Google subsidiary Owlchemy Labs has cooked up an experimental ARCore mobile app that enables smartphone users to follow along with their VR friends as they play games in a head-mounted display. Called Mobile Spectator, the app uses ARCore to track the smartphone's position in ...more
It turns out that Dr. Grordbort's Invaders is not the only Magic Leap demo to become a reality for the Magic Leap One. ILMxLAB, the augmented and virtual reality arm of Lucasfilm, announced on Monday the Star Wars: Project Porg for Magic Leap One. The team didn't disclose whe ...more
Four months after unveiling the latest productivity apps for the HoloLens, Microsoft now has a series of compelling real-world use case videos showing how the augmented reality device and its apps are helping oil giant Chevron. In particular, Chevron has benefited from using ...more
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. Available now through Dec. 31 in the 7-Eleven mobile app for iOS and Android, users ca ...more
The narrative that Magic Leap has weaved for the Magic Leap One has focused on the freedom of spatial computing versus dated modes of 2D screens. So a partnership with Shutterstock, a company that licenses stock photos and videos to creators, is a bit unexpected. But a closer ...more
Your Instagram bio could always be used to link to other websites or profiles or just to show off your witty personality. Now, you also have the ability to use this section to tag other Instagram accounts as well as add tappable hashtags. Whether you want to link out to your b ...more
Snap Inc.'s dedication to augmented reality has expanded the world lenses in Snapchat to our own Bitmojis. While it's great to see our characters interacting with real environments, we haven't seen them connect to other Bitmoji in AR space. That all changes with "3D Friendmoji ...more
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. "Bloom: Open Space," an interactive audio-visual exhibit taking place this week in Amsterdam, gives attendees the opp ...more
New emojis are coming with the Android Oreo update for Galaxy S8 and S8+. Samsung Experience 9.0 has been updated to Emoji 5.0, adding 239 brand new emojis when you take into account gender and skin tone variants. While there are minor changes across the board, we wanted to fo ...more
For some, going to the dentist can be a terrifying experience, but a new use of augmented reality could go a long way toward making the trip feel more like it's worth the orthodontic angst. A new app called Janus Health AR uses the camera of a tablet to capture a patient's sm ...more
Sometimes I'm convinced Google has ADHD. They'll create a great product, then get distracted by the next moonshot and never put the finishing touches on their last project. Case in point, you can't just cast a playlist of your subscriptions from YouTube to Chromecast, even tho ...more
What happens when somebody sends you Apple Pay Cash inside of an iMessage? Do you have to add it to your Apple Pay Cash card on your iPhone manually or does it miraculously appear there automatically? By default, your iPhone will accept incoming payments from your contacts, n ...more
Now that Apple Pay Cash has arrived, you (hopefully) might end up getting sent some money right from inside an iMessage. If so, that money gets added to your Apple Pay Cash card in iOS 11.2, which you can use just like any other card in your digital wallet. If you're not so lu ...more
WhatsApp is a great app to keep in touch with friends and family across phone brands and countries, but sharing a post on Instagram hasn't always been as easy as it should have been considering Facebook owns both companies. Now, whether you have Android or iOS, all it takes is ...more
French manufacturer Renault Trucks is looking to the HoloLens to improve quality control processes with its engine assembly operations. An internal incubation team of about 20 employees is collaborating with technology partner Immersion to design a prototype of the applicatio ...more
The world is a massive place, especially when you consider the field of view of your smartglasses or mobile device. To fulfill the potential promise of augmented reality, we must find a way to fill that view with useful and contextual information. Of course, the job of creatin ...more
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Niantic must be blushing constantly, as numerous copies of Pokémon GO have spawned over the past year or so, seeking to capture the same success, often adding the lure of tangible prizes from brand partnerships. Freeze Tag, ...more
Augmented reality headset maker DAQRI has collaborated with the US Navy to outfit the company's Smart Helmet device for use on battleships. The GunnAR system delivers firing commands issued from the gunner liaison officer (GLO) and received by the gunner. The GLO uses an Andr ...more
Pinning a tweet to your profile is a fantastic way to get people to view and engage with your most important content on Twitter. In fact, it could very well be the best way to improve your overall Twitter strategy. Think about it: Every time someone visits your profile page, ...more
Bixby — Samsung's voice-activated digital assistant — has been delayed again because the software still can't recognize English. Although Samsung claims Bixby can execute 15,000 tasks, it appears it's inability to master English is a major obstacle that's preventing its full r ...more
Mobile wallet Curve just released a new feature that lets you correct past mistakes. Sounds incredible, right? Unfortunately, the mistakes you can erase aren't things like forgetting to do an assignment in school, screwing up a job interview, or, well, your ex. However, you ca ...more
