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San Francisco-based augmented reality company Scope AR has made building AR instructional content for mobile devices and AR wearables as easy as throwing together a PowerPoint deck, primarily via its WorkLink platform. For its next trick, ScopeAR has packaged its platform int ...more

What many thought was inevitable, based on recent hints, has been revealed to be in the planning stages: Snapchat is working on smartglasses. The surprising information came out on March 2 in a report that also claims Snap Inc. is planning to release version two of its Spectac ...more

Who would have thought that musical.ly would be the first social media app with a highly successful original show? Musical.ly is a social media platform that allows users to make 15-second videos of themselves lip-synching to popular music and audio bites. If you didn't know ...more

If you have Snap Spectacles 3, the dual camera-equipped sunglasses capable of capturing 3D photos and video, by now you've likely jazzed up the videos you've captured on the wearable with Lenses via Snapchat. You've probably also realized that the available AR effects are rel ...more

Over the past few weeks, Google, Snap, and Facebook have all taken their turns to show off their new augmented reality technologies. This week, it was Apple's turn, with new AR features for iOS 15 along with new capabilities for developers. Meanwhile, Facebook's plans to laun ...more

With the Super Bowl just days away, it seems appropriate to draw parallels between football and the professional sport of technology business, or, more specifically, the augmented reality segment. Like the Patriots and Eagles, businesses have to deal with the media, as Apple ...more

It's (virtual) developer conference season, and this week was Facebook's turn with F8 Refresh. Like Google and Snap, Facebook had some new AR capabilities to show off. And while Google and Snap made big AR hardware reveals, Facebook did not. However, CEO Mark Zuckerberg did r ...more

According to a source at TechCrunch, a new version of Snap's 'Spectacles' could include augmented reality. A while back, we reported that Snapchat might have been quietly developing augmented reality glasses, as seen on the CEO while out and about. However, these glasses turn ...more

In the business world, it's sometimes said that "where there's smoke, there's fire." At Snapchat parent company Snap, Inc., it appears the equivalent of smoke is executive turnover. The latest in a string of executive exits comes via chief financial officer Tim Stone, the for ...more

The Lens Studio creators have published more than 1.5 million AR effects to Snapchat. One of them is Audrey Spencer, who shared her story with us and provided her insights into Lens Studio as a storytelling device. Meanwhile, Snap has added new capabilities to the platform to ...more

The physical Camera Control button on the side of the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, or 16 Pro Max is great for launching Apple's Camera app and adjusting settings like exposure, depth, and zoom with press and swipe gestures. But it's not just for the Camera app. Camera Control a ...more

Google and Snap held their annual conferences this week, and both companies managed to upstage their new AR software features with fantastic new AR hardware. After Snap unloaded a deluge of new AR capabilities and tools for creators and brands on Thursday, it dropped the mic ...more

We're still awaiting the arrival of consumer-grade AR smartglasses from the likes of Apple and Facebook. But that doesn't mean there aren't AR products out there to try this holiday season. The year 2020 marked the arrival of mobile devices equipped with sensors that are desi ...more

Anchor has been called the audio equivalent of Snapchat. The app lets you record audio and broadcast it to whomever you follow. If you haven't heard of the app, get familiar with it because it has announced an easy way for you to record and publish podcasts from your smartphon ...more

Microsoft believes its Mesh platform can help developers build immersive AR apps more easily. We spoke with a member of the Microsoft team to learn more about the platform. Meanwhile, one of the companies appearing on stage during Microsoft's AR event where Mesh was unveiled, ...more

The race for the future of AR wearables gained steam this week with several pivotal developments. First, Apple, the subject of numerous reports and rumors regarding its purported AR headset, is reportedly eyeing an in-person unveiling of the device for later this year, rather ...more

The march of Snap to become the world's augmented reality engine isn't slowing down. In a new deal announced on Thursday, Snap has revealed that it has signed an agreement to become the software driving Universal Music Group's (UMG) mobile AR music offerings. • Don't Miss: T ...more

Facebook is hiring video game teams and other eSports organizations to create live and on-demand videos for its newsfeed. The company aims to take on others such as Twitch and YouTube, where most of the eSports' content is typically housed. Facebook signed contracts with five ...more

Snapchat parent company Snap may finally be taking the big step into the fully-functioning augmented reality wearables realm with the next iteration of its Spectacles devices. The first two generations of Spectacles functioned merely as face-mounted cameras, but Spectacles 3 ...more

This time last year, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and his company were faced with an erosion of its user base that cratered its stock price. This year, on the strength of Snapchat's AR camera effects, the company has reversed course. And that's why Spiegel tops the NR30, our annual l ...more

Thanks to a $100 million deal, you could be seeing more original shows on your Snapchat soon. Already, Snap has been producing super short shows in order to compete with social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook who have also been attempting to create their own content. ...more

In a move sure to stir up even more speculation about the future of Snap Inc., the company's vice president of content, Nick Bell, is leaving the company after five years. He's just the latest departure from the rapidly dwindling team of veteran executives at Snap. Bell was d ...more

Snapchat has added three new features, letting you personalize your snaps more than ever. One of those is links, which was not allowed at all before. The other features allow for greater personalization of snaps, with both visual and auditory choices. The updates are being re ...more

Android comprises an entire ecosystem of apps, games, functions, and features, so it would only make sense that it has its own lexicon. Words, phrases, and acronyms that didn't exist ten years ago are now used in an off-the-cuff style by developers and support technicians acro ...more

While there are many customization options available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, they aren't always easy. The large selection of custom ROMs and difficulty implementing certain hacks and mods can be a nightmare for anyone not well versed in all things Android. But the good ...more

If you have friends like mine, letting them check out one photo on your phone means they're going to check out all of the photos on your phone. Before you realize what they're doing, it's too late, and they're sending out perverted emails to your coworkers, making you look lik ...more

Screenshots are all the rage. From sharing high game scores with friends to placing conversation threads online for the world to see to secretly capturing Snapchats, this function of smartphones is prevalent through modern society. Samsung has their palm swipe gestures, and j ...more

Often, when you crack open a beer with friends, your buddies are more focused on texting and Snapchatting than what's happening right in front of them. Smartphones have wedged their way into bars around the world—but an innovative new beer glass is encouraging patrons to put d ...more

Just as the augmented reality industry grows, so too does the segment dedicated to creating experiences for the tools becoming available. Leading the charge is former Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz, who launched a new venture focused on immersive entertainment and content creati ...more

The US Department of Treasury isn't generally known for being on the very edge of technology innovations (see the current hubbub around crypto), instead usually waiting until certain tools have been battle-tested in the mainstream or enterprise sector. Well, it looks like aug ...more

The Chinese short-form social media giant known as TikTok is getting into an increasingly crowded and competitive space: augmented reality effects tools. Hints that the company is engaged in the effort first surfaced about a week ago. The new platform is called TikTok Effect ...more

Quietly, while the rest of the world was engaged in pandemic and political concerns, a few weeks ago Facebook casually upgraded its Spark AR platform with what it calls Unified Effect Publishing. The change now enables developers to submit AR effects once for publishing to bo ...more