Smartphones News
News: Pikachu Celebrates New Movie by Photobombing the AR Camera in Pokémon GO
The perfect promotion for Pokémon: Detective Pikachu has finally come to fruition as Niantic has added some movie-related perks to Pokémon GO.
News: Microsoft Teases Minecraft Augmented Reality Game for Mobile at Build 2019
It looks like Microsoft will finally make good on its promise to bring Minecraft to augmented reality, as foreshadowed via a HoloLens demo in 2015.
News: Microsoft's Live HoloLens 2 Apollo 11 Demo Didn't Take Flight, but You Can See It Thanks to Unreal Engine's Video
On Monday, the Microsoft Build conference kicked off, showcasing a series of demos that went off without a hitch — except for one big one.
News: Microsoft Adds Spatial App Functionality to Office 365's Teams App, Android & Web Interaction Demoed
Months ago, we showed you some of the powers of Spatial, the HoloLens app that allows groups of workers to collaborate in augmented reality using 3D avatars.
News: Why EIS Is Actually Better Than OIS for Videos
If cameras are a priority, one of the first specs to check on a new phone is the image stabilization. You've probably been told optical image stabilization (OIS) reigns supreme, but this isn't the case if you're taking a lot of videos. Instead, we would argue, electronic image stabilization (EIS) actually works better for video.
Market Reality: Game of Thrones in AR, Microsoft Preps HoloLens 2 for Devs, & Epic Gives Out Magic Leap Headsets
Developers in the augmented reality industry got a lot of love this week.
News: North Adds Sports Updates, Language Flashcards, & Trivia Games to Focals Smartglasses
While North has yet to add third-party app support to its Focals smartglasses, the company has been diligent as of late in its efforts to add more functionality to the bare-bones AR device.
News: Snapchat Gives John Wick Fans the Tools to Build Their Own AR Effects via Lens Studio
For the release of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, Snapchat and Lionsgate aren't just creating AR experiences to promote the movie, they are giving fans the opportunity to create and share their own AR experiences.
News: Microsoft Launches HoloLens 2 Development Edition, Offers Free Unity Pro & PiXYZ Plugin Trial Package
Much of the excitement around the HoloLens 2 has moved on to many wondering when we'll finally be able to get our hands on what is now the best augmented reality device on the market.
News: 'Detective Pikachu' Pokémon Pop Up in Augmented Reality via Google's Playground App for Pixel Devices
The Avengers aren't the only shiny new toys available to Pixel handset owners, as the animated stars of the upcoming Pokémon Detective Pikachu movie have arrived in the Google Playground app.
News: Zappar Expands Its ZapWorks Platform with ARKit & ARCore Compatibility
Augmented reality platform maker Zappar and its marker-based augmented reality technology have been around well before Apple and Google brought markerless AR to mobile apps.
News: Niantic Launches Harry Potter Wizards Unite as Beta in Australia & New Zealand
The long-awaited augmented reality game based on the Harry Potter franchise from Pokémon GO masterminds Niantic is closer to release, as the developer has begun public beta testing of the app.
News: Vuzix Blade Adds Google Assistant Beta to Extend Its Voice Assistant Capabilities
Smartglasses maker Vuzix made a big splash at CES 2018 with the inclusion of Amazon's Alexa voice assistant among the AR superpowers of its consumer-centric Blade smartglasses.
News: Facebook Updates Spark AR with Windows Support & New Features, Instagram AR Arriving This Summer
Two years ago, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the F8 Developers Conference keynote with augmented reality and the introduction of Facebook's AR camera platform, now known as Spark AR.
News: Apple Augmented Reality Smartglasses Concept Tests Futuristic Fashion Approach
Whenever a new, category-defining Apple product is in the works, we usually get a series of creative concept designs to accompany the rumors swirling around the prospective launch.
News: Magic Leap Releases Game of Thrones Experience for All Magic Leap One Users
It turns out that the video Magic Leap released earlier today was indeed a teaser for the public release of the Game of Thrones experience for meant for all Magic Leap One users.
News: Epic Games Gifting 500 Magic Leap Headsets to Developers via Grant Program
With $100 million in grant funding already available to developers via its MegaGrants program, Epic Games is sweetening the pot with some gear for Magic Leap developers.
News: Magic Leap Drops Video Teaser for Game of Thrones Experience
There are only three more episodes of Game of Thrones left before the saga is over, but Magic Leap is capitalizing on the series' popularity while it still can.
Market Reality: Facebook Seeks AR Talent, Snapchat Diversifies Its AR Content, & Magic Leap Scores More Telecom Funding
As much funding as Magic Leap has secured, another round of funding will still catch headlines. However, the latest funding solidifies the company's strategy for succeeding in the consumer segment of AR.
