart the home video game market with their line of Video Computer Systems, or what we would call video game consol ...more
It's finally here. After months of amazing games and one of the best playoffs I've seen in years, two teams have finally made it to the top of the mountain. The Baltimore Ravens and the San Fransisco 49ers are set to square off February 3rd at the Mercedes Benz Superdome in Ne ...more
With EA chief executive Andrew Wilson stating the official mobile version of Apex Legends won't arrive until the 2021 fiscal year, fans have to wait at least another year to enjoy their favorite battle royale game on the go. But for those who can't wait, there are ways to play ...more
The '90s were a great decade to be alive. Before the internet became a high-availability service, we were untethered from the bombardment of media present in today's culture. Children ran through the streets with levels of physical exertion beyond what's required to capture fi ...more
If the rumors are right, Microsoft has decided to cancel the second version of the HoloLens, and they will instead move onto version three of their mixed reality headset. In the latest report, Thurrott's Brad Sams states that the expected release date of this new Windows Holog ...more
As one of the most powerful Android apps for connecting your phone or tablet to your other devices in various ways, Pushbullet had always been a fan—and Gadget Hacks—favorite. However, ever since late last year, many of the app's popular and once-free features now require a c ...more
Yes, screen savers are fun to look at for a few seconds, but those animations actually used to serve a purpose beyond simple entertainment. In older CRT and plasma monitors, and even newer OLED ones, leaving a static image on the screen for an extended period of time could cr ...more
If you use Google Chrome as your default desktop/laptop browser, then Chrome OS will be pretty easy to get up and running if transitioning from Windows or macOS. Google has created an operating system that is fast, lightweight, and versatile enough to be adopted by pros and no ...more
Spotlight, Apple's selection-based search system, received a major facelift on Mac OS X Yosemite. Packed with dozens of new features, such as a central search window and increased app suggestions, the reworked Spotlight was a breath of fresh air. While the Spotlight Search to ...more
The worlds of augmented reality and virtual reality are closely linked in many ways. That means it's smart for AR insiders to keep a close on new developments in VR. If you have been paying attention, you know that Oculus CTO John Carmack is one one of the most important think ...more
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 An ...more
Recently, a user on Reddit complained that their Snapchat account had been temporarily banned because Snapchat noticed the user's account was going through a third-party service. In reality, the account in question was running on a jailbroken iPhone, and it was far from the fi ...more
Magic Leap has earned a reputation for overt secrecy, but as it nears the highly-anticipated launch of the Magic Leap One, the company is spilling some of the beans. This week, we get a heaping helping of information on the Lumin OS, as well as a couple of great demos. Meanwh ...more
It's possible to stream a MacBook's entire computer screen without using Apple's Screen Sharing application and without opening any ports on the target device. A hacker with low user privileges on the backdoored Mac may be able to view a victim's every move in real time no mat ...more
Using just a small sticky note, we can trigger a chain of events that ultimately results in complete access to someone's entire digital and personal life. Imagine arriving home one night after work and there's a Post-it note on your apartment door with the website "your-name- ...more
On Tuesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver joined Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz on stage to unveil a partnership between the two companies. While the device was not displayed on stage, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal appeared via video wearing a large-sized Magic Leap One: Creator Ed ...more
Investors aren't keen to throw money at a new technology sector without at least some hope of a significant return on their investment in the future. That's why a recent run of activity within the augmented reality business space has stoked some new optimism among the financia ...more
Augmented reality is beginning to leak out into the mainstream world. This is thanks, in part, to ARKit and ARCore. These releases turned the current smartphones owned by millions of Apple and Android users into AR-capable machines. And while there are definitely some awesome ...more
