Next Reality Features
Market Reality: Magic Leap & AT&T Surge Forward with Consumers, Apple Staffs Up for AR, & Microsoft Hits the Battlefield
Just when we thought the AT&T partnership with Magic Leap wouldn't really take off until the latter launched a true consumer edition of the Magic Leap One, the dynamic duo jumped into action this week to offer the current generation headset to customers.
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.
Apple AR: Edmunds Previews Parking Fit for Car Customers with ARKit App
IKEA can help customers determine if a couch fits in their living room, but who is going to help them figure out if their new SUV will fit in the garage?
Apple AR: Room Racer Revs Its Augmented Reality Engines on iPhones
The old school staple of many US homes with children, the remote control race track, has been given new life in augmented reality thanks to the Room Racer app for iPhones and iPads.
Market Reality: Unity Leads the NR30 AR Software Segment, Magic Leap & Microsoft Pursue Military Partners
Continuing our NR30 series this week, we focused on the leaders of the software development industry that make augmented reality experiences possible. In other news, two of the current leaders in making AR headsets, Microsoft and Magic Leap, are pursuing multiple verticals with their products, as both now appear to be interested in making AR headsets for the military.
News: The Amazing Secret Santa Gifts Meta Employees Exchanged in AR Over the Holiday
What do you get a co-worker for Christmas, Hannukah, or Kwanzaa when he or she already has a Meta 2 headset?
News: Snap Highlights Augmented Reality's Role in Favorable 2017 Results & Optimistic 2018 Plans
After closing its 2017 financial books on a high note, Snap, Inc. is planning to ride the momentum of its augmented reality products into the new year. That's the main takeaway following the company's 2017 earnings conference call, which was held on Tuesday.
News: Magic Leap & Andy Serkis Reveal Lord of the Rings-Inspired Character for Upcoming AR Experience
We already know that Magic Leap is working with Hollywood motion capture legend Andy Serkis on a new immersive content experience but, so far, all we've heard are descriptions of the work. Well, now the mystery is over, and the character of Grishneck, who Magic Leap mentioned just last month, has finally been revealed.
News: After 7 Years, Google Abandons Individual Glass Owners Who Spent $1,500 to Join Its Early Wearables Experiment
Did Google CEO Sundar Pichai kill Google Glass for non-enterprise users? That's the obvious first question following news that non-enterprise Glass users will no longer have access to Google's core apps after February 2020.
News: Asics Brings Its Sneaker Magic to the 3D World via NFT Auction
Some tried to call it a brief cryptocurrency-fueled fad, but it looks like NFTs are here to stay. Now, one of the biggest sneaker companies on the planet, Japan's Asics, is getting into the game with its own set of NFTs, and there's a virtual object component included.
News: Meet & Compete Against Team USA via USA Today's Augmented Reality Experience for FIFA Women's World Cup
After winning the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the USA Women's National Soccer Team is ready to defend its title in the 2019 tournament.
News: Onshape Partners with Magic Leap to Bring Its Collaborative Industrial 3D Design Tool to AR
Departing from the long string of entertainment-focused partnerships released in recent weeks and months, a new, enterprise-focused Magic Leap app has finally emerged in the form of Onshape.
News: Google Challenges Apple's iPhone X Series with Face Unlock & Air Gestures on Pixel 4
It's been almost two years since Apple added the TrueDepth depth-sensing camera of the iPhone X for Face ID and Animojis, but now Google is ready to upgrade the front-facing camera on its Pixel series.
News: AR Cloud Startup Ubiquity6 Gobbled Up by Discord
The herd of augmented reality cloud startups that emerged in 2018 have been hunted to near extinction, with Google-backed Ubiquity6 the latest to move from an independent entity to a wholly-owned asset.
News: Magic Leap's Latest Lumin OS & SDK Releases Focus on Features for Enterprise Customers
A year and change into its shift towards enterprise customers, Magic Leap has updated Lumin OS and the corresponding Lumin SDK with some key prerequisites for the business sector.
Apple AR: MakeSpace's iPhone App Takes the Soul-Crushing Boredom Out of Storage Planning
In many ways, the latest version of the MakeSpace iPhone app, now updated with ARKit, makes it the bizarro world IKEA Place; instead of measuring your living space for new furniture, it measures your furniture so you can move it into storage.
News: Funomena's Interactive 'Luna' Sequel Sprouts in Augmented Reality for Magic Leap One
Magic Leap continues to launch new AR apps on its fledging app store before the door closes on 2018, and this time the app is a sequel from a veteran VR developer and early Magic Leap development partner.
News: Ultraleap Improves Tracking of Two-Handed Interactions with Gemini Software Update
Hand tracking is a key component in making natural interactions with augmented reality content, and one of the leading technology makers in this discipline has just improved on its tracking engine.
News: Facebook Focuses on Shared AR Experiences Over Video via Spark AR
After introducing a pair of new Spark AR capabilities last week, Facebook had one more trick up its sleeve to unveil at its virtual F8 Refresh developer conference.
News: New Lenovo Phone Augments Reality from the Palm of Your Hand
Lenovo is teaming up with Google to debut the first Project Tango smartphone, which uses 3D sensors to map the world around it. The Tango phone will be able to give directions without the need for GPS, and it can augment reality to bring things like dinosaurs and cars into your environment.
