Smartphones News

News: Christie's App Brings the Art of the Rockefellers to Your Living Room via Augmented Reality

The latest update to the Christie's app for iPhones and iPads extends its augmented reality capabilities to the famed private art collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller.

News: Star Wars Holochess Comes to ARKit-Friendly iPhones & iPads

Part of the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges experience that was once exclusive to users of Lenovo's Mirage AR headset is now available to anyone with an ARKit-compatible iOS device.

News: HTC Opens Up Augmented Reality Development for HTC Vive

HTC is entering the augmented reality market through the back door by giving developers access to the stereo front-facing cameras on the Vive and Vive Pro VR headsets.

News: Snapchat Bulks Up Lens Studio with Face Templates, Giphy Integration & More

Snapchat is making it easier for developers and creators to build augmented reality effects in Lens Studio with a slew of new features, including seven face templates.

News: What You Need to Know About ZTE's Ongoing Battle with the US Government

| Update: ZTE's issues with the US government have finally been resolved. Check out the details below.

News: Google Researchers Have Developed an Augmented Reality Microscope for Detecting Cancer

Augmented reality might not be able to cure cancer (yet), but when combined with a machine learning algorithm, it can help doctors diagnose the disease.

News: Coachella & Eminem Hit High Notes with Augmented Reality Mobile Apps

The annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is one of those events that everyone talks about, so an augmented reality experience in the festival's mobile app and from one of its headlining acts, Eminem, basically means the technology is officially cool.

News: Renault Uses Shazam AR to Harness the Latest Star Wars Movie Hype

French automaker Renault is tapping into the promotional machine for Solo: A Star Wars Movie by deploying an AR experience through Shazam that's triggered via synergistic advertising.

Market Reality: Bareburger & Zara Use AR for Marketing, While vTime Gets a Cash Infusion to Move from VR to AR

Modern "mad men" are buying into augmented reality for marketing, with the two latest examples being trendy burger maker Bareburger and department store chain Zara.

News: The 50 Best Augmented Reality Apps for iPhone, iPad & Android Devices

Contrary to popular belief, augmented reality apps have been available for a while now. I remember using the Layar app (still available for iOS and Android) to explore nearby businesses and landmarks with varying success via an early-generation Android handset.

News: Try These 5 Hot New Snapchat Lenses — Stranger Things, Pokémon & More

While you were slaving away at work or school or whatever you were so busy doing over the last seven days, people have been hard at work creating a variety of new Snapchat lenses for your enjoyment. These lenses are hot off the presses, and I'm honestly really impressed with this week's crop.

News: Facebook Camera Can Now Change Your World into an AR Paint Canvas

For social media platforms like Facebook, augmented reality represents a whole new art form with which users can express themselves online. Now, Facebook is giving those users a new brush.

News: Magic Leap's Website Has an Immersive Reality Experience Hidden in Plain Sight, if You Know Where to Look

Magic Leap loves to stoke mystery around its still unreleased product, the Magic Leap One: Creator Edition, and now we've found yet another piece of the puzzle in the form of an Easter egg on the company's website.

News: Nickelodeon Reels in AR Mode for Popular Mobile Game Sky Whale

One of the most popular mobile games out there for kids has added an augmented reality mode that brings the titular character into the real world.

News: Bareburger's Recipe for Future Menus Includes a Heaping Portion of Augmented Reality via Snapchat

Fast-casual burger restaurant Bareburger expects to soon replace all of its paper menus with 3D models of its burgers and other items rendered in augmented reality, but for now, the company is preparing some rather interesting limited AR interactions.

News: ODG's Newest Wearable Allows FedEx Pilots to Use Augmented Reality to Navigate Emergency Situations

On Thursday, Osterhout Design Group (ODG) revealed a new, specially-crafted oxygen mask that uses the same augmented reality technology from its smartglasses to assist FedEx Express pilots navigating dangerous conditions.

News: Zara AR App Brings Virtual Models to Life in Stores

Department store chain Zara is temporarily ditching its mannequins and dressing up its stores with augmented reality experiences featuring virtual versions of real fashion models.

News: Here's Exactly When You Can Play Hearthstone's Newest Expansion, The Witchwood

Blizzard announced last week that the latest Hearthstone expansion, The Witchwood, would be releasing on April 12 2018. Equipped with 135 "hair raising" new cards and mechanics like Echo and Rush, Hearthstone players across the globe are itching to start playing with the set the minute it drops. Now, we know exactly when that'll be.

News: Now You Can Share & Borrow Hearthstone Decks with Your Friends

With Hearthstone's latest expansion, The Witchwood, arriving on April 12 2018, Blizzard also rolled out a number of in-game improvements alongside Update 11.0. One improvement that could revolutionize the Friendly Challenge experience is deck sharing, allowing you and your friends to borrow each other's decks.

News: PhotoBloom AR Brings Your Framed Photos to Life as Augmented Reality Videos

Taking photos that are actually printed and hung on a real wall, versus being shot and shared via a social wall, is a seemingly lost art, but PhotoBloom AR wants to change that with augmented reality.

News: Social VR Startup vTime Lands $7.6M to Launch Augmented Reality Version Later This Year

One of the earliest players in the social virtual reality space, vTime, has just landed $7.6 million in new funding, which the company says is partially earmarked for developing and releasing an augmented reality version of its platform later this year.