It finally happened! In a world of "go big or go home," Magic Leap has finally done something other than tease us with vague promises and rendered video concepts. Although, other than actually showing us what the developer's kit will look like, it seems little more than a slig ...more
Augmented reality is quickly becoming a popular tool for marketing use cases, as demonstrated by new projects serving the automotive, entertainment, and tourism industries this past week. Blippar Cranks Up Automotive Recognition to Deliver AR Content Last week, Blippar intro ...more
Virtual reality, along with its siblings, has the opportunity to profoundly change the way we interact with all things digital. As a visual medium, we often don't think about the impact on audio, but it plays a significant role nevertheless. When it comes to music—and music vi ...more
Greetings dear null byters, today we start a new series, we will start to attack users using social networking that are popular such as Facebook, Skype, and much more, and in part 1 of the series will engage users of Skype. What we are going to do today? 1 - get the IP from h ...more
If you couldn't wait to test drive iOS 9 before its official release this fall, you probably have the beta software on your iPhone right now. However, if you're not a fan of all the bugs and glitches that accompanies it, it's not too late—you can still downgrade back to the la ...more
Yes, emojis are the [insert poop emoji here]. They can help improve your love life and even let you portray emotions in a more diverse and well-rounded way now. But combining emojis with GIFs? Well, that's some next-level [insert poop emoji here] right there, and with a new iO ...more
When Yosemite was released, a more detailed boot screen came to your Mac. So now, just like on Apple's mobile devices, you will see a loading bar telling you how far into the startup process you are. Apple also decided to add a black version of this boot screen to newer Macs, ...more
If I were a math major, I'd probably be rolling in dough somewhere in Silicon Valley right now, but since multiplying numbers and figuring out tangents gives me panic attacks, I went the English route... pays much better. Still, I never would have graduated if I didn't pass a ...more
As people continue to upgrade their PCs to Microsoft Windows 8, more and more developers are adding content to the Windows Store. While the offerings are not as vast as Google Play or the iTunes App Store, it does have some solid apps for both productive users and those lookin ...more
There's an easy way to take your PC to the next level — without any need for a hardware upgrade. The secret is in software that unlocks uses and productivity hacks you never knew you needed. Even better, right now, The Power User PC Software Bundle is on sale for just $59.99. ...more
You're reading this so you're probably already safely huddled up in your house or apartment, watching as the entire planet grapples with the unfolding coronavirus health crisis. But unlike some others, you're lucky enough to already have a couple of weeks of supplies and now i ...more
If you want to follow Null Byte tutorials and try out Kali Linux, the Raspberry Pi is a perfect way to start. In 2018, the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ was released featuring a better CPU, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet built in. Our recommended Kali Pi kit for beginners learning e ...more
While there aren't as many ways to customize your iPhone like there is on Android, there are still a lot of apps out there that can help streamline and enhance your experience beyond Apple's own default options — and we've hand-picked over 100 essentials. No matter if you've ...more
There are a lot of Android phones out there, and chances are that someone in your life is looking for one this holiday season. Well, there also happens to be a lot of Black Friday deals on Android phones this year. So we've rounded up the best deals taking place on Black Frida ...more
While ARKit and ARCore are poised to bring AR experiences to millions of mobile devices, one company is poised to anchor those experiences anywhere in the world with just a set of geographic coordinates. The geospatial augmented reality platform Aireal enables developers to p ...more
Over the past week, companies took a variety of approaches to investing in augmented reality. Lampix is backing its own effort to build an ecosystem for augmented reality platforms. Nokia and Xiaomi are teaming up on numerous fronts, potentially including augmented reality. ...more
With each update, Apple Music continues to become a bigger part of iOS. It's gotten to the point where you have to fend off multiple requests to subscribe to the streaming music service before you can listen to your own songs on an iPad or iPhone, but as it stands in iOS 10, m ...more
Ever since the Google Play Store removed its "Designed for tablets" section, it's been a lot harder to find good, tablet-optimized Android apps. Not that it was all that great to begin with considering that they used to list apps like Facebook and Twitter, which only have over ...more
