Imagine sitting on your patio, scrolling through your phone's photos, reminiscing about the past. Now imagine being able to see those photos floating in the air, at the exact vantage point from where they were taken a year ago. That is exactly the augmented reality-powered ex ...more
Apple released the fourth developer beta for iOS 13.5 today, Wednesday, May 6. This update comes one week after the release of iOS 13.5 dev beta 3, which introduced Apple and Google's joint COVID-19 exposure notification API to iOS for the first time. Apple updated that settin ...more
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google has packed new functionality into Google Meet to compete with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other video conferencing platforms. After adding background blurring and virtual backgrounds to match Zoom's capabilities, Google Meet now ...more
This week, at its developer's conference, Samsung took the wraps off a new tool from Wacom that bestows the S-Pen with AR powers, as well as its own entry to the AR cloud market called Project Whare. But while Samsung is just starting to float its AR cloud to developers, Nian ...more
After a $20 million funding round fell through, augmented reality headset maker Meta Company has been forced to furlough (or place on temporary leave of absence) approximately 65% of its workforce for 30 days. On Monday, Meta CEO Meron Gribetz told Bloomberg that the funding ...more
The first mobile augmented reality app out of the gate with support for Magic Leap One Creator Edition is Thyng, who is planning to release the headset version of the app later this year. Available now for iOS and Android using their respective AR toolkits, Thyng enables user ...more
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. In a post ...more
The force is strong with this project. Colin Furze is a British YouTuber who is a self-proclaimed "garage inventor and video maker." In a recent collaboration with eBay, Furze created the "ultimate Star Wars project," an 18-feet-tall playhouse version of the AT-ACT from Rogue ...more
Flying under the radar during Magic Leap's big week at the Game Developers Conference, the company settled a potentially ugly lawsuit with a former employee. Earlier this month, we reported that Magic Leap's senior director of global security, Todd Keil, was embroiled in a di ...more
By now, you've probably already seen Andy Serkis and his performance capture demo for Magic Leap. And sure, marrying motion capture acting and augmented reality sounds compelling, but how does it really work as an experience? A few days ago, I had a chance to find out, thanks ...more
As the tech world patiently waits for the advent of mainstream consumer smartglasses, Google is content to stick to the business world (for now). Nearly two years after refocusing Glass on the business sector with its Enterprise Edition, on Monday, Google unveiled the sequel ...more
I'm here at the annual AWE event in Santa Clara, California, and the venue is just as packed, if not more so, than last year. There's still a lot of exploring to be done, but I wanted to take a moment to point out some of the coolest augmented reality-powered swag I've ever s ...more
After testing the waters with a few pop-up stores along the West Coast earlier this year, North is bringing its smartglasses to more cities across the US and Canada. With a presence at Amazon's re:Mars Conference this week in Las Vegas, North's summer tour started this week V ...more
The hype surrounding non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has reached astronomical levels over the past few weeks, and now the technology has intersected with augmented reality's orbit in a fantastic way. NFT marketplace Illust Space is conducting a crypto auction featuring limited AR ...more
Cell phones have advanced rapidly since their inception. However, one frustrating aspect of our handheld computers is that we sometimes expect more than they can handle. We want smartphones to do all our PCs can do, but in many cases, that just isn't possible; especially when ...more
Space might be the final frontier, but NASA is making a detour into augmented reality first. The Spacecraft AR app, developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in collaboration with Google, debuted exclusively for Android this week (an iOS version is also in the works ...more
While Apple and Samsung have started integrating depth sensors into the iPad Pro and Galaxy smartphones, more advanced AR experiences are arriving for standard smartphone cameras on Android devices. Earlier this month, Niantic began rolling out updates for Pokémon GO that add ...more
Augmented reality and computer vision company Blippar has a new lease on life, as previous investor Candy Ventures has completed a successful bid to acquire the assets of the beleaguered company. Blippar entered administration (the UK's version of bankruptcy) last month after ...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
Augmented reality and drones already go together like turkey and stuffing, but a new iOS app adds some spice to the combination with a new kind of flight path automation. Available now in Apple's App Store, the Vermeer Beta app displays a 3D map of the intended drone flight a ...more
