Next Reality Features
News: HoloLens Challenge #16 Winner Brings the Cowbell
James Ashley, Atlanta-based Microsoft MVP and author of Beginning Kinect Programming with Microsoft Kinect, has been running monthly challenges since around the release of the HoloLens Developers Kits. Each month, those of us who follow what happens in the community can look forward to seeing what creative ideas come out of these challenges. It has been a treat, to say the least, and who knows ... maybe one of us here at Next Reality even won one of these before his time here.
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: This Is What Tech Reviewers Think of the Magic Leap One After Spending Time with the Finished Product
The hype train that left the station years ago has reached its first stop, and now we finally have access to the Magic Leap One, the device many have claimed would revolutionize the augmented reality space at launch. But is that really true?
News: ARails Lets HoloLens Users Build Holographic Roller Coasters in Any Room
As people experiment with mixed reality software, we're seeing applications that cover the entire spectrum of human interest. Anything that can exist in the physical world has a place in the holographic one. And just as we enjoy building various contraptions with real parts, a new app called ARails knew we'd feel the same about digital ones.
Apple AR: Art.com & Houzz Apps Take Imaginative Approaches to Hang AR Art Until ARKit Update Arrives
One of the more obvious benefits that vertical surface detection will bring to iPhone and iPad apps with the spring 1.5 update to Apple's ARKit platform is the ability to hang virtual artwork that rests realistically on walls.
News: Google Lens Delivers AR Try-On for L'Oreal's Garnier Products at Walmart
Sure, it's the giving season, but sometimes you've just got to treat yourself to some cosmetics. If you're shopping at Walmart, L'Oreal just made that a shade easier when shopping for Garnier hair color products with an assist from Google Lens and the Modiface AR platform.
News: Apple's Latest Patent Proposes Augmented Reality Navigation for Cars via Mobile Device
With Google taking on the sidewalks with augmented reality walking navigation for Google Maps, Apple has its sights set on the road.
News: Hulu Follows Instagram's Viral Sensation with Branded 'What Should I Watch' Lens on Snapchat
The "what (blank) are you" augmented reality filters on Instagram have become so popular that more and more Hollywood giants are following the augmented reality-powered social media meme train, with the latest example coming via Snapchat.
News: Rokid Glass Offers a Fashionable Entry into AR Smartglasses Space
This year's CES seems particularly obesessed with VR, but augmented reality is offering a few surprises as well. One of those surprises arrived on Monday in the form of China's Rokid Glass.
News: Snap Shows Us the Future of AR Smartglasses Through New Styles of Spectacles 2 Camera Glasses
While they don't do augmented reality just yet, the latest styles of Snapchat's Spectacles 2 camera glasses serve as a peek into the future of how mainstream AR wearables may look.
News: Microsoft Expands Its Augmented Reality App Portfolio from HoloLens to Android & iOS
Although all signs points to Microsoft releasing a new HoloLens in the coming days, the company is nevertheless looking to distribute its augmented reality apps to other operating systems.
News: Lego's Newest Playsets Transform Normal Toys into Augmented Reality Experiences Across Platforms
Beloved toy maker Lego is returning to the realm of augmented reality, this time with an experience that explores supernatural fun.
Market Reality: Magic Leap One Says Hello, Google Tango Waves Goodbye & Honda Uses AR for CSR
Everything that has a beginning has an end. This week marked the end of the long wait for the reveal of Magic Leap's first product and the beginning of the wait for more substantive details. Likewise, Google Tango will meet its end in March 2018, when ARCore will officially begin its public rollout.
News: UK Wireless Giant Three Promos 5G for AR, VR, & Smartphones with Wild Sci-Fi Video That's Better Than Some Movies
The entire wireless industry is working overtime to convince the world that 5G, and the higher prices associated with the faster speeds it affords, will not only be worth it but will deliver never-before-seen wonders. But few companies have produced such a stunningly well-done sales job as Three, one of the leading wireless giants in the UK.
News: Freeze Tag Mimics Niantic with Garfield-ified Version of Pokémon GO
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Niantic must be blushing constantly, as numerous copies of Pokémon GO have spawned over the past year or so, seeking to capture the same success, often adding the lure of tangible prizes from brand partnerships.
News: Nreal Pushes On in Face of Magic Leap Lawsuit with SDK Launch for Nreal Light Smartglasses
In the midst of fending off legal challenges from Magic Leap and Epic Games, startup Nreal isn't retreating. Instead, the company is digging in its heels and pushing forward with its launch plan for its Nreal Light smartglasses.
Brief Reality: Augmented Reality Applied to Makeup, Medical & Sports Marketing
If it's not official by now, it really should be: if you're going to sell cosmetics, you need an augmented reality app. Of course, that's not all augmented reality is good for. It can be used to animate medical models and engage sports fans. Read on below…
News: Snapchat Ships Amazon Visual Search as Its Next Step Forward in AR Evolution
Snapchat has officially unveiled its Visual Search service for Amazon (teased a month ago), a tool the company began testing on Monday.
News: You No Longer Have to Wait to Buy a Microsoft HoloLens
Microsoft recently announced that they're producing HoloLens units fast enough to keep up with demand, which means you can acquire up to five dev kits right now—if you've got the $3,000 fee for each one.
