New Years Tradition

Earlier in June, we learned that Project Fi was going to carry three new phones, one of which was a device previously thought to be AT&T-exclusive, the LG V35 ThinQ. After much waiting, preorders are now open. You can now preorder the LG V35 ThinQ on Project Fi. Google's MVNO ...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

If you're looking for your gaming fix and nothing on the App Store is piquing your interest, you should give soft-launched games a try. These are games that haven't been released in the US yet because they're getting tested in smaller markets first. Using a simple workaround, ...more

The company behind Japan's beloved Gozilla, Japan's Toho Studios, has for years tried to give fans the sense of what a giant, nuclear-powered lizard invading Tokyo might feel like. Until now, those attempts have been limited to the movie theater, but now, with the help of the ...more

New Balance is helping Liverpool Football Club (FC) fans see how they look in the team's new kits with an augmented reality experience in Snapchat. The Lens uses background segmentation to replace the user's surroundings with a virtual stadium and a full-body mask to place th ...more

One of the leading chipmakers for smartphones is getting ready to announce a new processor made specifically for augmented and virtual reality headsets. According to a report from Bloomberg, Qualcomm is likely to announce the Snapdragon XR1 around the same time as the Augment ...more

Apple's lead marketing tool for the iPhone X, 3D Animoji that you control with your facial and head movements, are once again in the spotlight in a new commercial the company posted on its Korean YouTube account this week. In conjunction with the release of a new single from ...more

Location services company Mapbox has added new capabilities to its location-based gaming tool to fend off Google's challenge for the same mobile app category. With version 1.4.2 of its Maps SDK for Unity, Mapbox has made it easier for developers to target real-world points of ...more

Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and prayer, is underway, and Google has rolled out several tools to help Muslims commemorate the event, including an augmented reality app. Last year, Google launched Qibla Finder, an augmented reality web app that points users in th ...more

As if its users weren't already having enough fun with dancing hot dogs and face effects, Snapchat is upping the ante with a new kind of shared augmented reality content. Called Snappables, the interactive Lenses include games that users can play with facial expressions and h ...more

Usually, when the public gets to see and hear Microsoft's Alex Kipman expound on the future of immersive computing, it's because the company has a new product to show off. But on Tuesday, April 24, Kipman was in the spotlight for an entirely different reason: an award nominati ...more

I love my iPhone, but it would be a lie to say there aren't some Android features I wish would find their way to iOS. While iOS has plenty of its own advantages, Android has pulled ahead in many other areas. With iOS 12 coming later this year, we're hoping Apple takes a hint f ...more

As we aim for a wireless world, technology's reliance on cloud computing services is becoming more apparent every day. As 5G begins rolling out later this year and network communications become even faster and more reliable, so grows our dependency on the services offered in t ...more

All the cash Magic Leap is amassing is probably going a long way toward hardware development and manufacturing, but it's also becoming increasingly clear that a large portion of that cash will be devoted to content. The latest proof is a new partnership between Magic Leap and ...more

If the end of every year is focused on new iPhones, then February, which coincides with Mobile World Congress, is often when we get new Android news, and this month is no different. On Monday, Amazon released a new video demonstrating how its AR View tool in the Amazon app wo ...more

The Tesla-riding Starman that was launched into space via Elon Musk's SpaceX last week will miss its Mars target and is instead headed toward a lonely asteroid belt in the void of space. But if you missed the initial launch and would like to get a taste of what Starman is seei ...more

Soon, kids young and old aspiring to imitate Iron Man will only need to learn how to duplicate Tony Stark's snarky wit, because Hasbro will now supply the augmented reality helmet. This spring, just in time for Avengers: Infinity War, the latest installment of Marvel's cinema ...more

Although expected to be only a modest upgrade over the S8, we can't help but be excited about the Galaxy S9's unveiling late next month. Among the many rumors and questions we're looking to see addressed, one of the biggest queries we have is, of course, with the price tag. We ...more

Scary movies seem to be a natural fit for augmented reality experiences, with the latest example coming from the Insidious film franchise. To promote the latest installment, Insidious: The Last Key, Sony Pictures has possessed the BeautyPlus (iOS | Android) and MakeupPlus (iO ...more

Lost among the latest laptops, smart assistants, VR headsets, and Motorola-branded gadgets that it brought to CES 2018, Lenovo has also introduced a new pair of augmented reality smartglasses. While Lenovo could be credited with the first true consumer AR headset by way of th ...more

Huawei recently announced the Honor 7X, a mid-tier smartphone aimed at budget-conscious consumers. Spearheaded by the Kirin 659 SoC, it offers great performance at a price point where speed is normally an afterthought. Today, Huawei is making this $199 phone even more attracti ...more

