New Years Tradition

While much of the world is currently in some form of quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, augmented reality (AR) gives us all the opportunity to see virtual content while stuck in our homes. In addition to installing mobile AR apps or playing with camera effects on Facebo ...more

If you haven't used a Samsung device in a few years, the Galaxy S20 series will be your first taste of One UI 2, the skin running on top of Android 10. Although One UI is on the heavier side, it has loads of exciting features that go beyond what's offered in stock Android. Th ...more

It's not hard to let the new SARS-CoV-2 strain of coronavirus put pressure on our minds. Fear of catching COVID-19 is never far from the topic of conversation. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you're struggling with anxiety, stress, depression, or any negative emotions d ...more

Alternate US history is the go-to move for hot new cable and streaming shows, from HBO's Watchmen to Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, reimagining how things might have turned out is an endless well of narrative inspiration. The latest show to delve into this genre comes from Disne ...more

The sky is the limit when it comes to augmented reality, but Snapchat's latest innovation is keeping its AR platform grounded. On Thursday, the company published a pair of new Lenses that highlight its new ground transformation technology. Don't Miss: This Viral Instagram Au ...more

Snapchat is probably used to Facebook copying its features by now, but Apple borrowing a page out of its playbook is likely a bit more surprising. But that's exactly what has happened, as Apple has added custom actions to its AR Quick Look protocol for web-based AR content th ...more

There might not be a better brand partnership for the speedy Sonic the Hedgehog character than a fast-food restaurant. For that matter, augmented reality is also the ideal technology for promoting a movie that features an animated talking rodent living life in the real world. ...more

Having emerged as one of the leading augmented reality video conferencing apps, Spatial is ready to improve upon the experience. On Thursday, the startup announced that it has closed a $14 million funding round, bringing its total funding to $22 million to date. Don't Miss: ...more

Snapchat parent company Snap credits its popular augmented reality experiences and its flourishing Lens Studio creator community to its user growth throughout the year. So it makes sense that the company would add some new tools to Lens Studio as 2019 enters the home stretch ...more

After stealing the show at the HoloLens 2 launch and starring in Qualcomm's unveiling the Snapdragon XR2, holographic video conferencing app Spatial has landed a leading role in Magic Leap's second act with the enterprise segment. This week, Spatial announced that its 3D remo ...more

As far as HBO is concerned, it's not augmented reality — it's Snapchat. The premium cable network is leaning hard on Snapchat's AR magic tricks to promote yet another series, this time for the adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series of novels. Don't Miss: HB ...more

While some people might like Thanksgiving because of the food, seeing family, or another wholesome reason, many of us also enjoy saving big on the items we've been eyeing all year. Take iPhone cases, for example. Speck, Insignia, even Apple all make cases that can put a dent i ...more

After achieving viral and financial success with its Gender Swap and Baby Face camera filters, Snapchat has returned with the augmented reality equivalent of Benjamin Button. On Thursday, the app added the Time Machine Lens to the carousel so that users can see what they will ...more

Another major retailer is putting all its chips in on the relentless rise of selfie culture. Sally Beauty is rolling out kiosks to try-on "some of its best" hair dyes in 500 of its stores throughout the US. The in-store augmented reality-powered kiosks invite you to view your ...more

Following up on the initial tease over three months ago, Snap Inc. is finally letting the public get its hands on its new Spectacles 3 wearable device. The limited release shades come Mineral (gold) and Carbon (black) and come packed with a number of features that are an upgr ...more

The long wait is over — the best augmented reality device on the planet is finally available. Update #2, Friday, 12:45 p.m. ET: Yesterday's Microsoft HoloLens 2 announcement was welcome news for many but still left some eager developers scratching their heads in confusion as ...more

As one of the household brands in creative software, Adobe is now ready to lay its claim to the artistic side of augmented reality. On Monday, concurrent with the kickoff its annual Adobe Max conference, Adobe's Project Aero officially graduated to public release, but Adobe a ...more

After talking up the Magicverse for the past year and adding new capabilities to Lumin OS to accommodate it, Magic Leap appears to be inching ever closer to actually launching its cross-platform flavor of the AR cloud while introducing a new tool for its development community. ...more

Homemade Halloween costumes that exhibit the maker's creativity are always better than off-the-shelf versions. It turns out that the same is true with virtual costumers. In the spirit of the season, Snapchat is featuring six augmented reality costumes, created by its Lens Stu ...more

