While autonomous vehicles are almost assuredly the future of personal transportation, we are likely many years from seeing self-driving cars become as ubiquitous as manually-driven ones, as the auto industry has a myriad of government regulations and other constraints to conte ...more
Mixed reality display manufacturer Realfiction has developed a 64-inch display capable of delivering 3D holograms without a headset. Billed as the largest display of its kind in the world, DeepFrame consists of a curved video screen that deflects interactive 3D images in 4K r ...more
HTC has made it their mission to get updates out to its devices as quickly as possible, with new builds slated for release 90-days after Google finalizes a build—this is dubbed HTC Advantage. After Google I/O, the company announced they would have the Android L version of Sen ...more
Google has finally announced the newest flavor of its mobile OS, Android L (Lollipop?), and I couldn't be more excited. While we won't see its official release until the fall, there are still some features we can get our hands on right now. Most of the Google Apps require you ...more
The @DesignGears guys have been busy today, leaking an unofficial KitKat build (Android version 4.4.2) for the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note 3. The latest is a peek into what the international variants are beginning to see, although this build is far from official. Still, if you wa ...more
Apple's first release candidate for the iOS 14.3 beta came out on Dec. 8, but there must have been a serious bug in the system because iOS 14.3 RC 2 followed it just two days later on Dec. 10. These builds highlight everything that you should expect to see on the stable versio ...more
Part 1: What is Popcorn Time? Part 2: What is a torrent? Part 3: Why am I at risk? Part 4: What is a VPN? Part 5: Are all VPNs the same? Part 6: How do I stay protected? Part 1: What Is Popcorn Time? Popcorn Time is, essentially, a torrent client (look to Part 2 for further ...more
Intel's RealSense family of depth tracking cameras has a new addition with a different set of sensory capabilities. On Wednesday, the technology company unveiled the Intel RealSense Tracking Camera T265, which provides six degrees of freedom (6DoF) inside-out tracking for aug ...more
Snapchat has officially unveiled its Visual Search service for Amazon (teased a month ago), a tool the company began testing on Monday. Now, when the app recognizes a barcode or a matching object, a card for the corresponding product on Amazon will appear on the screen. That ...more
In a surprise twist, Apple released iOS 12 public beta 8 to software testers on Thursday, Aug. 23, right alongside iOS 12 dev beta 10. The release comes as a bit of a shock, as the company released iOS 12 public beta 7 just three days earlier. The official build of iOS 12 now ...more
Apple continues to build its augmented reality hardware and software team in stealth mode. The latest addition comes via the hiring of a former DAQRI user experience designer and VR app developer. First reported by Variety, Sterling Crispin joined Apple in May as a prototypin ...more
Just a week after rumors surfaced of a massive new investment in Magic Leap led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the investment has been confirmed by the company's CEO Rony Abovitz. The investment amount from PIF is $400 million, with an additional $61 million ...more
While most smartphones have the ability to receive FM signals via a tuner, mobile carriers prevent users from taking advantage of this hardware — probably in an effort to get their customers to spend more money on data. NextRadio is an app that allows users to listen to the r ...more
The augmented reality industry made great strides in 2017, but its apex is not even in sight. In terms of software, augmented reality is approaching meaningful mainstream awareness, thanks mostly to Apple and ARKit. Meanwhile, on the hardware side, AR is very much in its infa ...more
Just days before the release of the first image of the Magic Leap device, the company's CEO, Rony Abovitz, knew that the biggest moment of his life was about to unfold the following week. But instead of hunkering down in the Florida-based confines of the company's skunkworks, ...more
At their event in San Francisco today, Microsoft announced that they have begun accepting pre-orders for Windows Mixed Reality headsets from Acer, Dell, Lenovo, and HP, with the devices arriving on Oct. 17 along with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Video: . In addition, t ...more
Every other year, Apple comes out with "S" model iPhones that enhance and speed up their main series models from the previous year. This year, however, because of the highly-anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone, aka the iPhone X, Apple has dropped the "S" and moved straight to ...more
Anticipation is building for the release of the Essential Phone. Andy Rubin's newest creation is expected to be loaded with features like a rear fingerprint reader, attachable 360-degree camera, and an edge-to-edge display. However, a news release from Sprint has just revealed ...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
Dual cameras are increasingly popular right now for smartphones, but so far, Samsung has steered clear of all the hype. However, a new patent application shows that Samsung has been working on a dual camera system of their own, featuring tech potentially more advanced than wha ...more