To commemorate the rollout of the AR+ update for Pokémon Go, Apple CEO Tim Cook took to Twitter to promote and celebrate the moment his company's ARKit platform made possible. "You never know who you'll run into on the Apple campus," Cook tweeted. "The power of ARKit is comin ...more

The same approach to augmented reality that some companies use to improve workforce productivity could also make it easier for car owners to operate and maintain their vehicles. Mercedes-Benz is driving down that new path by releasing an augmented reality owner's manual calle ...more

Last month, BMW rolled out its playful take on augmented reality with Snapchat, and now the automaker is bringing that same immersive computing whimsy to iOS directly. Using Apple's ARKit, the BMW i Visualizer app allows you to select and customize a life-sized version of the ...more

To create a destination for coffee connoisseurs, Starbucks has ordered up a venti cup of augmented reality to make the visit more interactive. The company's new Reserve Roastery in Shanghai, the second such location of its kind in the world, will be the first Starbucks locati ...more

Apple is no stranger to lawsuits. They were in a decade-long battle with Samsung that finally came to an end last month, and they've been duking it out in the courtroom with Qualcomm since last year. The more recent case has seen both companies file suits and counter-suits, bu ...more

With smartglasses designed for navigating drones and an AR drone racing game to its credit, Epson has just added another credit to its pioneering efforts in the AR-meets-drones space with the launch of a drone simulator app. Developed by Y Media Labs with input from DJI and E ...more

It's an ongoing saga, and it's on the verge of ruining one of the most anticipated smartphone releases this year: LG's new POLED displays certainly seem to have a few issues. But the biggest issue of them all — an apparent susceptibility to screen burn-in — may not be the prob ...more

Mobile game companies Hit Point Studios and Legacy Games have adapted their Color BlastAR augmented reality game for iOS with the ARKit platform. The free game, aimed at children 6-12 years old, places colorless cartoon characters throughout the physical play space. Players, ...more

HoloLens developer Arvizio has expanded its collaboration suite of tools for enterprises with a device that can stream and record mixed reality experiences in high-definition for local and remote audiences. Launched earlier this year, MR Studio enables enterprises to created ...more

While not specifically an augmented reality conference, IFA 2017 packed a plethora of presentations with AR themes, including devices with AR features from Sony and Motorola, a smartphone-based AR headset from Lenovo, and a new processor from Huawei that will facilitate AR exp ...more

Thanks to augmented reality, fashion companies can let customers try on cosmetics, clothes, more cosmetics, and sunglasses from the comfort of their homes and through the non-judgmental eyes of their smartphone camera. Now, watches enter the augmented reality fitting room, co ...more

Gaming with augmented reality just keeps getting cooler and cooler. Nitrome is no amateur at games. The company has hundreds of mobile and browser games. A few years back, the company came up with the idea that they referred to as "project surface." Essentially, the idea was ...more

With augmented reality comes an infinite realm of possibilities for storytelling. We have seen it through wineries telling their history with interactive AR experiences and through authors that use augmented reality to bring portions of their books to life. However, filmmaker ...more

Augmented reality has produced some incredible innovations that have revolutionized modern technology. From helping with live surgery to changing the game in marketing and businesses. But without a doubt, the most important thing that augmented reality and ARKit has ever broug ...more

If we're being honest, very few people go on Tinder to fall in love with someone's personality. Oftentimes, the only reason they'll look at your bio is to make sure there are no red flags. Knowing this, Tinder's latest redesign isn't that surprising, and it probably won't eve ...more

Apple's screenshot editing tool first appeared for iPhone in iOS 11, and it's only gotten better with age. Instead of just a flash of light and maybe a noise, you're also greeted with a thumbnail preview of what you just captured — and that tiny image holds a lot of superpower ...more

Mobile 3D scanning company Scandy has released a new app for devices on Google's Tango mobile AR platform that gives users the advanced 3D scanning capabilities. With Scandy Pro, Tango users can scan objects large and small to create 3D meshes that can be exported for use in ...more

Aura, a highly rated app for mindfulness and mental health, just became available on Android and is currently on sale. The app uses machine learning to adapt its help to individual users. It was developed by 'meditation experts' includes mood tracking and three-minute mindful ...more

Facebook's 'Safety Check' is a useful social media function — it provides users a comfort that in the event of an emergency, they can let friends and family know they are safe. While certainly not perfect, the service is now essential during disasters and tragedies. That servi ...more

Baidu signed a cooperation agreement on June 7, the first day of the CES Asia conference, with multiple companies in the autonomous vehicles industry. The companies listed in the press release include Desay SV, United Automotive Electronics, and Hangsheng Electronics, as well ...more