If you're like me and you typically find yourself scrolling through Twitter before bed, you will be psyched about this new update for Android. About a year ago, Twitter introduced 'night mode' to Android users. When manually turned on, users are able to get rid of the white b ...more
Instagram Stories is one of the most flexible ways to share creative and original content with your followers. It allows you to alter text, markup images, and add cool graphics and stickers, along with other fun ways of expressing yourself. The way you can use Stories goes be ...more
We are totally buggin' about Pinterest's update to their Lens. I know, I had to. It's only because this update is promising to bring us one step closer to that coveted closet that Cher had in 'Clueless'. The feature was originally launched in March as a search tool. It reco ...more
So, according to Sprout Social, mentioning an Instagram handle in the caption of your posts increases audience engagement by up to 56 percent. If true, that's pretty impressive. (Like anything with Instagram, what works today might not work tomorrow, so you have to stay vigil ...more
In this article, I am most likely going to humiliate myself by showing you all the horrible hashtagging I am wont to do. When it comes to hashtags, well, everybody knows if you desire any chance at all of getting noticed on Instagram, you got to hashtag. The thing is, within ...more
If you thought the selfie would only ever be used to bombard your feed on Instagram, you were wrong. Dead wrong. JetBlue is looking to take those selfies and use them to check you in for your next flight. In an announcement on Wednesday, the airline said it was partnering wit ...more
Intel launched their Advanced Vehicle Lab in Silicon Valley this week, and the tech giant is now on the hunt for potential partners. This isn't Intel's first venture into the driverless arena. Their new self-driving garage — once home to Altera, which Intel acquired in 2015 — ...more
At Next Reality, we've been following the Microsoft Hololens because of its enormous potential. Unlike virtual reality, which enshrouds the user in a complete virtual world, augmented reality melds the virtual with what's really there in front of you. And while some of us may ...more
DSP Manager, Dolby Atmos, ViPER4Android — how are you supposed to pick just one from the wide variety of Android equalizers? Depending on your OEM, your phone may have come with a stock equalizer, but they're usually not enough. Combine them with a third-party equalizer, and t ...more
Apple staff will be put through their paces now that the company's "Automated System" for driverless cars is in motion. Earlier this month, it emerged that the notoriously secretive Apple received a permit from the California DMV, which costs a small fee but requires at least ...more
Even though the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are only just now being released to the public, the software leaks have been rolling in for a while. Everyone seems to have gone crazy for the new look Samsung is pushing out with Samsung Experience, the successor to TouchWiz. As a result, the ...more
Could the technology that powers games like Pokémon GO be used for surgery in the near future? Researchers at the University of Maryland think so. Amitabh Varshney, a computer science professor and director of the Augmentarium facility at the University of Maryland, along wit ...more
Augmented reality seems to be the talk of the town lately, with everything from glasses to furniture stores prepping to implement exciting, new AR technology. Well now, it looks like even our food is getting a makeover for the augmented reality future. Dr. Katsunori Okajima, ...more
Uber has recently been updating their app on a weekly basis to ensure that users have the smoothest travel experience possible. The entire UI was recently redesigned to increase user-friendliness, the total app size was reduced to improve performance, and an intelligent shortc ...more
In recent years, wave after wave of technological advancement has led us down roads that are beginning to look more and more like science fiction stories. In their efforts to bring us from science fiction to science fact, Microsoft Research showed us a new communication medium ...more
It looks like Facebook is adding a "Live" tab to the navigation bar for its Android app, and the feature has already been turned on for at least one user. A screenshot uploaded by Niko Steele shows the new feature, which lets you search for and watch live video directly on the ...more
All across the web, you'll find guides on setting up various apps and mods for your Android device—but while these are certainly useful, they all seem to be working under the assumption that the reader has a certain level of knowledge about Android. For someone that's just get ...more
After a few months, I get so fed up with hearing the same ringtone go off alongside each new notification that I'm forced to switch things up—only to end up repeating this whole process when the new one gets played out. And I'm sure people around me are equally sick of listeni ...more
Pretty much my only gripe with computer-side messaging clients like Mighty Text is that they don't allow you to send and receive messages shared through WhatsApp, the popular third-party messaging application, which was purchased earlier this year for $19 billion by Facebook. ...more
