Next Reality Features

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: HBO 'Watchmen' Promo Rains Dead Squid Down on LA & New York via Augmented Reality Ad

Bus stops can provide shelter in the event of rain, and now they also protect you from augmented reality squid.

Opinion: Facebook's Big Smartglasses Mistake—Not Pairing Ray-Ban with Instagram Instead

One of the best recent outings in the Marvel universe is the animated series What If...?, which explores alternate universe takes on various superhero storylines that deliver fascinating scenarios if one single factor had been different in the story.

News: Campfire AR Headset Emerges from Stealth to Offer 3D Collaborations for Enterprise & Design Teams

The augmented reality space is no longer about if but when every company and creator will use some kind of immersive device and software to produce and distribute 3D content.

Hands-On: Occipital's Bridge Headset for iPhones Has Magical Spatial Mapping Abilities

In the tech world, when you're a small startup going up against the Goliaths and their massive marketing budgets, you're forced to find and produce something almost magical to help your product stand apart from the rest. And that's exactly what Occipital Inc. has done with their Bridge headset.

News: US Army Outfits Soldiers with Augmented Reality Headsets

Modern warfare takes on a more literal translation with the advent of new augmented reality displays revealed recently by the US Army to improve soldiers' situational awareness on the battlefield.

Apple AR: Virtual Dog Demo by Ridgeline Could Be the New Tamagotchi

This demo made with Apple's ARKit is 13/10 and features a very good boy. Since the ARKit was announced, there have been rumors going around about what it could mean for pet lovers who want to see augmented reality dogs. The popular Twitter We Rate Dogs has created a Good Dogs Game app that lets you have a your own virtual dog, but now Ridgeline Labs have also entered the arena with an ARKit dog game of their own, and it's the best thing I've ever seen.

News: Facebook Brings Its AR Camera Effects to Instagram & Messenger Apps

On Tuesday, on the one-year anniversary of the announcement of its AR Camera platform, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerburg revealed at the company's F8 developers conference that the platform will be extended to the company's Instagram and Messenger apps.

News: Hong Kong Startup's Am Glass Wearable Offers Powerful Augmented Reality Smartglasses Alternative to Nreal Light

We've been predicting the rush of augmented reality wearable makers from China for a couple of years, and now it looks like it's in full swing, with one of the most promising entrants coming from startup Pacific Future.

News: View the Lands You'll Conquer in 'God of War' with Mimir's Vision AR App

With the heavily anticipated installment of the God of War game series arriving on April 20, PlayStation has taken the opportunity to make its first foray into mobile augmented reality with a companion app.

News: Netflix Film 'Anon' Paints Dystopian View of Augmented Reality That Obliterates Privacy

Augmented reality is expected to eventually change everything, and the prevailing view is that those changes will be for the better. The converse view, however, is that the technology will further erode privacy.

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: Microsoft Wants to Make HoloLens the Future of Education

In a video released Tuesday, Microsoft arguably began to position the HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality as the future of education. A smart tactic meant to coincide with their other education-related announcements made on the same day.

News: Startup Illumix Brings Mobile Horror Franchise Five Nights at Freddy's into Augmented Reality Gaming

A little over a year after emerging from stealth, augmented reality gaming startup Illumix has launched its first title using a familiar formula, but with a new twist.

News: Magic Leap Achieves Full Hand Tracking & Lays Foundation for Magicverse with Latest Lumin Update

After improving hand-tracking and adding multi-user sharing features in the last Lumin OS update, Magic Leap has upped the ante yet again.

News: L'Oreal Acquires Leading Augmented Reality Makeup Provider ModiFace

The cosmetics industry faced a rude awakening on Friday as beauty behemoth L'Oréal gobbled up ModiFace, one of the leading providers of augmented reality technology to the cosmetics industry (price details for the acquisition were not disclosed).

News: Microsoft's Windows Holographic Is Breaking Free from the HoloLens

Not content with bringing the first untethered mixed reality headset to market, Microsoft wants to expand their Windows Holographic operating system beyond HoloLens into vastly more robust technologies.

News: NFL Fans Can Paint Their Faces in AR Without Looking Like Complete Maniacs

The bandwagon for NFL teams using augmented reality to engage fans isn't exactly full, but it is starting to get a bit crowded.

Apple AR: You Can Now Play an Augmented Reality Version of Super Mario with ARKit

A few months ago, a video went viral of a boy playing Super Mario Bros. in the middle of Central Park using augmented reality and the HoloLens.

News: This Creepy Holographic AI Concierge Could Be Following You Around Hotels Soon

Back to the Future Part II missed wildly on many technological advances for the year 2015, such as flying cars and rehydration ovens. However, it connected on several predictions, such as video calling and biometric security, and it was in the ballpark (pun intended) on others, such as the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series.

News: Facebook Adds Image Tracking Effects & Slider Controls to Spark AR for Instagram

After opening up its Spark AR platform on Instagram for all creators, Facebook is already expanding the platform's capabilities on its Snapchat killer.

News: Microsoft Video Shows Off BAE Systems' HoloLens-Powered Manufacturing Training Solution

While some in the augmented reality space are tweeting about future amazing immersive experiences and others are showing off cool experiments, Microsoft continues to move forward with tangible business solutions right now that show how the HoloLens can improve business.