Arguably the most impressive aspect of the iPhone 7 Plus is its dual-lens camera, or better yet, the Portrait mode that comes with it. This mode creates a dramatically shallow depth of field behind a subject, and was pretty impressive as is. Now, in iOS 11, Apple is making it ...more

Verizon will be exclusively selling the ASUS ZenFone AR, which supports Tango (Google's mobile AR platform) and Daydream VR. The news was confirmed in an ASUS press release after being announced at Google's I/O developer conference on Thursday. The smartphone is expected to h ...more

At the Google I/O keynote presentation today, Clay Bavor, Vice President of Virtual Reality for Google, shared a number of new initiatives in virtual and augmented reality. This included new services for the Tango platform called visual positioning service, or VPS. The Tango ...more

Google added a new feature to its mobile app that pairs your searches for events with direct summaries of activities from sites like Eventbrite and Meetup. If you see an event you like, then you can tap on it to check it out for more fun details or book your ticket directly th ...more

Architects are natural candidates to be early adopters of mixed reality. Their trade consists of not only designing buildings and spaces, but also presenting those designs to clients, who then decide that their vision is worth spending thousands (if not millions or billions) ...more

Verizon has long been king in the wireless provider market, but recently it has had to step up its game in the data department. A limited data plan — with supposedly superior service — was no longer cutting it for customers. Many of whom left to take up the sweet, sweet offers ...more

The Galaxy S8, with all its new features, is shining in the news right now as one of the best phones of the year. However, users in the US may be at a disadvantage to those overseas, as it seems that the Snapdragon 835-powered S8 models underperform variants with Exynos proces ...more

While not quite a true self-driving car, Mercedes is gearing to release a vehicle with a plethora of assistive-driving features, some that might have you excited about what autonomous vehicles can do in the future. Mercedes-Benz's updated S-Class vehicles, to be revealed at t ...more

While it remains unknown how exactly augmented reality will make its way into the mainstream (the Microsoft HoloLens sitting at $3,000 isn't exactly accessible), many brands have been trying to integrate the tech into their mobile apps, mimicking the success of Snapchat and it ...more

Google Assistant is a handy little feature at most of the time, but it's upping the ante in honor of April Fools' Day this year. One eagle-eyed Redditor called tenbre noted that the smartphone assistant had added a new command—"April Foolproof"—which was found under the What ...more

Adidas' new app All Day isn't going to be your average fitness app. Oh no, the company had the "versatile athlete" in mind when it came to creating the well-rounded program that not only encompasses fitness, but also provides nutrition plans, encourages a balanced mindset, and ...more

The rumor that the iPhone 8 will ship with 3D camera system is not a new one, but a new analysis by Morgan Stanley's Charlie Chan lends credibility to the speculation. Now, it appears more likely than ever that Apple's next iPhone will ship with 3D capabilities, increasing pot ...more

Starting today, you'll have the opportunity to save all your live Instagram videos to your phone at the end of each broadcast session. The latest update to the Instagram app now allows you to rewatch already-played broadcasts and gives you the ability to share them later on. ...more

The rumors have been confirmed by Samsung themselves: Samsung has developed a virtual assistant of their own, named Bixby. Bixby will makes its debut with the Galaxy S8 on March 29, with a "Bixby dedicated button" on the side of the new phone. Samsung senior vice president I ...more

The infamous iPhone 8, or iPhone Edition, may take longer than the anticipated September release date due to manufacturing complications of the 3D Touch modules equipped with AMOLED panels. According to Digitimes, TPK Holding, the Taiwanese touch panel makers, will only start ...more

Selfies' reign on social media and pop culture has not really lost any steam since it was declared the word of the year back in 2013. We've had the much-mocked selfie stick, and even an ill-fated TV show named after the term. So what's next? Well, if you're phone maker Oppo, y ...more

A bacterium which triggers respiratory disease has been detected in the water systems of two Pennsylvania nursing facilities. On Friday, local officials confirmed that new restrictions were being implemented after Legionella pneumophila was discovered in the water at the two ...more

Legacy Games, developer of mobile games for children, has just updated Crayola Color Blaster, an augmented reality Android adventure for Google Tango devices, with new content. "Paint My Dragon," a new storyline available as an in-app purchase ($2.99), brings dragons, ogres, ...more

This year's Game Developers Conference, better known as the GDC, is underway at the Moscone Center in San Fransisco, California, and lasts until March 3, 2017. More importantly for us here at NextReality, the Virtual Reality Developers Conference (VRDC)—a new GDC sub-conferenc ...more