News: New Video from Microsoft's Alex Kipman Delivers Teaser for HoloLens 2 at Mobile World Congress
If there was a version of the Doomsday Clock for counting down the release of Microsoft's HoloLens 2, then the caretakers of that imaginary clock would move the minute hand to "one minute to midnight."
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.
Hands-On: Magic Leap App Obsess Lets You Create a Fashion Store Pop-Up Nearly Anywhere
The newly enhanced focus from Magic Leap on enterprise, announced on Tuesday, also came with a few companies opting to weigh in with their experiences developing for the platform.
News: HBO Conjures More Snapchat AR Experiences to Promote 'His Dark Materials'
As far as HBO is concerned, it's not augmented reality — it's Snapchat. The premium cable network is leaning hard on Snapchat's AR magic tricks to promote yet another series, this time for the adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series of novels.
News: E-Commerce Gets an Augmented Reality Upgrade for Mobile Web Platforms from Vertebrae & Shopify
Two companies armed with web-based augmented reality tools, Vertebrae and Shopify, are ready to help online retailers boost their sales.
Brief Reality: The Future of Augmented Reality Is Now for Businesses
With the announcement of Google Glass Enterprise Edition last week, a literal behemoth entered the arena of companies serving augmented reality solutions to business customers. While Google Glass, with the backing of Alphabet, has the potential to be a disruptor, the field already has a number of players who have been in the game.
Market Reality: Microsoft's Next HoloLens Close to Arriving, Apple Prepares for Big AR Marketing Push
The hype around augmented reality has risen to a fever pitch over the past two years, and if this week's selection of business news stories are any indication, the din is about to get down right deafening.
News: Trimble & Umbra Partner to Bring Complex Imagery on the HoloLens
When developing for the HoloLens, keeping a constant 60 fps (frames per second) while making things look beautiful is a challenge. Balancing the processing power to display complex models and keeping the frame rate where it needs is just a straight up painful process, but a solution seems to be on the horizon.
News: Magic Leap Teams with Royal Shakespeare Company to Reinvent Modern Theater Productions
All the cash Magic Leap is amassing is probably going a long way toward hardware development and manufacturing, but it's also becoming increasingly clear that a large portion of that cash will be devoted to content. The latest proof is a new partnership between Magic Leap and the UK's Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
News: HoloLens Continues to Make the World Your Canvas with Inclusion of SketchAR
The app SketchAR is an easy, innovative way to trace what you want to draw onto the canvas of your choice. It was first released on iOS and Android Tango phones, but now, finally, it has been released on Microsoft's HoloLens.
Brief Reality: Industries Take a Peek at the Future of Augmented Reality
This week's Brief Reality is led by a pair of stories with an eye to the future of the augmented reality industry, first in terms of standards for the industry, then with regards to its future applications in the automotive realm. Finally, one company looks to boost its future sales with an executive hire.
News: Proof-of-Concept HoloTire App Shows How Much People Are Going to Love Shopping in Mixed Reality
We've already seen plenty of shopping potential for mixed reality headsets, from holographic car showrooms to trying on clothes and picking out furniture. Very few of those ideas have been put into actual practice, but we're getting closer, and consulting firm Valorem is making headway. They created HoloTire for the Microsoft HoloLens to demonstrate the advantage of experiencing a product in mixed reality. I'm hard-pressed to think of a more boring product to put on a holographic pedestal tha...
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: Magic Leap Takes on Musical Theater with Augmented Reality Experience Starring Vanessa Williams
Musical theater enthusiasts are about to enter a whole new world of melodic storytelling via augmented reality.
News: Wikitude 8 Gives App Developers the Ability to Create Private Micro AR Clouds
While numerous startups are competing to convert the AR Cloud from a pie-in-the-sky to a reality, Wikitude is thinking smaller with the latest edition of its augmented reality SDK.
News: Angry Birds Returns to Its Mobile Roots with 'Isle of Pigs' Augmented Reality Game
After launching its first augmented reality title for Angry Birds on the Magic Leap One, Rovio has doubled back to the platform that made its franchise famous.
News: Wacom Video Shows Off More of Magic Leap's Upcoming Design & Drawing Software Spacebridge
The collaboration between Magic Leap and Wacom, which was first announced during last year's L.E.A.P. conference is progressing rapidly.
Apple AR: Apple Acquires AR Hardware Maker to Jumpstart Its Own Headset Aspirations
Just days after we found out that Apple is working on its own augmented reality headset, we now learn that the company is accelerating its AR headset efforts with the acquisition of Montreal-based hardware maker Vrvana.
News: Niantic Opens Private Beta for AR Cloud Platform Now Called Lightship
Niantic first unveiled its AR cloud back in 2018, using it to enhance the immersive capabilities of its gaming portfolio.
News: Facebook CEO Zuckerberg Uses Latest Appearance to Triple Down on Augmented Reality & Creator Revenue-Focused Future
Facebook's annual earnings call on Wednesday didn't come with any big surprises, that is, if you took everything at face value.
News: Magic Leap Lumin OS Beta Update Delivers Map Merge Feature for Multi-User Experiences
The last few months have delivered some great new Magic Leap releases, but that doesn't mean the development team is resting on its laurels when it comes to the platform itself.