Virtual Reality

Niantic first unveiled its AR cloud back in 2018, using it to enhance the immersive capabilities of its gaming portfolio. Now, the company is expanding access to the system, allowing third-party developers to take advantage of next-generation augmented reality features for th ...more

When most people think of Los Angeles they think of Hollywood and the movie industry, but in the last 10 years the city has rapidly transformed into a thriving new hub for visual artists. In recognition of this phenomenon, LA-based Snapchat has embraced the community by teami ...more

Museum curators typically frown upon visitors touching paintings, sculptures, and artifacts, but not when those exhibits are displayed in augmented reality. The latest AR exhibit from Google Arts & Culture not only lets you virtually touch the displays but also make your own ...more

The moment many of the crypto savvy insiders in augmented reality and VR have been waiting for is here: we're finally getting our first big auction of NFT art that exists purely as a hologram. This week, an auction will be held to sell off a unique 3D presentation, accompanie ...more

The augmented reality smartglasses race is getting a major new entrant that could significantly change the entire landscape. On Tuesday, Qualcomm revealed its own XR1 AR Smart Viewer Reference Design, a pair of smartglasses that are meant to give OEMs (original equipment make ...more

A year and change into its shift towards enterprise customers, Magic Leap has updated Lumin OS and the corresponding Lumin SDK with some key prerequisites for the business sector. First and foremost, Magic Leap has added support for Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) in Lu ...more

Bud Light being the official beer sponsor of the NFL just makes sense for American football. But what about the NHL, with hockey being the official winter sport of Canada by decree? Enter Labatt Blue, which might as well be the national beer of Canada and includes a hockey pa ...more

Up and coming Los Angeles-based rock group Palaye Royale has managed to grow a substantial social media following, and now the group is looking to grow its fan base through the power of augmented reality. And while AR isn't new to the music business, a new AR experience from ...more

Even the biggest fan of Mario Kart may have reservations about traveling to Super Nintendo World in Japan in the middle of a worldwide pandemic to experience the augmented reality-enhanced roller coaster ride that recreates the game in real life. Luckily, video of the entire ...more

Despite the unfortunate social media-driven association of Corona beer with the virus behind a global pandemic, beverage maker Constellation Brands has pushed its marketing forward like a lime through the mouth of a beer bottle. The brand's latest effort leverages an AR exper ...more

The company augmented reality that Rony Abovitz was trying to build at Magic Leap apparently wasn't working out the way he hoped it would. That company, built on dreams, music, and future-looking entertainment, rather than truly new technology, came with a $2,300 price tag for ...more

Ever since China's Nreal unveiled its Light smartglasses at CES two years ago, an army of look-alikes have emerged from the Asian nation. We can also count Rokid among the companies blazing a different trail with Rokid Glass and Rokid Vision, each owning a distinctive look. ...more

The world of CES, the annual technology conference in Las Vegas, usually brings a few surprises, but few expected Samsung to fire off its first real augmented reality salvo at the event. But that's exactly what the South Korean company did late Monday when it unveiled a proto ...more

The augmented reality team at USA Today closed out a prolific year of immersive storytelling with a hard-hitting companion piece exploring the controversial conflict in Afghanistan. This week, the publication ran an investigative story by reporter Brett Murphy that uncovered ...more

The book is almost closed on 2019, but Magic Leap has one more gift to offer its users before the new decade arrives. Now appearing in the Magic Leap "Concepts" section of the app store is an experience called Music Box that brings an immersive caroler to anyone using the aug ...more

After drawing attention from nostalgic Gen Xers for its Motorola Razr reboot with a foldable screen, Lenovo has a new augmented reality smartglasses concept that the company hopes will also turn some heads. At its Tech World 2019 conference in Beijing, Lenovo showed off its L ...more

The Halloween season is the perfect time for telling scary stories, but augmented reality is here to bring the tradition of frightening children to the modern age. On Thursday, app developer Within released "Willowcrest Manor," the sixth story for its Wonderscope mobile AR ap ...more

Apple remains shrouded in mystery while continuing to sweep up small companies ahead of a rumored augmented reality headset launch. On Friday, Apple confirmed the acquisition of a UK-based firm called iKinema, which specializes in 3D motion captures of human figures. Don't M ...more