News: Magic Leap Deepens Funding from Telecom Industry with $280 Million from Japan's NTT Docomo
Magic Leap's business strategy for bringing augmented reality to the mainstream has become even clearer via its latest funding round.
News: Shutterstock Gives Customers the Ability to Preview Photos in Augmented Reality
Don't look now, but stock photo mega-site Shutterstock may have the most extensive library of augmented reality content available.
News: Google & Childish Gambino Follow Up Pixel Playground Hit with Pharos AR App
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.
Hands-On: Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs Reinvents the Franchise for Mobile, but Smartglasses Are Its Destiny
Finland-based Rovio, one of the pioneers of mobile gaming, is now ready to break new ground in augmented reality with its Angry Birds franchise.
News: Apple to Unveil Stereo AR Headset Support, New ARKit Capabilities, & More at WWDC, Report Says
Over the past two years, Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) has become a showcase for new ARKit capabilities. This year, it could offer more information related to Apple's long rumored augmented reality wearable.
News: Home Decor App Houzz Expands Augmented Reality Catalog to Include Virtual Floor Tile
Apps that can display virtual furniture in the home are one of the most popular applications of mobile AR today, but Houzz has decided to raise the stakes with its latest update.
News: Snapchat Celebrates Earth Day with Sobering Augmented Reality Look at Rising Sea Levels
In an effort to raise awareness regarding the impact of emissions on the environment, Snap has partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme to use augmented reality to show how much ocean levels will rise over the next 80 years.
Market Reality: Future of AR Series: 5G, AR Cloud, Blockchain, & Apple Glasses, Plus Marvel & HBO Franchise Hits Go AR
Over the past two years, the tech industry has formed a series of symbiotic relationships that are now converging in the augmented reality space. This week, we took a look at these interrelated technologies and how they are shaping the future of AR.
News: Facebook Searching for More Troops to Work at Oculus on AR Product Design & Marketing
At its F8 developer's conference in 2016, Facebook went on record with a roadmap that called for augmented reality integration into Oculus within 10 years. Now, it appears as though Facebook is accelerating those plans.
News: USA Today Enhances Notre Dame Fire Coverage with Augmented Reality Experience
On Monday, the world watched in horror as the historic Notre Dame Cathedral went up in flames in Paris.
News: The Future of Augmented Reality Mainstream Adoption
What does mainstream augmented reality look like? I'm not talking about the stuff you see in concept videos and science fiction films. No. What does it really look like?
News: The Future of Apple Augmented Reality Smartglasses & the Android Copies to Follow
You can almost detect the collective breath-holding of the augmented reality industry as it waits for Apple's inevitable entry. A new Apple wearable built with augmented reality technology is likely the device that will finally make the smartphone take a backseat.
News: The Future of Augmented Reality & Blockchain Technology
If there is a major blind spot in the AR space in 2019, it's the impact that blockchain technology will eventually have on the software distributed in AR clouds.
News: The Future of Augmented Reality & 5G — Wireless Marketing for AR Is Right Message Aimed at Wrong Audience
Anyone who has been within a block of any wireless brick and mortar store or tech conference in the last couple of years has no doubt seen banners, posters, and videos promoting 5G high-speed wireless services on the way.
News: The Future of the AR Cloud — a Thousand Walled Gardens Bloom
By far the most significant development for AR in the coming months and years — the development that will drive AR adoption — will be our reliance upon the AR cloud.
News: The Future of Augmented Reality — What to Expect This Year & in 2020
The year in augmented reality 2019 started with the kind of doom and gloom that usually signals the end of something. Driven in large part by the story we broke in January about the fall of Meta, along with similar flameouts by ODG and Blippar, the virtual shrapnel of AR ventures that took a wrong turn has already marred the landscape of 2019.
News: 8th Wall Brings Image Targets to Its Web-Based Augmented Reality Platform
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.
News: New iPhone App Fills Your Living Room with a Virtual Orchestra
It may take practice to get to Carnegie Hall, but a new mobile app gives the average iPhone or iPad owner the experience of walking on stage with a live orchestra.
News: Unity Inches Forward with AR Development Tools in Latest Release
As one of the leading 3D engines for augmented reality development, a new release of Unity is a significant event that carries the potential to facilitate huge leaps forward in AR content creation.
News: Jack Daniel's Joins the Augmented Reality Marketing Fray with Interactive Label & App
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.
News: Marvel Expands Roster of Avengers Playmoji for Pixel Playground Ahead of 'Avengers: Endgame'
The marketing team for Marvel Studios is doing "whatever it takes" to make sure you see Avengers: Endgame when it hits theaters in a couple of weeks, including offering an updated set of augmented reality Playmoji for the Playground app on Google Pixel.