Social media is constantly evolving, and as a result, we're now capable of sharing much more than we were even just a few years ago. Television, on the other hand, continues to hold strong as one of America's favorite pastimes. The folks over at Didja TV have brought these tw ...more
While it's not too hard to remember to watch your favorite TV show every week, it's almost impossible to remember to watch all of your favorite shows. Add on to that sports games, live music events, and new film releases and you'll find yourself in a disorganized mess with a l ...more
In late 2012, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom made a sudden and controversial change to his social media service when he removed Twitter Card support. This was seen as a move not only against Twitter in their supposed "feud" against competitor Facebook (who bought Instagram earli ...more
Trust can be a touchy subject in general, and is often required when sharing personal information—especially so when handing our phones over to others. You may not have a ton of secret or nefarious information on your device, but that doesn't mean you want your mom or snoopy c ...more
If you're spending hours on your phone playing games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga, or posting online to Google+ and Pinterest, you're probably being spied on. The latest releases from NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden reveal that the National Security Agency, and its ...more
Free stuff is pretty cool. Free internet is even cooler—and free internet that is actually free is the coolest. If you would rather avoid sitting in a Starbucks and having to listen to hipsters discuss the proper length of cropped jeans, then this should be of interest. Freed ...more
Just as the augmented reality industry grows, so too does the segment dedicated to creating experiences for the tools becoming available. Leading the charge is former Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz, who launched a new venture focused on immersive entertainment and content creati ...more
Move over, Star Wars. You're not the only Disney property that can play in the Lenovo Mirage AR headset anymore. On Thursday, superhero powerhouse Marvel unveiled Dimension of Heroes, a new mobile app for iOS and Android that, when holstered in a Lenovo Mirage AR headset and ...more
Anyone who has been within a block of any wireless brick and mortar store or tech conference in the last couple of years has no doubt seen banners, posters, and videos promoting 5G high-speed wireless services on the way. The last time I can remember a technology being so hyp ...more
After months of beta testing, Siri Shortcuts has finally arrived on all iPhones that support iOS 12. Anyone familiar with Workflow will understand how useful it is to set custom Siri commands for your favorite apps. Of course, your favorite apps need to be compatible with Shor ...more
Although the Magic Leap One: Creators Edition is currently officially available in only six US cities, those living outside of Magic Leap's designed US cities now have a roundabout way to order the device. Residents in over 110 countries can now place an order for a Magic Lea ...more
Now that the augmented reality cat is out of the bag, Magic Leap is beginning to open up a bit more about how of some of its work came together in the years and months leading up to the Magic Leap One's release earlier this month. On Wednesday, the company unveiled a behind th ...more
In its latest feature with an assist from augmented reality in storytelling, the New York Times shows readers the virtual crime scene it constructed to prove that the Syrian military conducted chemical warfare against its citizens. In the article, "How We Created a Virtual Cr ...more
Apple's linear Notification Center has been scattershot at best since iOS 9 when we could group notifications by app. Without any type of grouping ability, the notification history becomes more of a nuisance of random alerts based on time alone, making it a treasure hunt to fi ...more
Followers are everything. After all, you need someone to listen to your tweets about last night's episode of your favorite TV show. But what about when people unfollow your account? Not only have you lost part of your follower base, you have no idea who left. Luckily, there ar ...more
For some of us, mornings are difficult. But if you can manage to start your morning right, you can trigger a chain reaction that leads to a more productive day. Fortunately, our phones have the tools to help us get off to a good start. Using a combination of different apps, w ...more
As expected, Apple began pushing out the final version of iOS 11.2.5 to all iPads, iPhone, and iPod touches today after 41 days of beta testing. Highlights include a fix for the ChaiOS vulnerability, a persistent Now Playing bar in Music, and some signs of AirPlay 2 just in ti ...more
The most convenient way for US users to buy Ripple (XRP) or Stellar (XRM) is through Binance. However, you can't deposit money directly into this app, but you can deposit cryptocurrency like ether or bitcoins to buy other alt-coins. The easiest way to do that is by using Coinb ...more
As cryptocurrencies gain mainstream acceptance, it's not far-fetched to think that we'll one day be able to buy alt coins like Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM) using debit cards and bank accounts. Until then, we'll have to rely on using bitcoins and ethereum to buy digital coins ...more
Coinbase has become the most popular mobile wallet app due in large part to its user-friendliness. The app takes the hassle out of buying and selling Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC), letting Android and iPhone users alike trade their favor ...more