News: Nreal Forms Alliance with Wireless Giant China Unicom to Demo Smartglasses in Retail Stores
Suddenly, Magic Leap's lawsuit against Nreal, as well as its barrier to entry in the Chinese market, appears to be as insurmountable as The Great Wall itself.
News: Snapchat's Body Tracking AR Tech Lends Hand for Organ Donation Education
Sure, Snapchat AR Lenses can be fun, but they can help communicate complex issues as well. While our Facebook news feeds were filled with references to 311 Day, March 11 is also World Kidney Day, the United Kingdom's National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) used the occasion to educate its constituents about organ donation.
News: Facebook Chief Mark Zuckerberg Talks Immersive Remote Video & AR Smartglasses Following Major Reveals from Snap & Google
The last few weeks were fairly busy in the realm of augmented reality and remote meetings developments. Most of that activity was generated by some mammoth announcements from Snap and its Spectacles AR smartglasses, and Google, with its Project Starline experimental holographic video conferencing system.
News: VR in the OR—Watch Live Surgery on April 14th in 360 Degrees
If you've ever wanted to be right in the thick of an operating room, you're about to get your chance. On Thursday, April 14th, you'll be able to watch a VR live stream of a tumor removal surgery. With their 360-degree camera, you'll be able to see the entire operating table and its surroundings.
Market Reality: Magic Leap vs. Nreal Lawsuit Update, Disney & Target Do AR Marketing, Sotheby's Comes to Magic Leap One
Magic Leap's legal battle against Nreal has taken an intriguing turn this week, as Magic Leap set a date to discuss the matter with Nreal. But a new partnership struck by Nreal adds another wrinkle to the duel between the two AR wearable makers.
Brief Reality: Mobile AR Apps Help Save Rhinos (& Sell Stuff)
Mobile apps themselves are not always the end product or service for generating revenue. More often, they are deployed as tactics within a larger marketing or public relations strategy.
News: Scope AR Adds Session Recording to Its Enterprise Augmented Reality Platform
With a fresh infusion of $9.7 Million in funding on its ledger, enterprise augmented reality company Scope AR has now expanded the functionality of its WorkLink platform.
News: DAQRI Hires Xbox Creator to Accelerate AR Development
Augmented reality upstart DAQRI announced today that it has strengthened their in-house talent by recruiting renowned physicist Seamus Blackley and acquiring a team of 15 engineers and scientists from Heat Engine, LLC.
News: Next Edition of Qualcomm Spectra ISP Brings Features to Support AR
Chipmaker Qualcomm introduced the second generation of its Qualcomm Spectra image signal processor (ISP), which has gained capabilities that will enable smartphones to facilitate augmented reality apps.
Market Reality: Olympics AR Content on Instagram & Google, Facebook's Metaverse, & Snapchat's Magic Karaoke
Over the past week, practically every major tech company working on augmented reality has held their quarterly earnings calls with investors, and each addressed or at least mentioned the role of AR during their prepared remarks. However, Facebook's earnings call had some of the spicier commentary on the technology.
News: Magic Leap Teams with Sennheiser to Deliver High-End Spatial Audio for Augmented Reality
One of the best aspects of the Magic Leap One is the spatial audio, a feature that enhances the overall sense of immersion when interacting with virtual objects and content through the device. Now the company is aiming to boost the quality of that component by partnering with one of the leading names in high-quality audio.
Market Reality: Meta Comes Clean on Crash, Microsoft Prepares HoloLens 2, & Niantic Captures Another Funding Round
Despite its status as a hot commodity amongst emerging technologies, the augmented reality industry is not immune to the ebbs and flows that occur in every industry.
News: Reputable Analyst Predicts Apple's AR Ambitions Are Heading to Cars
Google and Microsoft have both established platforms and hardware for emerging digital realities, but Apple, true to form, hasn't had much to say on the subject. They've shown interest in augmented reality, and we've seen patent filings that indicate research and development, but a recent rumor points to that research ending up in your car instead of a rose gold headset.
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: Magic Leap Founder Launches the Company He 'Really' Wanted to Start, a Film & Music Studio with Virtual Artists
The company augmented reality that Rony Abovitz was trying to build at Magic Leap apparently wasn't working out the way he hoped it would. That company, built on dreams, music, and future-looking entertainment, rather than truly new technology, came with a $2,300 price tag for a device using dynamics most mainstream consumers have never even tried.
News: HTC Vive Project Proton Concept Devices Offer Potential Future High-End & Mobile AR Wearable Options
Part of the fallout from the canceled Mobile World Congress is that a range of products, ideas, and designs slated for reveal in Barcelona are now being showcased without the framing and context of the massive tech gathering.
News: Microsoft Brings Chromium-Based Edge Browser, Swipe to Type & More to HoloLens via Windows Holographic Update
Since its launch two years ago, the HoloLens 2 has been the best AR headset available, and nothing has come close to touching it since.
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: Epson Adds Biometric Authentication from Redrock to Its Smartglasses
Users of Epson's smartglasses can now tell their devices to "talk to the hand" when it comes to passwords and authentication.
Market Reality: Google Takes on Leap Motion, Snap Spectacles Invade NYC, & Vuzix Starts Selling Mainstream Smartglasses
All of the the tech industry giants, including Apple, Facebook, and Google, are working on new smartglasses and/or AR headsets, but this week, Google took a major step forward with gesture recognition technology that could make its way into AR wearables, posing a threat to Leap Motion and its hand-tracking controllers.