News: The Ultimate Magic Leap One Unboxing, Every Part, Every Logo, & One Very Special Surprise Treat

We've seen all the Magic Leap One glamour shots, and we've even shown you a bit of what it looks like to view augmented reality on the device. But there's something else us super geeks appreciate more than anyone else: the grand unboxing!

News: Airbus Partners with Microsoft to Begin Selling HoloLens 2 Software After Successful AR Pilot Program

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is so impressed with the boost in productivity it has gained from Microsoft's HoloLens, the company will begin offering augmented reality software to its customers.

News: Mercedes-Benz Gives the Auto Manual a Virtual Boost with Augmented Reality

The same approach to augmented reality that some companies use to improve workforce productivity could also make it easier for car owners to operate and maintain their vehicles.

News: Your Banking App Could Soon Help You Locate the Nearest ATM in AR

A potentially groundbreaking new app targeting retail financial services hopes to bring augmented reality to your local bank and credit union.

News: Five Windows Holographic Mixed Reality Headsets Have Now Been Seen, but Most Have Not Been Touched

Some of the products I have been looking forward to seeing the most during CES 2017 has been the upcoming Windows Holographic virtual reality headsets. These are VR headset that will run a version of the Windows Holographic platform, which will allow users to have a similar experience as the HoloLens with a mixed reality environment. Of the six headsets that could have possibly made it to CES, five had shown up. Unfortunately, most of them are behind glass.

News: Here's How Helicopter Pilots Can Use Augmented Reality to Fly Safer

While flying isn't easy, once an airplane gets into the clouds there isn't a whole lot to worry about—most of the work happens during takeoff and landing. Helicopter pilots, on the other hand, have a lot of dangerous obstacles (like power lines and buildings) to contend with. But, once again, augmented reality can save the day.

News: Capital One Introduces AR Features to Ease the Car-Buying Experience

If you're playing word association with the terms "augmented reality" and "automobiles," your first thoughts probably center on navigation displays in cars or virtual models of exotic vehicles.

News: L'Oréal Brings Its Modiface AR Makeup Platform to Facebook Camera

Already one of the leaders in augmented reality for cosmetics, L'Oréal is extending the reach of its ModiFace virtual try-on platform through a partnership with Facebook.

News: HoloTube Brings YouTube to the HoloLens, but It Needs to Be Way Better

HoloTube, a new unofficial YouTube app for the Microsoft HoloLens, brings a whole bunch of new content to the mixed reality headset. While it's nice to have, the experience feels focused on quantity, not quality. HoloTube has a simple interface most people will recognize. You get a page of video categories, and as you drill down through each option you're presented with videos to watch. You can view regular, flat videos on the wall (or wherever you like)—which has its merits.

News: Holographic Fitting Rooms Are Here with HoloLens & Pictofit

If you've been longing since the '90s for the total Clueless experience of virtually trying on clothes, you missed out by not attending London Fashion Week earlier this year.

News: Domino's Australia Serves Up Virtual Previews of Your Pizza Order in Augmented Reality

If you're hungry for pizza and ordering from Domino's in Australia, you can now see what your pie will look like in augmented reality before placing your order.

News: Microsoft's Alex Kipman Confirms HoloLens Consumer AR Smartglasses Being Developed & Describes How It Can Happen

The story of the HoloLens has been a mix of work and play. But while many developers have devoted time to creating gaming and entertainment apps for the HoloLens 1, with the HoloLens 2, Microsoft has been encouraging everyone to focus more on the enterprise side of things.

News: Coachella Partnered with Camera IQ to Alter Your Festival Experience with Hidden AR Easter Egg Hunts & More

Any stoked Coachella-goers out there? Well, get even more excited, because the celebrated music festival has partnered with virtual reality company vantage.tv and software platform Camera IQ this year to take the Coachella VR/AR app to augmented reality paradise.

News: Aircraft Explorer on the HoloLens Takes You Inside a 3D Model Airplane

Sure, sites like SeatGuru can show you which seats are the best—but in a 2D graphical form that doesn't really show you what the plane actually looks like inside and out. Aircraft Explorer contains 3D models you can peer inside of to check out what the next plane you catch will actually look like.

News: LG Enhances South Korean TV Sets with Shoppable Augmented Reality Ads

Best known for its mobile phones and television sets, South Korea's LG has had a quieter presence in the US compared to the country's homegrown efforts.

News: Budget Airline easyJet Packs Augmented Reality Luggage Checking Feature into Its Mobile App

Mobile app publishers are using augmented reality to solve everyday measurement problems from measuring the length or height of items to previewing furniture in the home.

News: ABC News Elects to Add AR to Midterm Election Coverage

Election Day is like the Super Bowl for network and cable TV news, so ABC News is breaking out the big guns with a new augmented reality experience to win over eyeballs of viewers.

News: Augmented Reality Can Make Good-for-You Food Look More Attractive, Making It Easier to Eat Well

Augmented reality seems to be the talk of the town lately, with everything from glasses to furniture stores prepping to implement exciting, new AR technology. Well now, it looks like even our food is getting a makeover for the augmented reality future.