Among a crowded field of AR cloud companies aiming to power the future of augmented reality by creating a world of persistent holographic content that lives in a cloud, accessible across devices and accounts, Ubiquity6 is hoping it has found a way to differentiate its platform ...more
Following in the steps of Snapchat, Instagram, and YouCam, another popular photo app has gotten into the virtual try-on augmented reality game. On Thursday, BoxyCharm, a cosmetics subscription service, unveiled a partnership with app developer Lightricks that will bring cosme ...more
There's no denying it was a hectic 2014 here in the United States. We saw the rise of ISIS, dealt with an Ebola scare, and witnessed the turmoil in Ferguson (and its aftermath). Plus, let's not forget about all of the hype revolving around The Interview, in which Sony was hack ...more
Remember concerts? Those were fun. While gathering in large groups to listen to live music might not be allowed at the moment, the live music part still is. Thanks to the internet, more and more musicians are taking the stage each day to perform for those of us stuck in social ...more
While many have their own strong opinions on Apple and their products, few have complaints about the way they embrace accessibility. Apple typically finds ways to make products functional to all customers, regardless of their situation. This philosophy can be seen in Apple's p ...more
With the defending champion Golden State Warriors and Drake's favorite team, the Toronto Raptors, set to face off in the NBA Finals starting Thursday, Snapchat has gifted hoops fans with a pair of augmented reality experiences. For fans in attendance at the games, Snapchat us ...more
A few weeks ago, Facebook published a blog post called "Proposed Updates to our Governing Documents," which outlines a few changes in their policies and user voting system. These changes would essentially take away users' right to vote on future changes to Facebook's data use ...more
With a new version of its ARCore in the wild and more than 30 devices now supporting it, Google is helping beginners get up to speed with augmented reality. Hosted on Coursera, the company has launched Introduction to Augmented Reality and ARCore, a free, four-week curriculum ...more
In 2017, major breakthroughs in smartphone-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) opened up new doorways for developers and users of both Apple and Android phones. Unfortunately for Android users, the solution that Google is previewing, ARCore, currently only works ...more
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. Magic Leap is reportedly seeking an extension of its last roun ...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
Last month was a whirlwind for the augmented reality industry, with the Augmented World Expo, Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, and an exciting Magic Leap Twitch livestream all wrapping up before the ides of June. Now that we've had a chance to fully digest it all, we h ...more
If you're like me, then your perfect Friday night has your friends over for some group-YouTube streaming. If you're not like me, you're probably cool. But for the rest of us, YouTube is meant to be a shared experience. I think YouTube has caught on to that trend, since it has ...more
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were built by different manufacturers. This is pretty common knowledge among Android fans at this point — Google's smaller Pixel 2 was built by HTC, while the larger Pixel 2 XL was built by LG. What would the Pixel 2 XL look like if HTC had followed ...more
The holidays are stressful. Between traveling, family, and dinner, Thanksgiving weekend can feel like weeks. Many families have traditions that make the days long, but some of us would rather curl up somewhere and watch our favorite shows. But all is not lost — our phones do s ...more
Applicants looking to attend Magic Leap's first annual L.E.A.P. conference next month in Los Angeles have begun receiving their confirmation invitations, and now we have more detail about some of what will happen at the event. In a message sent out by Magic Leap on Friday, th ...more
Over the last few years, the virtual reality space has earned a welcome reputation for fostering better representational balance with regard to gender compared to the general tech industry, with women like Nonny de la Peña and many others leading the charge. Comparatively, au ...more
Like its predecessors WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel's latest series for Disney Plus, Loki, has its own augmented reality experience. However, while the former titles did not debut their AR content until just ahead of their respective season finales, th ...more
The iPhone X is almost within reach. In fact, you can preorder right now. We know you've been itching to get your hands on Apple's newest iPhone, but before you give up over $1,000 of your hard-earned money, make sure your iPhone X knowledge is up-to-snuff. Hands On Sometime ...more
With the new season of The Mandalorian underway, Google has launched a new AR app that enables some Star Wars fans to connect with virtual characters in between new episodes. That is, as long as you have an Android smartphone. Check that...a 5G Android smartphone. Don't Miss ...more
The Augmented World Expo is winding down in Santa Clara, where Qualcomm, Vuzix, and Meta Company were among the companies making big announcements. But some of tech's biggest players still made news outside of AWE. Apple is looking for talent with augmented reality experience ...more
