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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

Now that Google Meet is free for anyone with a Gmail address, you can expect to see invites from Google's service alongside Zoom calls. Meet is a very streamlined take on video conferencing that manages to provide all of the prerequisites that you'd need to host a video meeti ...more

While many retailers have introduced try-before-you-buy features in their apps, Walmart has gone in another direction by bringing shoppers an augmented reality tool to help them compare products they want to buy. Available exclusively for iOS (app versions 18.20 and ARKit-com ...more

For some, going to the dentist can be a terrifying experience, but a new use of augmented reality could go a long way toward making the trip feel more like it's worth the orthodontic angst. A new app called Janus Health AR uses the camera of a tablet to capture a patient's sm ...more

Halloween is barely in the rearview mirror, but Coca-Cola is ready to bypass Thanksgiving altogether to accelerate the arrival of Christmas, and the brand has enlisted augmented reality as an accomplice. On Tuesday, the company introduced its holiday packaging for its Coca-Co ...more

Using the ARKit 2.0 announcement as its springboard, software maker Adobe is looking leap up to the level of Unity Technologies and Epic Games, the companies making the go-to tools for creating augmented reality experiences. Between with Photoshop, Illustrator, Creative Cloud ...more

Around this time in 2016, the predictions for the next year had reached something of a consensus: 2017 would be the year of augmented reality. But a funny thing happened on the way to the future — nothing much, really. At least not for the first half of the year. It seemed cl ...more

Thanks to Face Maker, a new app for the iPhone X, children everywhere can now avoid the trauma of face painting. Okay, maybe that needs some context. When I was in kindergarten, I had my face painted as part of an arts and crafts day at school. When my dad saw the results, he ...more

Apple just released iOS 14 developer beta 3 for iPhone today, Wednesday, July 22. The update comes 15 days after Apple released the second developer beta for iOS 14, and 13 days after the release of iOS 14 public beta 2. Apple released this update at 10 a.m. PDT, the company' ...more

The emergence of Facebook's collaboration with Ray-Ban to launch Stories smartglasses has finally put an exclamation point on a new category of smartglasses: the pre-augmented reality wearable segment. And while the Facebook device isn't particularly groundbreaking in terms o ...more

When iOS releases in the next few weeks, consumers on both iOS and Android operating systems can expect to see more AR ads in the mobile web browsers thanks to Vertebrae, an advertising platform for immersive media. Next month, Vertebrae will be able to distribute web-based A ...more

We recently set out to find the best phones for people whose primary usage revolves around social media apps like Facebook and Instagram. Samsung, Apple, and Google were the three brands that made our top five, and while the latter only had one finalist, the two bigger OEMs ha ...more

Instagram integrated Stories back in 2016, and it flew right by Snapchat as a whole, becoming a bigger success itself than the whole entire Snapchat app. Still, the constant bombardment of information can be tiring in Instagram, so much so that you may want to mediate what Sto ...more

The mysterious technology product teased via an eccentric TED Talk nearly five years ago has finally been revealed, and it's called the Magic Leap One: Creator Edition. After all of the non-disclosure agreements, furtive comments from CEOs and insiders given early access to th ...more

Now that MLB has finally begun to play ball without fans, the NBA is gearing up to restart its season with 22 out of teams qualifying to play in isolation in Orlando and advance to the playoffs. While baseball teams are piping in crowd noise from MLB The Show and propping up ...more

Facebook may have shamelessly copied Snapchat and its camera effects for faces (as well as its World Lenses), but it might beat its social media competitor to virtual body augmentation. The AI Camera Team at Facebook has developed a method for detecting body poses and separat ...more

While Toyota ranks as the leading automotive brand in the world, the company is a follower when it comes to augmented reality. Nonetheless, Toyota is catching up with the competition with a web-based augmented reality advertising campaign for the 2020 Corolla. Executed by ad ...more

It seems we've come full circle in alternative dating routes. Just like a long time ago when people were able to go to matchmakers and watch videos of potential matches, the dating app 'Hinge' is now allowing you to add videos to your profile. In fact, many dating apps are st ...more

UPDATED 5/4/17: SI has stated that they won't be augmenting its Swimsuit Edition. Although, this could be a sign that the company may do so in the future. If they already have all the tech set up for the latest feature, then they are already half way ready to augment other SI ...more