It's that time of year again. The world's largest electronics companies are sending representatives to the annual Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, and for gadget lovers like us, that means we'll get our first look at some of this year's biggest upcoming flagship smart ...more
The Meta 2 developer kit has finally begun shipping! Gary Garcia, the senior director of customer success at Meta, just sent out an email that they are shipping out to the first round of preorder customers. Waves will be building from there, up to far higher manufacturing rate ...more
Reading through various internet forums, it certainly sounds like the Google Pixel and Pixel XL are attracting more iPhone users than any of Google's previous Nexus devices. The sales figures seem to back that up, too, as the Pixel is outpacing last year's Nexus 6P, and pre-or ...more
Microsoft began shipping the Development Edition of its much-anticipated HoloLens—the world's first untethered holographic computer—back in March. As the name implies, it was only available to developers (we got ours near the end of April), but Microsoft has recently opened up ...more
If you want to quickly understand EtherWars, imagine a game like StarCraft where you build out your base on your living room floor instead of on a computer screen. Before we had computer games to help us imagine what space wars might feel like, we played with toy ships and use ...more
As we get closer to the release of the iPhone 7 this September, more and more details are emerging about the features the new smartphone could have. The well-regarded analyst Ming Chi-Kuo of KGI Securities, who has an uncanny ability to predict new Apple features, has reported ...more
Your iPhone might have a great camera, but it can be irritating to get things like exposure and focus right when your fingers are all over the 'viewfinder.' The Pictar aims to change that by making your iPhone as much like a DLSR as it can, keeping your fingers from obstructin ...more
Sure Samsung toned down TouchWiz on their latest flagship devices, but there was one issue (albeit minor and mostly cosmetic) that really irked me: those damn "S Finder" and "Quick connect" buttons in the notification tray. Only the T-Mobile S6 variants shipped with an option ...more
Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers! I began this series on scripting awhile back to teach all aspiring hackers how to write some basic scripts for hacking and reconnaissance. Without developing some basic scripting skills, the aspiring hacker will be condemned to the realm of ...more
While most are still fighting through a somewhat ridiculous invite system, OnePlus is starting to ship out a decent number of their One flagship devices to those who were able to obtain one. We all know that the price is the phone's biggest selling point, but there's still mu ...more
There are many mods and tweaks you can do on your Samsung Galaxy S4 to make it feel more fresh, like using a more customizable keyboard and a better PIN unlock, but if you want to make your Galaxy S4 feel even fresher, add a little Galaxy S5 touch to it. We've already shown y ...more
A new leak from GSM Israel on March 6th shows some telling screenshots of the U.S. variant of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4, some of which confirm features seen in the leaked 4.2.1 ROM for the Galaxy S3. The New UI The NatureUX skin (TouchWiz) has been updated, but it's har ...more
Toymaker Lego has been on board with building AR into its playsets and mobile apps since the launch of ARKit. Its latest product takes the brand's approach to combining physical toys and virtual content and remixes it for a generation obsessed with the kind of homegrown music ...more
Arduino is a language that's easy to learn and supported on many incredibly low-cost devices, two of which are the $2 Digispark and a $3 ESP8266-based board. We can program these devices in Arduino to hijack the Wi-Fi data connection of any unlocked macOS computer in seconds, ...more
Surprising? No. Exciting? Absolutely. After a grand introduction by at the Apple event on September 10, 2019, the iPhone 11 is finally here. We may have known nearly everything about this new iOS device ahead of time, thanks to the usual surge of reliable leaks and rumors. Th ...more
The worlds of augmented reality and virtual reality are closely linked in many ways. That means it's smart for AR insiders to keep a close on new developments in VR. If you have been paying attention, you know that Oculus CTO John Carmack is one one of the most important think ...more
While the iPhone XS actually comes with a smaller battery than the iPhone X, Apple claims it, along with the XS Max and XR, offer users longer battery life than last year's first Face ID model. While that may be true, your new iPhone still ships without meeting its full batter ...more
We know Android 9.0 will have the formal designation of Pie, following Google's age-old tradition of naming their OS after items you'd normally find on a dessert menu. And thanks to a slew of new features that centers around your overall security, P could also stand for Privac ...more
It finally happened! In a world of "go big or go home," Magic Leap has finally done something other than tease us with vague promises and rendered video concepts. Although, other than actually showing us what the developer's kit will look like, it seems little more than a slig ...more
As smartphones become more accessible, billions of people have come to depend on their features for daily life. One of the most important aspects these days is the camera. OEMs have been working for years to improve camera quality, and they seem to have finally figured it out ...more
