Play Last Christmas

After introducing and launching Reality Composer alongside iOS 13 and ARKit 3 last year, Apple is making it easier for developers to create apps with it. This week, the company released a new tool for macOS called Reality Converter that enables developers to convert common 3D ...more

When Facebook launched its first hardware products last year, the Portal and Portal+ smart displays, the company mostly touted its video-calling features as it faced off against Amazon and its Echo Show. But Facebook also had an interesting feature that mostly flew under the ...more

September is nearly here, which means new iPhones are, too. We're looking forward to iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, as well as the more affordable iPhone 11R. All three iPhones will run iOS 13, so Apple's entrusting beta testers to ensure its new OS is ready. The latest update, ...more

While Modiface, YouCam, and others have been playing in the virtual make-up marketing pool for a while, here comes Google ready to splash down with a cannonball. On Wednesday, YouTube rolled out its first virtual makeup try-on experience in a video by Roxette Arisa, a Los Ang ...more

Your phone's keyboard is one of the most commonly used apps. Whether you're typing out status updates, sending private messages, or just bombarding everyone in sight with as many emoji as you possibly can, you probably couldn't get by without a good keyboard app. Since Androi ...more

The marketing team for Marvel Studios is doing "whatever it takes" to make sure you see Avengers: Endgame when it hits theaters in a couple of weeks, including offering an updated set of augmented reality Playmoji for the Playground app on Google Pixel. Included in an update ...more

Every year, fans of Irish culture, as well as those looking to celebrate their own culture, come together on St. Patrick's Day, March 17. Although beer isn't an official component of the day, many often raise a glass of brew to commemorate the occasion and this year that acti ...more

With the best selling phone on Amazon in 2018, Lenovo had big shoes to fill when making the successor of the Moto G6. Fortunately, Lenovo was up to the task. The Moto G7 continues to provide a high performance-to-price ratio, offering a worthwhile upgrade for G6 users while re ...more

Despite the popularity of Pokémon GO, augmented reality gaming hasn't quite caught on yet. The makers of the popular World of Tanks game aren't taking a shot at Niantic's crown yet, but they are looking at giving spectators a new way to watch the game. The game's maker, Warga ...more

Given Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's blockbuster movie pedigree and the promotional power that usually accompanies his work, there's a certain predictable symmetry in the news that Rampage, a movie adaptation of the classic arcade game, has now become an augmented reality mobile ...more

When it's time to calculate a tip at a restaurant or bar, I usually try some mental math at first, but sometimes I resort to opening the Calculator quickly from the Control Center on my iPhone and doing a quick calculation. But with Apple's Shortcuts app, there's an even easie ...more

Because augmented reality is still so new to so many people, there are a number of would-be experts opining online, often repeating basic facts anyone with a spare 15 minutes can find on their own. That's why it's important to point out when someone delivers what could be cons ...more

As you've probably heard by now, Snapchat's new redesign isn't going over too hot with its users. Its stock plummeted last week when Kylie Jenner said she'd be moving on to more Instagram-y pastures. With all these factors, you'd probably assume that there is some empirical ev ...more

Even though most phones don't have Oreo yet, Google has released Android 9.0 Pie. It's available on Google's own Pixel devices, and updates should soon be available to partnered devices from Essential, Nokia, Oppo, Sony, Vivo, and Xiaomi. We're already digging into it to highl ...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

Apple has tools built into iOS to help parents monitor the iPhone habits of their children. However, those same tools can be used by everyday iPhone owners to both hide apps they don't care about, as well as restrict features they don't need or that infringe on privacy. Whethe ...more

With just a few more days to go before its release in theaters, the Star Wars: The Last Jedi push has gone into overdrive. On Monday, Google released "The Last Jedi AR Stickers," a set of augmented reality stickers that lets users put a number of different Star Wars characters ...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

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

Earlier this week, we told you about the new Star Wars augmented reality collaboration with Nissan that will bring the famed science-fiction franchise to auto showrooms, and now we can show you what it looks like. The AR experience, called "See the Unseen," which is only avai ...more

If you're a regular reader of Next Reality, you're more likely to spread the joy of augmented reality than most others. But it can be difficult to introduce newbies into the AR fold if you don't give them exactly the right starting point in terms ease-of-use and affordability. ...more

Facebook's camera platform is the augmented reality vehicle of choice to promote the latest musical effort from Taylor Swift. T-Swift's new album, Reputation, dropped today. To get her fans psyched, an AR effect electrifies the user with virtual lightning, while a snippet from ...more