Higher-fidelity 3D content and next-generation AR experiences take more computing power than most modern AR headsets and mobile devices can handle. But Nvidia is introducing a new cloud-based solution to address that need that will stream AR content to modern devices. During ...more

It takes confidence and guts to pull off attractive and yet adequately frightening Halloween makeup as an adult. But rest assured, Perfect Corp's makeup try-on app YouCam has published a new face filter that it crowns the "spookiest, most glam and ghoulish" of all the makeup ...more

Look Around in Apple Maps gives you a high-resolution 3D view of roads, buildings, and other imagery in an interactive 360-degree layout. We haven't had anything like this in Apple Maps since iOS 5 when Google's Street View was incorporated. Now, in iOS 13, seven years later, ...more

It looks like Snap's foray into augmented reality billboards last year was successful, as the company has returned with two more outdoor advertisements for its Snap Originals series. Now through Sept. 24, Los Angeles residents and visitors will have the opportunity to interac ...more

Less than a month after launching its augmented reality Swim Goggles, wearables startup Form is preparing to add a major new feature for aquatic athletes. On Tuesday, the company revealed that it plans to bring support for heart rate monitors from Polar to its AR wearable, en ...more

Augmented reality can be more than simply a way to enhance navigation, or superimpose virtual sunglasses onto your face. It can also be a platform for shining a light on important social issues. A new film called These Sleepless Nights, which debuted at the 76th Venice Intern ...more

Ever since Skynet took over the world in the Terminator film franchise, a large segment of the world's population has feared artificial intelligence. One new film wants to inspire the same fear over augmented reality. Don't Miss: Keanu Reeves Does AR Kung Fu in New Sci-Fi Fi ...more

After teasing what smartglasses powered by Snapchat might look like with two product cycles of camera glasses, Snap has now added augmented reality capabilities to its third take on Spectacles. On Tuesday, the company unveiled Spectacles 3, which packs a pair of temple-mounte ...more

Apple Card has generated quite the buzz since its March 2019 announcement. The iPhone maker's new credit card pairs with Apple Wallet on your device, is simple to sign up for, includes enhanced security over other cards, has zero fees, and provides daily rewards right to your ...more

Thanks to a new update to Amazon Sumerian, developers will now be able to not only create more realistic 3D content, but also build AR experiences more easily. This week, Amazon revealed that its AR and VR development platform now supports physically-based rendering (PBR), a ...more

Already among the first game makers to add augmented reality content to an existing game upon the launch of ARKit, Zynga is breaking new ground with mobile AR once again. On Wednesday, the game maker's Custom Street Racer 2 (CSR2) racing game, a free download for iOS and Andr ...more

Next to map data overlays, one of the most often discussed concepts for apps that could propel augmented reality smartglasses into the mainstream is a real-time language translation app. Now, Netherlands-based startup Zoi Meet is promising to deliver just that with a new app ...more

The collaboration between Magic Leap and Wacom, which was first announced during last year's L.E.A.P. conference is progressing rapidly. And now we have a little more information in the way of a visual demonstration shown off by Nobutaka Ide, Wacom's CEO. Don't Miss: Hands-O ...more

Ever since iOS 7, you could ask Safari on iPhone to show you the desktop version of a website, and in iOS 9, it became even easier to do. However, it's always been a hidden feature, something you wouldn't know is there without reading articles or tips online telling you what t ...more

After getting its start with models of augmented reality planets that serve as targets for augmented reality experiences, AstroReality is diversifying its portfolio by paying tribute to one of the space agencies that made its products possible. To commemorate the 60th anniver ...more

Many of us know that you can make a few bucks from Amazon by helping the company sell its wide array of products, but now there's a very different way to make a buck with the company, and it involves 3D technology. The "Amazon Real World Image Study" is a new, limited time pr ...more

It looks like Microsoft will finally make good on its promise to bring Minecraft to augmented reality, as foreshadowed via a HoloLens demo in 2015. But there's a plot twist — AR Minecraft may debut as a mobile app rather than as a HoloLens experience. On Monday, in conjunctio ...more

Apple quietly pushed out iOS 12.3 public beta 3 on Tuesday, April 23, just over a day after developer beta 3 was released. Just like with the developer version, there aren't any major features or changes to get excited about, but if you were experiencing any minor bugs with th ...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