Now that iOS 13 is in the wild, developers are starting to show off the magical augmented reality powers ARKit 3 can deliver. One shining example comes via the new Meisai AR Filter app, developed by Japan's Kitasenju Design, which is capable of producing visual illusions that ...more

If the name Leroy Jenkins elicits a reaction from you, then you are old enough to remember the iconic title World of Warcraft from its heydey (whether or not you actually played the massively multiplayer online role-playing game). To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the game ...more

In recent days we've covered the marriage of augmented reality and top-tier music artists. This time, though, the music stars are showing off the tech rather than integrating it into their act. On Tuesday, Lisa and Jisoo, two members of one of the biggest K-Pop groups on 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

Players who have stuck around with location-based game Jurassic World Alive just got a new treat that makes the augmented reality experience even more fun. Available in an update (version 1.8) of the app via the App Store and Google Play, the game gains a new feature called S ...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

One of the most prestigious annual events for the advertising industry, the Cannes Lions is the ideal backdrop for Snapchat to show the brands and agencies in attendance what it's got. On Monday, Snap did just that by opening an augmented reality exhibit at the La Malmaison a ...more

After North cut the base price of its Focals smartglasses, Vuzix is now testing the waters of a lower price point for its Blade smartglasses. As part of its "Dads and Grads Summer Spree" promotion, Vuzix is reducing the price of its consumer-grade smartglasses by 30% to $699, ...more

Snapchat isn't the only tech company transforming landmarks with augmented reality for Pride Month. About four miles southwest of New York's iconic Flatiron Building, which is getting its own Pride makeover via Snapchat's Landmarker AR, Stonewall National Monument is also rec ...more

Many tech insiders are waiting for augmented reality to go mainstream, but if you look around hard enough, you'll find that it's already gone as mainstream as possible, thanks to talk show host Ellen Degeneres. Degeneres and her partner, actor Portia de Rossi, recently teamed ...more

Apple is giving iPhone owners even more options to express themselves via Animojis with a wide range of customization options for their personal Memojis. During the opening keynote of the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in Cupertino, Apple revealed all of the updates c ...more

If online retail is war (and who says it isn't), then CGTrader is prepared to arm its allies with augmented reality ammunition. On Wednesday, at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Santa Clara, California, the 3D content provider unveiled ARsenal, an e-commerce software tool th ...more

While Jack Daniel's is one of the most iconic brands in the liquor business, when it comes to augmented reality marketing, it's joining a long list of others telling a very familiar story in the growing marketing medium. On Monday, the company published the Jack Daniel's AR E ...more

London-based developer Andrew Hart has been working on AR navigation since Apple's original ARKit tool was still in beta preview. Now, he's ready to unleash his technology on the world. On Thursday, his startup, Dent Reality, released a new software development kit (SDK) that ...more

With the latest software updates for its Focals smartglasses, North has essentially deputized its customers as marketing evangelists to friends and family. On Monday, the company unveiled the latest software updates for its smartglasses that add two new features, Lenscast and ...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

The augmented reality industry has an insatiable lust for 3D content, which makes an investment of $48 million into Matterport a no-brainer for investors. This week, the 3D content capture company confirmed the investment via Twitter, stating that it had closed the funding ro ...more

The augmented reality walking navigation mode for Google Maps appears to be closer to an upcoming release for the general public. Google recently granted the Wall Street Journal (paywall) a sneak peek at the navigation mode via a preview build, and the newspaper published its ...more

In the realm of internet security, it's becoming clear that augmented reality is not immune to the increasing wave data breaches plaguing users. On Friday, furniture retailer Houzz, an early adopter of ARKit, revealed details of a data breach that occurred in December 2018. ...more

Despite less than glowing reviews from critics, the latest installment from the Harry Potter spinoff movie series, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, is winning at the box office. Now, to help build on its holiday momentum, the film is getting another promotional as ...more

While a new museum to house the original torch of the Statue of Liberty is under construction on Liberty Island and scheduled to open in May 2019, New York Times readers can now view the sculpture in their own space through augmented reality. Available in the NY Times mobile ...more

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to try to survive The Purge as depicted in the popular movie series? Well, thanks to augmented reality, now you can. After four films, the dystopian horror The Purge is jumping to the small screen on USA Networks as a television se ...more