Augmented reality is making many of our childhood dreams from Star Wars come true. A week after Lenovo gave us the ability to actually play Holochess, Apple has now made it possible to take live video of ourselves and layer on a (non-3D) hologram-like effect, closely resemblin ...more

Argo AI is coming late to the party, but has begun testing a fleet of driverless cars in hopes of developing robo-taxi services to eventually compete against those that Waymo, Uber, Cruise Automation, and others plan to offer. A spokesperson from Ford confirmed that this phot ...more

Cruise Automation, the driverless car startup General Motors (GM) bought for $1 billion in 2016, is readying a formidable fleet of robo-taxis for rollout in cities throughout the US. But when it comes to details about how the company plans to realize these lofty goals, it's be ...more

Although Instagram's summer stickers will only be here for the summer, the ice cream cone is still currently one of the most fun ones to play around with in Stories. It's also one of the stickers that lets you pick your preferred flavor of ice cream, rather than forcing just o ...more

Being part of the wild frontier is amazing. It doesn't take much to blow minds of first time mixed reality users — merely placing a canned hologram in the room is enough. However, once that childlike wonder fades, we need to add more substance to create lasting impressions. O ...more

Apple has been aggressively smashing bugs with its last few updates to iOS 10, so it seems like all of the major work is done. With the iPhone 7 release date approaching fast, it's a good sign that the only remaining hurdles are relatively minor and cosmetic tweaks (though the ...more

We've seen plenty of good, bad, and weird things that have come out of the worldwide augmented reality game Pokémon GO, including murder and location-based bans, but nothing on a large scale. That was, of course, until Iran decided to ban the game country-wide. Don't Miss: Po ...more

Since it was released last fall, Super Mario Maker has offered us a glimpse into the minds of some of the most evil people on the planet. The game, for Nintendo Wii U, lets players create their own Super Mario levels using a deep list of objects, enemies, and green pipes, whic ...more

Google announced today that it's offering rewards to Android Pay users, and taking advantage of these deals could land you a free 2nd Generation Chromecast, among other prizes. The Tap 10 promotion is pretty self-explanatory: Tap to use Android Pay 10 times before February 29, ...more

When eyesight deteriorates, either due to illness or advanced age, many people turn to audiobooks as an alternative to reading. With today's technology there is an abundance of services and devices one can use. Unfortunately, most portable audio players are created for the yo ...more

Have you ever noticed that some Android gallery apps display every last photo that you have stored on your device? This is particularly annoying when most stock gallery apps don't provide an option for hiding certain folders from your filmstrip view. Then there are music playe ...more

Google's original messaging service got a nice version bump today. Hangouts now sports stickers, video chat filters, an updated Material Design interface, and a few new features that should make the service a little more fun and easy to use. The stickers you can select from.. ...more

If you were eagerly refreshing the Nexus 6 order page this morning for a chance to snag the latest from Google and Motorola, we hope you were quick to purchase. About a minute after the 32GB models went on pre-order, both the Midnight Blue and Cloud White models were sold out. ...more

There's a 2800mAh battery powering the Samsung Galaxy S5, but even it's no match for the constant day-to-day torture you put it through. Taking photos, watching videos, and playing games can make your fully charged S5 powerless in no time. While there are some features built- ...more

John Frusciante, of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame, has just launched a new album, literally. His latest work, Enclosure, was loaded up on Sat-JF14 satellite inside the payload bay of the Interorbital Neptune Rocket on March 29th and launched into orbit. Video: . Beginning today, ...more

Hair products can work wonders, but the good stuff is usually super expensive. Plus, most of the major brands use a ton of ingredients you can't even pronounce, so it's safe to say a lot of us have no idea what we're putting in our hair. The good side is that most products can ...more

Free stuff is awesome. Zombies are awesome. And plants...well, plants are okay, but two out of three isn't bad. So, for this week only, PopCap is offering one of its all-time best sellers, Plants vs. Zombies, for FREE for being the Game Center's App of the Week in the iTunes A ...more

Remember these? Sadly, I don't, but I'm sure someone out there does. Anyone? This monstrosity, called the Macintosh Plus, was introduced in 1986 for the low-low price of $2,599. Wait...what? Almost three grand for that bulky baby?!? With a whopping 1MB of RAM standard?!? Whoa ...more

The NFL is one of the most popular sports leagues on the planet. Millions of people tune in every week to see their favorite teams go head to head. I mean, even Jets fans still turn on their TV to watch their team play, even after this: Video: . And as online video continues t ...more

