Better sleep, smartphone news, and changes to your favorite forms of entertainment. There's been a lot going on over the last couple of weeks in the world of tech, and we thought we'd show you all of the need-to-know products, updates, and ideas that we think are most importan ...more
One thing that gets overlooked on Facebook is the amount of videos you can watch, and I'm not just talking about videos uploaded directly by Facebook users—I mean everything ever shared—YouTube, Vine, Instagram, Vimeo, etc. Sometimes one of those videos is just so good that y ...more
While the PlayStation 3 is an awesome gaming console and the iPhone is an awesome smartphone, Apple and Sony have made two devices (that could be perfect for each other) nearly incompatible. Truth be told, this is more Apple's fault than Sony's, but we'll get into that later. ...more
Everyone listens to music. I've got over 3,000 songs in my iTunes library, but am always looking for more, and I'm sure you are too. You can never have enough tunes to rock out to, right? If you're using Windows 8 like I currently am, these are some of the best apps in the Win ...more
Apple just released iOS 12.5.1 (build number 16H22) for iPhone 5S, 6, and 6 Plus, as well as iPod touch 6th generation, in addition to iPadOS 12.5.1 for iPad Air, mini 2, and mini 3. The update fixes an issue in iOS 12.5 where Exposure Notifications could incorrectly display l ...more
Smartglasses from Apple have become the holy grail of augmented reality, and 2020 has been the rumored time horizon for the product's arrival for the past two years. The latest analyst report sheds more light on its potential debut next year. In the present day, though, Sony ...more
We have seen Kickstarter-launched wearables before, but this one is particularly unique and may even have you blinking a bit in wonder when you see how it functions. Startup GWD Bio-Intelligence has just launched pre-sales for its HiiDii glasses, a device that allows the user ...more
There have been enough music artists releasing Snapchat AR experiences over the past week to fill a small festival. Count them with me: Bruno Mars. Gucci Mane. Kodak Black. Missy Elliot. Imagine Dragons. Panic! At the Disco. The barrage of AR camera effects come courtesy of L ...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
With Android 10 hitting the streets (at least for those mobile devices that get quick updates) and the public release of iOS 13 dropping on Sept. 19, Google is releasing an update on Thursday to ARCore that adds some fantastic new benefits to its cross-platform capabilities. ...more
Like clockwork, Apple has unveiled the latest additions to its ARKit tookit at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, where ARKit first said hello to the world in 2017, as well as some new tools that take a direct shot at Unity, Unreal Engine, and others. Coming to iOS 1 ...more
If you've been paying attention to the smartphone industry, you've certainly noticed a rise in dark mode lately. With most phones now sporting OLED panels, which use less power to display darker colors, users have been begging developers to include a dark theme in their apps. ...more
There once was a time before smartphones when you had to actually remember where you parked your vehicle. This really sucked when visiting a location with a large parking lot — they even made a whole Seinfeld episode about it. But now you can just tap a button to solve this pr ...more
After applying augmented reality as a solution for the sale and marketing of sneakers, Nike is taking the next step in its adoption of AR to improve the customer experience. On Thursday, Nike unveiled its new Nike Fit tool, which the company is preparing to add to its existin ...more
On Twitter, quote retweets are a great way to share someone else's tweet with your view of their message. Twitter has expanded on this idea by giving us the ability to attach images, video, and GIFs to quote retweets. With these extra options, you should have no problem adding ...more
Face ID does an excellent job with keeping your iPhone safe, boasting a million-to-one odds against unauthorized access when compared to Touch ID, which is 20 times less secure. However, it's far from being truly hands-free, as you still need to swipe up the lock screen once i ...more
Google is going all in with Childish Gambino as its musical champion for augmented reality, as the duo has now dropped its second AR collaboration of the year. After Google launched his Playmoji for Pixel's Playground app earlier this year, Gambino, the musical alter ego of e ...more
The Pixel is the phone to beat when it comes to cameras, and it's largely due to software. While its hardware is solid, Google's machine learning prowess and general coding wizardry are the biggest reasons the Pixel is so good with taking photos and recording video. What this ...more
For years, there has been a disconnect between the Chrome app on your smartphone and the Chrome browser on your computer. The latter was a powerfully fast browser which could be enhanced with extensions to add new features and functionality, while the former was just a fast br ...more
Because of the way Android is laid out, you automatically lose a portion of the top and bottom of your screen thanks to the status and navigation bars. The thing is, you don't always need the navigation buttons. By hiding them, you can enjoy more of your Galaxy S10's big, beau ...more