Developers, get excited. The new iOS 12.3 dev beta 3 just dropped. While this beta doesn't introduce any major features or changes, it means Apple is continuing to address unseen bugs and potential vulnerabilities from the previous versions. Changes in beta 3 from beta 2 incl ...more

As one of the leading 3D engines for augmented reality development, a new release of Unity is a significant event that carries the potential to facilitate huge leaps forward in AR content creation. Unity version 2019.1, arriving about a month ahead of the 2018 edition, makes ...more

The partnership between Magic Leap and leading South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom took on an added importance earlier this week as the company unveiled the world's first nationwide 5G network. During an event at SK Telecom's headquarters in South Korea, Jung-ho Park, th ...more

A few months ago, iOS 12.1 came out with a handful of useful new features, and iOS 12.2 goes even further. While some of iOS 12.2's new features for iPhone are much welcomed, there are some that we'd be better without. Apple's iOS 12.2 started beta testing on Jan. 4, 2019, an ...more

When the titular hero of your superhero movie activates his powers with a catchphrase, it would be pretty neat if your augmented reality promotion for that film could react to the user's voice. Luckily for Warner Bros., Snapchat happens to have relatively new voice recognitio ...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

The legal drama framing the closure of Meta Company continues even after the company's assets have been sold to a new owner. In the latest legal filing, representatives for Meta Company have asked the court to vacate the default judgment against the company Next Reality repor ...more

A week after reducing the base price of its Focals smartglasses by nearly 50 percent, wearables maker North is now reducing its workforce. According to The Verge, the company has eliminated 150 jobs from its workforce of more than 400 employees. North confirmed the reduction ...more

Samsung just announced the Galaxy S10 lineup, but we already knew each device's every nook and cranny. Thanks to leaks and hands-on demos, we know the OEM kept the coveted headphone jack, but omitted one treasured feature in its place — the notification LED. Why did Samsung st ...more

Snapchat made augmented reality selfie effects famous, with Facebook copying the feature across its mobile apps. Of course, others have followed, but their face tracking apps often pale in comparison to the original. Now, Google is giving Android developers the keys to adding ...more

Mobile augmented reality company Snapchat now has a special option for romantic message exchanging this Valentine's Day, a day which, incidentally, happens to be the first one in 116 years where Sweethearts, the original heart-shaped candy, will be unavailable for purchase. T ...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

Just over two months ago, smartglasses startup North opened the doors at its two brick-and-mortar retail locations in Toronto and New York and began accepting orders for Focals. On Thursday, the company announced that those initial customers can get ready to pick up their wear ...more

Recently, buzz for the Google Pixel 4 has been rising thanks to a patent discovered by 91mobiles. This patent appears to show an almost bezel-less phone with a screen-to-body ratio we have only dreamt of, and no notch in sight. The problem is this isn't the Google Pixel 4. It' ...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

Designing and manufacturing waveguides for smartglasses is a complex process, but DigiLens wants us to know that they have a software solution that partially solves that problem. In a new video, which explains its approach to the process, the company gives us a peek at protot ...more

Although it's impossible (at least for now) to travel back in time to see the Big Bang, The New York Times has provided its readers the closest simulation of the experience via its latest augmented reality feature. On Friday, the Times published "It's Intermission for the Lar ...more

In 2018, augmented reality went from the vague promise of interesting things in the near future to tangible developments in software and hardware, proving that immersive computing is indeed the future. Traditional mobile apps on smartphones continued to maintain user attentio ...more

In the aftermath of the launch of the Magic Leap One, Magic Leap has ejected two more executives from their leadership roles. Chief marketing officer Brenda Freeman and chief business officer Rachna Bhasin have been transitioned into advisory roles but will continue to report ...more

You might think you need to buy a thousand dollar phone to get a great experience while streaming movies and TV shows from services like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, but that's just not true anymore. While phone prices keep rising and the midrange segment now ranges from $300–$ ...more

In their first head-to-head major contract clash, Microsoft has emerged victorious over Magic Leap, as the US Army has awarded a $480 million contract to the HoloLens maker. Microsoft will provide 100,000 customized HoloLens units to the Army for its Integrated Visual Augment ...more

Election Day is like the Super Bowl for network and cable TV news, so ABC News is breaking out the big guns with a new augmented reality experience to win over eyeballs of viewers. With all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 seats in the Senate, and 36 governor off ...more