So you finally decided to make the switch from iOS to Android, huh? Well first off: welcome to the world of tomorrow. And secondly: good call, mate. In all seriousness, switching between mobile ecosystems can be quite the hassle. Even after you've grown accustomed to the new ...more
Whether it's the start, middle, or end of summer, it's prime-time grilling season. If you find yourself without a grill, however, it may seem as if half your summer plans of swimming by the pool while stuffing hot dogs in your face could be ruined. But have no fear as all is ...more
Arcades have long faded away from popularity, but their legacy is being kept alive thanks to emulators and the avid fans who grew up loading quarters into all of those coin-op games. Although nothing beats an actual arcade environment, my favorite emulator from the early 2000s ...more
The Nexus 5 has a known issue with its display. Affecting all models from the first manufacturing run and most models thereafter, this display issue is easiest to notice on something with a white background. A yellowish tint, most noticeable when compared to other devices, see ...more
The mother of all games is almost here. Super Bowl XLVIII pits the Seattle Seahawks (or Seachickens, if you're from the Bay Area) against the Denver Broncos and regent exemplar of neck surgeries, Peyton Manning. Over the years, the Super Bowl has become one of the world's mos ...more
It seems nowadays the word "easy" has taken on an alternate meaning. When I see "easy," I expect a quick and painless process, but when it comes to flashing or installing a custom ROM, easy means anything but. That's the main reason I've avoided installing CyanogenMod on my S ...more
One of the greatest consoles ever to exist in the world of gaming is the PlayStation 3, which even lets you do a million different things unrelated to games. But no matter how big of PS3 fan you are, you have to admit that the internal browser is not the greatest. Far from it. ...more
When it comes to cybersecurity, one layer isn't enough. A complex password (or one created with a password manager) does a good job of protecting your data, but it can still be cracked. Two-factor authentication strengthens this by adding a second layer of security, giving you ...more
While hackers know and love the Raspberry Pi, many don't know of its cheaper cousin, the microcontroller. Unlike a Pi, which can be used more or less like a regular computer, microcontrollers like the Wi-Fi connected ESP8266 require some necessary programming skill to master. ...more
For the uninitiated, it can be difficult to buy that special hacker in your life a perfect holiday gift. That's why we've taken out the guesswork and curated a list of the top 20 most popular items our readers are buying. Whether you're buying a gift for a friend or have been ...more
One could argue that, at least for the moment, software development is more important to the augmented reality experience than hardware. Since a viable augmented reality headset has yet to emerge for the broader, mainstream consumer market, currently, the same devices that mak ...more
It is almost indisputable that smartglasses and head-worn displays are the future of augmented reality. However, at this precise moment, they are still a very niche market. Those who have been in the presence of a HoloLens, Meta 2, or Magic Leap One have witnessed how powerfu ...more
Hello, budding augmented reality developers! My name is Ambuj, and I'll be introducing all of you Next Reality readers to the world ARKit, as I'm developing an ARKit 101 series on using ARKit to create augmented reality apps for iPad and iPhone. My background is in software en ...more
Since bringing augmented reality features to Search and Maps, Google has made them arguably the most useful augmented reality products in its portfolio. On Tuesday, at Google I/O, Google unveiled some of its new AR capabilities for the pair of mobile apps. Don't Miss: Google ...more
When researching a person using open source intelligence, the goal is to find clues that tie information about a target into a bigger picture. Screen names are perfect for this because they are unique and link data together, as people often reuse them in accounts across the in ...more
Here at Next Reality, our typical approach to all things augmented reality involves vision combined with remote control, either via a handheld device, gaze control, or hand/finger tracking. But a new dynamic takes the notion of interaction with virtual content into a new real ...more
In the technology space, there are certain brands you grow to depend on. Whether it's due to a long, multi-decade track record of success, or new innovations that blow you away, some tech names accrue a rare kind of brand equity with users that's difficult to earn. That's why ...more