If you updated your iPhone to iOS 12.2, you'll notice in the Apple News app that there are no longer "Love" and "Dislike" buttons inside stories. Why did Apple remove them? And will they make a comeback? The short answer to both of those questions? We don't know. We've reache ...more
Yelp reviews are great for getting a feel for how a business operates, but they can't always be trusted, and they don't always get to the point fast enough. That's where "Tips" come in, and you can view and make them whether you're on an iPhone or Android phone. No, I'm not t ...more
Tapping on your iPhone's display to pick up an incoming call can be annoying when your hands are wet or dirty. It might even fail to register and cause you to miss your call. If you have a jailbroken iPhone, however, you can get rid of this problem entirely, thanks to a free t ...more
After years of user complaints, Samsung is finally letting us remap the Bixby button without the need of a third-party app. The new feature requires One UI a simple app update to Bixby, but there's one major downside: Samsung won't let you remap the button to open other digita ...more
With the first pop-up showroom for North's Focals smartglasses opening its doors next week, customers are now able to purchase the smartglasses at a drastically lower price tag. On Thursday, the company set a new pricing structure for its smartglasses. Originally priced at $9 ...more
Your Instagram feed is jam-packed with interesting and lively photos, videos, and stories that largely offset the iOS app's comparatively bland user interface. If the interface's dull colors have always bothered you, you can splash on some much-needed color to better reflect y ...more
When you don't want certain friends viewing your account or just need to take a break from social media, Instagram lets you do so. While you can completely delete your Instagram account, then start over when you're ready again, it makes much more sense to just disable your acc ...more
Sileo is an ideal marketplace for developers to showcase apps, tweaks, and themes that Apple would never allow in the App Store. While a majority of these packages are free to try out, there are jailbreak apps that cost money for your iPhone. But actually paying for mods can b ...more
Back in 2018, Spotify began testing a new mobile feature that has grown very tiresome: three to eight-second looping videos that take over the entire screen. Known as Canvases, they effectively hide the cover art and lyrics of the current song — and they're still very much aro ...more
Short for Ask Me Anything, AMA threads are one of Reddit's signature features. They enable you to directly interact with a whole range of interesting personalities, from common folk with amazing life experiences to influential celebrities that help shape politics and culture. ...more
Unlike past Pixel releases, it appears Google isn't done with their current lineup. Rumors have it that Google plans to put out two new phones that act as budget variants for their existing devices. And based on the leaks, it looks like one of these variants might be better th ...more
Millions depend on Google Maps for directions, and it's easy to see why. The app comes with tons of features like offline navigation, location sharing, and more. Google is far from done, however, and continually improves upon its navigation app to make it even more efficient a ...more
Bitmoji are personalized emoji that look like you and can be used to make funny memes or snappy replies. Normally, you have to find one of these reaction emojis in the Bitmoji app, then use Android's share menu to send it to the app where you ultimately want to post it, but th ...more
On Instagram, you can write text over any picture or video in your Story, but it may be hard to get your message across with a distracting background. Although there is a "Type" option for Stories, which allows you to write text over colorful gradient backgrounds, the selectio ...more
Although next week will mark the late David Bowie's 72nd birthday, his fans and admirers are the ones receiving a gift in the form of an augmented reality app that explores the artist's career Available for $7.99 on the App Store and Google Play on January 8, "David Bowie Is" ...more
Spotify integration in Bumble has been around for a few years now, allowing prospective matches to view the artists you listen to the most on the popular music streaming service. It definitely helps people connect, but sadly, it doesn't work as well as it should because it rar ...more
The iPhone's notification system has drastically improved over the years, but it could still use some work. The notifications, while useful, are all monochrome, making it hard to distinguish which app posted each alert, and that's not even mentioning the drab overall look. Thi ...more
By default, there aren't many customization options for the notification badges on iPhones — you can either leave the numbered red bubbles there, or turn them off. But thanks to a new jailbreak tweak, you can now give your badges a unique look with new functionality. Aptly na ...more
Though not as flashy as Face ID and other features, Low Power Mode has become one of the unsung heroes of iOS. When you're away from a charger, enabling this feature will dial back performance and networking to help you eke out up to three extra hours of battery life. If your ...more
Two-factor authentication (also known as 2FA) adds a necessary additional layer of security to your username and password in many important apps. On Instagram, 2FA requires you to confirm it's you attempting to log in, with a special code sent to you via text message. Enter th ...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