'Tis the season to be jolly, and what's more jolly then unleashing a torrent of bullet fire on the opposing team using a LMG emblazoned with a Santa Claus emblem? I recently did an emblem roundup of superhero and villains for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, but now it's time to us ...more

The first album I ever bought with my own money was Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York. It featured mainly lesser-known songs and covers, but was on constant repeat on my Walkman. While the whole album was fantastic, there was one song that stood out the most to me—"The Man W ...more

Early last month, Sony released PlayStation Mobile, bringing PlayStation games to the PS Vita and other certified phones and tablets. The list of certified phones isn't as extensive as it should have been, consisting of only Sony devices (a few tablets and Xperia) and a couple ...more

There's no doubt going to be a lot of Steves running around this Halloween, as Minecraft still has a huge community, but those posers are probably just buying their Minecraft costumes. Isn't the best part about Minecraft creating? So why let someone else create your costume? ...more

You might have seen our post on this last week: It's a working reproduction of the Mars Curiosity Rover made with LEGOs, but it's a bit complicated for anyone without a decent amount of robotics knowledge. Plus, you need to have some Mindstorms NXT and TECHNIC parts lying arou ...more

Yeah, it's not done yet! But it will be soon!!! I had an exam today and that was my last one so I will hopefully be done before I leave for Perth this weekend! :) It's looking pretty sexy! most of the aesthetics are done! Just gotta add some traps and finish the redstoning, w ...more

We love these Gomi Style guys. Creators of past sensations like the cardboard chair and aqua mirror, here they come with a new inspiration. Steampunk! Steampunk can be traced back to the mid-80s cyberpunk movement out of Silicone Valley. Steampunk enthusiasts make all sorts c ...more

Yowsa. Mariah Carey 38, came out from a paparazzi vortex last week marrying Nick Cannon 27. She and her cougar cohorts are not ashamed to be the older woman in their relationships. Cougars are the new MILFs. Defined as an older woman who has a specific fancy for much younger ...more

With Samsung's beautiful, large displays, the Galaxy S and Note series are great tools for multitasking. This goes beyond the hardware with tools like split-screen mode, floating windows, bubbles, and picture-in-picture mode. And in One UI 3.0, that last one is becoming even m ...more

As a native of Alabama, Apple CEO Tim Cook has a special place in his heart for the state. He also empathizes with the struggles that African-Americans have historically faced in the state, particularly during the 1950s and '60s civil rights era. Now, Cook and his company are ...more

After playing Mario Kart Tour for a little while, you'll notice it's a bit different from previous games in the series. The biggest change is how they've deferred to new players by automating many of the controls. But what if you want the traditional experience? We've got you ...more

XDA recently reported on a leaked version of the upcoming Pixel 4's camera app. By testing the app, they were able to find upcoming Pixel 4 features like a new Night Sight mode that can photograph stars. Well that leaked version has leaked itself, so now you can install it on ...more

This week, Snapchat parent Snap came closer to fulfilling its smartglasses destiny by adding new 3D content capabilities to its third-generation Spectacles. At the same time, the now defunct Meta Company continued its fall from grace, as a judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff ...more

Augmented reality jigsaw puzzle game PuzzlAR: World Tour, formerly only available on mobile devices, has been given a major upgrade via a new version for the Magic Leap One. Back in November 2018, Magic Leap sought to bolster its AR ecosystem by launching the Independent Crea ...more

The longer it takes Apple, Snapchat, Facebook, and other tech giants to build their own version of augmented reality headsets and smartglasses, the longer runway of practical experience Microsoft gains with the HoloLens and its sequel. The latest example: AR cloning. Count Sa ...more

Tuning into a favorite station on Pandora has become part of a routine for many, and it's easy to see why. The app automatically plays songs tailored to your tastes to ensure a relatively hands-free experience. And if you're a subscriber, Pandora even has you covered in moment ...more

The Android 9 Pie update brought a lot of visual changes, some of which are a little too reminiscent of iOS. There's the new gesture controls, which are okay, but then there are things like a left-justified clock and the fact that the recent apps menu now scrolls horizontally ...more

With Pokémon GO as its cash cow and the forthcoming Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Niantic Real World Platform promising future revenue streams, Niantic has convinced investors to bet on its flavor of augmented reality After reports surfaced in December that the developer wa ...more

With the rise of OLED displays, Android users have been begging Google for a true system-wide dark mode for years. While a system-wide solution is still somewhat unlikely, Google has given in by providing a dark mode for certain apps, including Contacts. With most phones rock ...more