Android has several features built into the platform that improve user experience but require extra attention to prevent a security breach. By modifying these settings, you can drastically reduce the possibility of someone exploiting your device or intercepting information. B ...more
This year, Google released two Nexus phones to glowing reviews, and as we've grown to expect, the Android community wasted no time in coming up with a root method for both. In fact, legendary root developer Chainfire even devised an entirely new "systemless" method for rooting ...more
Update: June 19, 2014 Android 4.4.4 has been released, fixing a small security bug in 4.4.3. The factory images have already been made available to all current-generation Nexus devices, and I've linked them out below. This does not affect the process depicted, you can still u ...more
As people continue to upgrade their PCs to Microsoft Windows 8, more and more developers are adding content to the Windows Store. While the offerings are not as vast as Google Play or the iTunes App Store, it does have some solid apps for both productive users and those lookin ...more
Ever since Facebook announced its partnership with Luxxotica brand Ray-Ban to produce smartglasses, the augmented reality space has been on high alert awaiting more details. Unfortunately, those details have been scarce, until now. During a session at the Paris Viva Technolog ...more
In response to Sony unveiling its own holographic display back in October, Looking Glass Factory CEO Shawn Frayne quickly penned a letter welcoming the electronics mainstay to the field, with a post-script teasing the reveal of their own for December of 2020. That day is fina ...more
While Snapchat had a head start in making augmented camera effects popular on smartphones, Facebook has spent the past few years in hot pursuit, with no less than three apps offering mobile AR experiences, plus its Portal hardware lineup of smart home devices. Facebook's late ...more
After entering into settlement talks with Epic Games over the gaming giant's trademark challenge, Nreal is now ready to open up the floodgates to potential early adopters in the augmented reality space. On Thursday, the AR smartglasses maker began taking pre-orders for the Nr ...more
Some investors play the short game, placing their bets on industries that show the quickest return on their investment, and, in the augmented reality space, that means the enterprise sector. RealWear is among the smartglasses makers capitalizing on enterprise AR, and the comp ...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
With Microsoft taking direct aim at enterprises for its HoloLens 2 with a $3,500 price tag, one startup is betting that business will be willing to pony up for glasses-free 3D displays as well. After shipping its Looking Glass Standard (previously called the HoloPlayer One) 8 ...more
Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that augmented reality (or, AR for short) will "change everything." But what, exactly, is augmented reality? Generally, augmented reality refers to the process of presenting virtual objects and imagery — usually through a wearable lens or external ...more
Simulated training can help soldiers and sailors learn how to use their weapons safely, but simulations can sometimes lack the stressful environment of a real firefight. That's why the US Navy has developed a more realistic augmented reality simulator that runs on the Microso ...more
Out of the box, Apple's digital assistant could be a godsend or a nuisance, depending on your daily interactions it. No matter which camp you fall into, Siri can always be better suited to your personal needs with a little customization. You can make Siri a powerhouse not to b ...more
The year 2018 was a rough one for Snap, the company behind the Snapchat app and the Spectacles wearable camera device. From executive departures to reports of slowed user growth, the company that once spurned Facebook's multibillion-dollar advances is now facing a moment of tr ...more
Public testers, Apple just released the first public beta for iOS 12.1.2 on Tuesday, Dec. 11. The company had already released the developer beta on Monday, Dec. 10, and just like clockwork, the public beta version was right on its heels. Unfortunately, with the new iOS 12.1. ...more
Another contestant has emerged in the race to deliver a mainstream augmented reality car navigation system, with Silicon Valley-based Phiar picking up $3 million in seed funding to launch its own artificial intelligence-based mobile app by mid-2019. The Venture Reality (VR) F ...more
If you've grown bored of day-to-day hacking and need a new toy to experiment with, we've compiled a list of gadgets to help you take password cracking and wireless hacking to the next level. If you're not a white hat or pentester yourself but have one to shop for, whether for ...more
With all the controversy around the Pixel 3 XL, the regular-sized Pixel 3 might be the phone of choice for most users. Thanks to the huge boost in screen size, the little brother is now an easier pickup for those who like a bigger screen. And once more, the internals are the s ...more
The "controversial" Pixel. No phone in the history of Google's Pixel lineup deserves this title more than the Pixel 3 XL. For some (including myself), the design is a welcome change that embodies the modern design of 2018 flagship phones. For others, it has an ugly huge displa ...more