Already a dominant force at the box office, Marvel Studios appears intent on establishing itself as the ruler of augmented reality media as well. After licensing Iron Man to Hasbro for the Hero Vision Iron Man AR Helmet as a tie-in to Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel has return ...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

Apple's iOS 8 ushered in a new way of typing with the addition of third-party keyboard compatibility. We've seen everything from keyboards with swipe gestures, customizable themes, different sizes, and even embedded GIFs. Now we've got one for all of you music lovers called Au ...more

While 3D motion capture via iPhone X is coming soon from Unity, software maker Reallusion offers similar functionality to 3D model animation producers today. With CrazyTalk Animator 3, users can now add animation to virtually any image, bringing it to life with motion effects ...more

With Avatar, Facebook's personalized stickers for use on its social and messaging platforms, those who aren't on Facebook or have otherwise dumped the social network may feel left out. Whatever your reasons for shunning Facebook may be, there are other ways, each with its dis ...more

Lenovo has been no stranger augmented reality, both in products for consumers and services for developers. At IFA 2017 in Berlin, after taking the wraps off of their AR headset and controllers for the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges AR game, the company introduced the latest smart ...more

In one of the worst-kept secrets of the upcoming Mobile World Congress, Google has officially released ARCore on the Play Store for owners of the latest flagship Android smartphones. In a blog post on Friday, Google promoted its augmented reality toolkit for Android from deve ...more

While shortcuts to your Camera and third-party apps like Snapchat are great for capturing fleeting moments, it still takes a few seconds to open them and snap a photo. That means you could potentially miss a great shot if you're not quick enough. But now there's a super-fast w ...more

After opening up its Spark AR platform on Instagram for all creators, Facebook is already expanding the platform's capabilities on its Snapchat killer. On Monday, the company released version 76 of Spark AR Studio, which brings support for two new AR effect options for develo ...more

After hosting millions of free 3D models online, Sketchfab is betting that augmented reality and virtual reality developers and creators will be willing to pay for premium 3D content. Launching as a beta on Wednesday, the Sketchfab Store offers up to 4,000 models for purchase ...more

Regal Cinema's augmented reality magazine Moviebill enjoyed a big debut in April and it has its sights set on an even bigger (virtually) outing with its next edition. Arriving in Regal theaters on June 22, the second issue of the publication will feature Jurassic World: Falle ...more

For me, there's nothing better than popping on a favorite show or new movie after a long day at the office — except when there's a friend or two I can talk to about that crazy ending. Netflix doesn't double as a social media app, so you can't chat about what you're watching th ...more

Although Apple's Animoji game is strong, as recently exampled by its Ariana Grande collaboration, Google isn't slacking either, unleashing a far more immersive music experience for smartphone users. Released on Friday, the new Childish Gambino augmented reality Playmoji chara ...more

As a society, we seem to be moving backwards toward communicating by pictures only. Emojis and GIFs are today's cave paintings, and I, for one, am totally okay with that. To make this transition even more amazing, photo-editing app Facetune created a tool that lets us change o ...more

Next to Game of Thrones, Harry Potter is one of the most beloved franchises in entertainment today, and now we have another peek at its dive into augmented reality. This week, Warner Bros. released the third trailer for its upcoming AR game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The n ...more

Computer vision company Blippar has already dabbled with outdoor AR navigation, but now it wants to make it easier for people to make their way through indoor spaces with augmented reality. On Thursday, the company introduced its Indoor Visual Positioning platform for AR navi ...more

People love emojis, it's a scientific fact. So an app that places poops, smileys, and ghosts into social media videos should, in theory, be the most popular app ever. That's likely the reasoning behind the new Holocam app, which is available for $0.99 in the iOS App Store. Sur ...more

With smartphone cameras and software getting better and better every year, more and more users are getting passionate about photography. So when you're shopping for a gift to get someone, if they have a smartphone, chances are they'll more than appreciate some tools and access ...more

Up until April 2020, the iPhone XR was, for many new users, the first entrance into the world of Apple because it was the cheapest iPhone model since the original iPhone SE. Now, the second-generation iPhone SE has shown up at the same initial starting price as its predecessor ...more

With the upcoming Memorial Day weekend serving as the unofficial start of summer, Pepsi is turning to Instagram to help sell its soft drinks to quench the thirst of beachgoers and BBQers. This week, Pepsi kicked off its #Summergram (yes, with the hashtag symbol) campaign with ...more