News: Lampix Exec Gordon Meyer Podcast Interview, Says the Future of AR Isn't in Wearables

The future of augmented reality isn't on your smartphone or face, it's in the everyday items all around us. At least that's the belief of Gordon Meyer, the vice president of marketing at New York-based startup Lampix.

News: Microsoft Japan Concept Video Demos How HoloLens Will Help Pilot the Drone Ships of the Future

Although the HoloLens is still primarily the domain of developers and researchers, the device is nevertheless on the cutting edge of showing us what will be possible with augmented reality in the coming years. The latest example comes via Microsoft Japan and a new concept video that shows off how the HoloLens will be used in the relatively near future to pilot autonomous ships.

News: The Weather Channel Forecasts More Augmented Reality for Its Live Broadcasts with Unreal Engine

Just weeks after being acquired by comedian turned producer Byron Allen for $300 million, The Weather Channel has tapped augmented reality studio The Future Group to integrate immersive augmented reality experiences into its broadcast content.

News: Verizon's Envrmnt Team Opens Early Access to AR Design Easy App Creation Tool

The augmented reality and VR arm of Verizon, Envrmnt, wants to make it really easy for anyone to create AR apps.

News: Leap Motion Reveals Open-Source AR Headset Called Project North Star

If it had come out just a week earlier, around April 1, no one would have believed it. But it's true, Leap Motion has developed its own prototype augmented reality headset, and it looks pretty wild.

Market Reality: Vuzix Defends Blade, Magic Leap Shows Off ML1 & Snapchat Reintroduces Consumers to Its AR Camera

The augmented reality business was all about audiences this week. Vuzix looked for an audience with the Supreme Court of New York regarding a defamation lawsuit against an investor. Magic Leap held an audience with royalty, showing off the Magic Leap One in a rare public appearance. And Snapchat wanted to remind its consumer audience of all the things its camera can do.

News: Startup YOUAR Demos Persistent, Cross-Platform AR Experiences via ARKit & ARCore

Another AR cloud candidate has emerged in YOUAR, a startup that has developed a new system that enables persistent augmented reality experiences on iPhones and Android devices.

News: Vuzix Seeks $80 Million in Defamation Lawsuit Over Unflattering Blade Smartglasses Report

Augmented reality device maker Vuzix has filed a defamation lawsuit asking for $80 million in punitive damages, money damages, and interest against a short seller who has publicly claimed that the Amazon Alexa functionality of the company's Blade smartglasses is fraudulent.

News: Try These 5 Hot New Snapchat Lenses This Weekend — Yodeling Walmart Kid, Loading Screen & More

It's Friday, April 6, and that means it's time to look at some of the hottest lenses from the past week created by Snapchat users everywhere. Some memes are evergreen, some dissolve within a week, but these lenses are blazing hot right now in snaps across the platform. If you don't want your friends laughing at your weak lens game, you've gotta try these out right now.

News: Apple iPhone X Owners Get a Trio of Super-Realistic Snapchat Lenses Aided by the TrueDepth Camera

Snapchat has released three new augmented reality Lenses that boast uber-accurate face tracking courtesy of the TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X and ARKit.

News: Pretend You're Playing Golf in The Masters Tournament with Snapchat's Latest AR Lens

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.

News: App from Japan Uses Apple's iPhone X to Transform Your Face & Voice into the Cutest Anime Character

Apple's iPhone X now has the power to turn anyone into a Japanese anime character, thanks to a new app that harnesses the device's TrueDepth camera.

News: This Augmented Reality Panda App Uses the Voice of Kristen Bell to Teach Kids About Nature

What's black and white, sounds like actress Kristen Bell, and is standing in your living room talking to your kids right now? Don't worry, that's just Genius the Panda, an augmented reality character from the Yakables app for iPhones and iPads.

News: The New Harry Potter Game Is Coming This Month — Here's Who Is Playing Your Favorite Characters

Ever since JamCity dropped the first trailer for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, fans have been eager to get their hands on the game. What Harry Potter fanatic wouldn't want to live out their own Hogwarts adventure on their iPhone or Android device? Well, we now know when the game is officially coming, as well as who will step into the shoes of our favorite, iconic Potter characters.

News: What Every Phone Gained by Adding a Notch

If bezel-less was the goal of OEMs in 2017, 2018 seems to be the year of the notch. Thanks in no small part to Apple's iPhone X, more and more smartphone manufacturers are designing their displays with this polarizing cutout. While many are frustrated with the trend, it's worth taking the time to consider what each phone gains with the unique design.

News: Artsy Claims Crown as First App to Take Advantage of ARKit's New Wall-Crawling Abilities

Less than a week after ARKit 1.5 became available to the public through the iOS 11.3 update, the App Store has its first app with AR features (Artsy) to leverage Apple's AR toolkit update.

News: Microsoft Shows Off Rare Images of Early HoloLens Prototypes

All those early prototype images Magic Leap is so fond of showing off are great, but they rank a far second when compared to a new set of images just revealed by Microsoft in relation to the HoloLens.

News: Snapchat Highlights Augmented Reality Feature in New Group Video Chat

Snapchat has added yet another social feature to its mobile app, and this one makes it possible to use augmented reality with a group of friends over video.

News: Mozilla Wants to Make Firefox Reality Your Web Browser for Augmented & Virtual Reality Headsets

Before Google Chrome entered the scene and subsequently dominated the market, Firefox trailed only Internet Explorer as the most popular web browser. Now, Mozilla has its sights set on a new opportunity to revive its browser for immersive experiences.