Next to things like natural disasters and disease, the specter of war is one of the only things that threatens to derail the 21st century's long stretch of technological innovation. Now a new app is using augmented reality to remind us of that by focusing on those most impacte ...more
The long standing popularity of 4chan has been due to the entirely anonymous setup. The site's anonymous community and culture has provoked media attention, in turn inciting larger audiences. On the other side of the spectrum is Facebook—popular for its connectivity and easily ...more
HTC is heading in a strange direction lately. Instead of releasing just one flagship in the spring season, they released two top-tier phones, with one having last year's specs and both having last year's design. They were also supposed to manufacture both the Pixel 2 and 2 XL, ...more
While Magic Leap turned heads at the Game Developers Conference with AR experiences at the Unity and Unreal Engine booths, news broke that the company was the winning bidder for ODG's patents. Speaking of GDC, Epic Games used its pulpit at the conference to announce a new fun ...more
Now that the Magic Leap One is out in the real world, the mystery behind the company lies not in whether it will actually ship a product, but when it will ship a consumer product. Or, does CEO Rony Abovitz steer the company in a different direction first? Meanwhile, another c ...more
Unless you're one of the world's top golfers, there's a good chance you are not stepping onto the fairways of Pebble Beach Golf Links this weekend. Nevertheless, the PGA is making it possible for golf fans to get closer to the action at the famous Florida course than those wh ...more
The team over at Spatial isn't done innovating its way through augmented reality in 2020. Just days after adding a mobile option to its groundbreaking Spatial virtual collaboration product, the company is releasing Tele, a new app geared toward more casual, AR-powered video c ...more
On Thursday, Magic Leap decided to step up its efforts to foster its developer community by launching the Independent Creator Program. The program is designed to encourage developers and producers to create apps for the Magic Leap One, with the payoff being $20,000 to $500,00 ...more
Update: Monday, 11 p.m. ET: In a report from Bloomberg, eMagin CEO Jeffrey Lucas has contradicted what appeared to be investor information found in SEC filings that surfaced on Monday. Although Apple is listed among several other investors in the company in filing, Lucas told ...more
In the wake of the smoke from the meticulously orchestrated launch of Magic Leap One, the company has revealed what "leapers" can expect to experience via Lumin OS when their devices arrive between now and the end of the year. Among the core applications of the Lumin OS are t ...more
Current-generation mobile augmented reality apps offer users numerous opportunities to punch up photos and videos with 3D content, but there's surprisingly few options for users to express themselves using virtual characters. A new app called Puppetoon from indie developer Cu ...more
After an Instagram creator created a viral sensation last holiday season with the Which Disney camera effect, Disney followed it up with a Sponsored Lens playing a similar roulette with programming from Hulu. Now, Disney is back with a Snapchat Lens that takes its Hulu promot ...more
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook enjoyed a boost in sales of Portal, its smart video cameras with AR effects, as social distancing became the norm. Now, with the pandemic continuing despite the deployment of several vaccines, the Portal portfolio is positioned to be ...more
If you have a substantial collection of POGs, the disc-collecting game from the 1990s, squirreled away in your basement, then a new augmented reality app may give you a reason to dig them up. London-based Compton Technologies has launched an Indiegogo campaign to revive the l ...more
Imagine walking up to enter a live event — but instead of pulling out a physical or mobile ticket to get admitted — you pull out your smartphone which lets out an ultrasonic sound tailored for you that lets you into the event. Yeah, that's what Ticketmaster is trying to do. ...more
Now that we've had a few days to recover from the VR geek versus augmented reality nerd battle between Oculus founder Palmer Luckey and Magic Leap founder Rony Abovitz, we can get back to taking a closer look at the Magic Leap One. This time, we take a very brief dip into the ...more
To punch up the launch of its new podcast, USA Today has created an augmented reality experience to introduce listeners to the story of corruption in Chicago. Debuting Sept. 24, The City examines the backroom politics of several American cities, with the Windy City serving as ...more
The game wizards at Insomniac take pride in diving deep when it comes to world-building, and the same is true for the studio's latest title for Magic Leap One called Seedling. Revealed on Wednesday at the L.E.A.P. conference in Los Angeles, the Magic Leap One-based title is l ...more
Every now and then, Hollywood has a moment where two (or more) movies arrive at around the same time, most recently with the release of dueling Fyre Festival documentaries. Augmented reality is having a similar moment right now, with Google's Arts & Culture department publish ...more