Google's been on a mission to improve the privacy and security of Android lately, and Samsung's always been at the forefront in these areas. As a result, One UI 3.0, which is based on Android 11, is the most secure OS version to ever hit Galaxy phones thanks to few key changes ...more

The Snapdragon 820 and 821 were met with praise last year, receiving almost no complaints compared to their overheating predecessor, the Snapdragon 810. But now, all eyes are on Qualcomm to see what goodies they have in store for us this year, as their new SoC, the Snapdragon ...more

It's long past time to face the facts: farts are funny. The first fart joke dates back nearly 4,000 years to the ancient Sumerian people. References to flatulence were also found in ancient Greece within the works of Aristophanes. (More like Aristo-fannies, am I right?) A sta ...more

Now that the holiday season has officially kicked off, Office Depot has updated its popular Elf Yourself app with a few new augmented reality options. But you'd be excused if you weren't overly thrilled with the implementation. For those who are unfamiliar with the app, Elf ...more

The concept of Metaverse, otherwise referred to as AR cloud, where a digital twin of the real world filled with virtual content anchored persistently for all to see, has been a sci-fi dream of futurists for years and an aim for most tech companies who are serious about AR. It ...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

So you're all done binge watching Stranger Things Season 3 and you want to start sharing your personal review with friends. First, congrats, you're a TV bingeing beast. (It's only been 24 hours!) Second, before you start texting spoilers, you might want to adorn your praise o ...more

The new Material You theme engine with its fancy widgets is a sexy change for Android, but there's another new Android 12 feature that's more than just pretty colors and curves. Android 12 has a powerful on-device search engine that makes it easier to find people and conversa ...more

Despite the wide availability of markerless augmented reality experiences for mobile devices, there is still a market for scanned triggers for content, as evidenced by the new image recognition capabilities on Facebook's Camera AR platform. AR experiences for the movies Ready ...more

Digital artist Beeple's $69 million NFT art auction at Christie's has a second act called Wenew, and includes attempting to open the digital art floodgates to mainstream collectors and artists alike by using physical goods. Wenew is unique in that it is the first NFT platform ...more

Augmented reality avatars that mimic facial expressions are no longer the exclusive province of Animojis on the iPhone X or AR Emojis from Samsung. Camera app Snow has added its own alternative to Apple and Samsung's features, which it also calls AR Emoji, for iOS and Android. ...more

After joining Google and Huawei in underwriting the UW Reality Lab at the University of Washington in January, it appears Facebook is already seeing a return on its donation. According to results published earlier this month through Cornell University's arXiv service in a pap ...more

Move over, Star Wars. You're not the only Disney property that can play in the Lenovo Mirage AR headset anymore. On Thursday, superhero powerhouse Marvel unveiled Dimension of Heroes, a new mobile app for iOS and Android that, when holstered in a Lenovo Mirage AR headset and ...more

Just in time for the release of Pixar's highly anticipated sequel, AR Emoji based on characters from The Incredibles 2 have arrived for Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. Originally announced at the launch of Samsung's latest flagship devices, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Violet, Dash ...more

When it comes to web-based augmented reality, 8th Wall has emerged as one of the leading platform providers, and the company just cranked up its capabilities another notch for AR marketers. Release 11 of 8th Wall Web brings Image Targets, the company's take on image recogniti ...more

Can lightning strike twice? Niantic is betting that it can with its latest augmented reality game based on the best-selling multimedia franchise Harry Potter. If the developer's name is unfamiliar, then perhaps Ingress, the company's first mobile game, which not only earned a ...more

Remember that scene in Tim Burton's Batman where the Joker and his goons defaced dozens of priceless works of art? A collective of digital artists have found a less criminal, more geeky way to do the same thing. Now through May 3, the Jackson Pollock wing of the Museum of Mod ...more

We use the cameras on our phones to become Instagram-famous, direct Snapchat videos, and post pictures for all our Facebook friends to gander at. Needless to say, camera technology in smartphones has come pretty far in a fairly short amount of time. In fact, a film shot entire ...more

As Apple prepares to potentially introduce its (mostly) secretive AR headset for possible introduction later this year and launch next year, the company has made a strategic investment to ensure its supply chain can support it. On Wednesday, Apple announced an award of $410 m ...more

Google's Pixel smartphones have earned a reputation for taking great photos without relying on top-of-the-line camera sensors. Instead, Google leans on the software side to squeeze super images out of its camera. This also enables them to roll out new features out to previous- ...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