One of the best aspects of the Magic Leap One is the spatial audio, a feature that enhances the overall sense of immersion when interacting with virtual objects and content through the device. Now the company is aiming to boost the quality of that component by partnering with ...more

If you're a part of Generation X or a Millennial, there's a good chance that the first mobile game you played was Snake on an old school Nokia phone. Now, you can relive that nostalgia of monochrome and push buttons in augmented reality with the Facebook Camera. HMD Global, t ...more

Over the past few weeks, a trio of developer lessons (one of which was revealed in Magic Leap's most recent Twitch livestream) have revealed samples of experiences that are possible while using the Magic Leap One. Now, a developer has tipped us off to some of the assets relat ...more

With Apple preparing to bring a slew of new features to its Animoji app this fall, Samsung has updated its AR Emoji imitator with the ability to create more realistic digital doppelgängers. The update gives users more control over customization of their personal AR Emojis wit ...more

In keeping with its focus on loading the Magic Leap One with content at launch, Magic Leap has inked a creative partnership agreement with augmented reality production studio Square Slice Studios. "The team at Square Slice Studios has a reputation for forward thinking and inn ...more

The old school staple of many US homes with children, the remote control race track, has been given new life in augmented reality thanks to the Room Racer app for iPhones and iPads. Using ARKit, the app places a miniature race track on a floor or tabletop. The game includes n ...more

With the opening round of Wimbledon, one of professional tennis's four major tournaments, beginning on Monday, Snapchat is serving up an augmented reality tennis mini-game. The game challenges worldwide users and their 3D Bitmoji avatars to take on the digital doppelganger of ...more

A new set of APIs for Unity promise to make it easier for developers to publish apps that support both ARKit and ARCore. AR Foundation allows developers to leverage the common features, such as plane detection and world tracking, found in the mobile AR toolkits. Available in ...more

Pixar's Incredibles 2 has entered the fray as the latest sequel in a summer of highly anticipated follow-up films and, like its peers, it also has an augmented reality experience to promote its presence in theaters. Available via Snapchat, the AR experience places the familia ...more

Alongside ARKit 2.0, Apple revealed new Animojis alongside new Memoji virtual doppelgangers that compete with functionality quite similar to that of Samsung's AR Emoji. The next version of Animoji will bring along four new characters in tiger, koala, ghost, and t-rex, bringin ...more

Location services company Mapbox has added new capabilities to its location-based gaming tool to fend off Google's challenge for the same mobile app category. With version 1.4.2 of its Maps SDK for Unity, Mapbox has made it easier for developers to target real-world points of ...more

It's not an official app, but for fans of Rick and Morty, it's a welcome piece of the series' universe until the recently renewed animated show returns to Adult Swim. Created by New York-based filmmaker Gabe Jacobs, the short experience is designed to be viewed via Snapchat a ...more

Do you see a red door and wonder if it might be a good idea to paint it black? You could "ask Ask Sherwin-Williams," or, better yet, you could just ask the new augmented reality features in the retailer's mobile app. While the company's ColorSnap Visualizer app for iOS and An ...more

As if its users weren't already having enough fun with dancing hot dogs and face effects, Snapchat is upping the ante with a new kind of shared augmented reality content. Called Snappables, the interactive Lenses include games that users can play with facial expressions and h ...more

One of the most successful rock bands still making music has just made augmented reality an integral part of its upcoming tour. Irish rock band U2 has announced a new mobile app experience that allows you to preview the group's live performance in your own home in AR. To expe ...more

With the Masters, one of professional golfing's four most prestigious annual tournaments, now in full swing, Snapchat is giving users the ability to commemorate the moment in augmented reality. A new Lens in the Snapchat camera carousel places a white visor with the Masters l ...more

Having pushed more than two million downloads of its Bait! game for the Gear VR and Daydream platforms, VR developer Resolution Games is bringing the virtual fishing fun to augmented reality. Scheduled for release in 2018, Bait! Under the Surface opens up fishing holes in a u ...more

Historically, Apple loves to drop hints about its major upcoming events through clues included on its invitations. Those invites usually require a good bit of deciphering to connect the dots, but in the case of Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2018 invit ...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

Following in the augmented reality footsteps of Pokémon GO, Universal Studios has decided to give us an AR version of Jurassic World. The new game is called "Jurassic World Alive," and while the trailer for the game doesn't show any actual gameplay, the cinematic approach to ...more