The quality and length of your sleep will almost always dictate how the rest of your day unfolds. Sleeping fewer hours increases your chances of spending the day in a tired and cranky state, while having a restful night's sleep contributes greatly to being alert and productive ...more
MyFitnessPal adjusts your calorie goal for the day according to your activity level. The more active you tell the app you are, the more calories it tells you to consume — simple, right? Unfortunately, MFP doesn't tell you to consume fewer calories when you don't work out. Howe ...more
In 2015, MyFitnessPal launched its premium service, an ad-free subscription for $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year which provides food analysis, deeper nutrient tools, more goal options, and exclusive content. After giving MyFitnessPal Premium a shot on your iPhone or Android phon ...more
You really can't go wrong with Samsung Health when it comes to staying on top of fitness-related data. Its features help you keep track of workouts, track calorie and nutrition intake, and monitor your heart rate, just to name a few. And if you start exhibiting symptoms you've ...more
When you're trying to get fit, friendly competition can go a long way towards keeping you motivated. Samsung Health has a great feature for just that, letting you challenge your friends or even complete strangers to bring some excitement to an otherwise routine workout experie ...more
Keeping track of your physical activities can be difficult, especially if you have a hectic lifestyle with responsibilities to constantly stay on top of. Thankfully, Samsung Health is there to help you log your workout routines, leaving you with one less thing to keep track of ...more
Apple has done a fantastic job of instantly patching iOS exploits through constant firmware updates to keep hackers at bay. Because of this, jailbreaking has largely been pushed to the fringes, resulting in a myriad of tweaks being abandoned by developers which, in turn, have ...more
WaveOptics, makers of diffractive waveguides, has inched closer toward getting products featuring its technology to market through a production partnership with a consumer electronics company whose clients include Google, Microsoft, and Sony. China-based Goertek, an original ...more
Augmented reality content makers often position the technology as a new storytelling medium. And who loves stories more than children? Available now in the App Store as a free download with in-app purchases for additional content, Wonderscope uses ARKit to place content, whic ...more
Who doesn't love a refresh? Samsung's upcoming One UI makes it easier to use your device with one hand and adds a fresh coat of paint to the formally "Samsung Experience" skin. While you're probably looking forward to installing One UI on your phone, not all Galaxies are equal ...more
Overall, iOS is more impressive than ever with its stability enhancements, security tools, suite of apps and services, and intuitive user interface. With each passing update, things just get better and better for iPhone users. But don't think for a second that this is all beca ...more
The OnePlus 5 doesn't have too many weak spots, at least not when you consider the price. But you might feel that the company with the slogan, "Never Settle," might have actually settled a bit with its camera. The OnePlus 5 and 5T don't have bad imaging specs, but they could u ...more
Apple released the first major iOS 12 update Tuesday, Oct. 30, just hours after the company's iPad and Mac presentation. While iOS 12.1 is the first official update to hit iPhones since iOS 12.0.1, beta testers had enjoyed an exclusive first-hand look at all the new features t ...more
Stickers are a staple in most messaging apps. Facebook Messenger and Apple Messages, among others, are all compatible with still or animated stickers to personalize your chats. Now, WhatsApp is stepping into the sticker arena with a new update, bringing the popular feature to ...more
A new augmented reality cloud platform from German startup Visualix is working to give enterprises the capability to scan their own warehouses, factories, and stores and create maps for augmented reality navigation. During next week's Augmented World Expo (AWE) Europe, the co ...more
The iPhone X ushered in the Swiss Army Knife-like Side button, which can perform numerous functions, such as summoning Siri and opening Apple Pay through click gestures. This has carried over into the iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone XR, so if you've upgraded to one of these devi ...more
Xiaomi made a new phone with their sights set on picking up some ex OnePlus users. As a result, the Pocophone F1, or just Poco in some markets, is quite unlike most other Xiaomi phones. While you can't buy the F1 in stores in the US, you can get its home screen app on almost a ...more
Now that we've had a few days to recover from the VR geek versus augmented reality nerd battle between Oculus founder Palmer Luckey and Magic Leap founder Rony Abovitz, we can get back to taking a closer look at the Magic Leap One. This time, we take a very brief dip into the ...more
If you subscribe to notifications for Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz's Twitter feed, you'd think everyone in the world already has a Magic Leap One. Alas, that is not the case, but those not within the geographic areas of Magic Leap's LiftOff service now have a loophole through w ...more