When it comes to the ever-shifting sands of the augmented reality space, you never know which week will end up being truly historic. Well, this one was one for the history books.
Not only did Facebook finally launch its AR-precursor smartglasses with Ray-Ban, it turns out that the courts agree with Epic Games that Apple has been unfairly tagging on high fees on App Store developers.
These are both major tectonic events in the AR space for a few reasons detailed below, but this week we also got an amazing preview of Apple's next act via an immersive AR Easter Egg, and Snapchat just added a feature that further makes AR an integral part of its social experience.
Oh, and don't forget to check out our XR industry job alerts, there might be something in there that might be right up your immersive alley...
Apple Drops Augmented Reality Surprise for Upcoming Event
We always know roughly when Apple events are coming, but when their new product events pop up, they're always a pleasant tech refresher from the Cupertino tech giant.
This time, the Apple event news comes with a special treat, another beautiful augmented reality invitation.
Read on to find out how the AR invitation works and how you can put it into your own space just days ahead of the big Apple event...
REALITY BITES: The CEO of Vuzix, Paul Travers (a member of the NR30), will join a live "fireside chat" during the Citi 2021 Global Technology Conference on September 15. The chat kicks off at 8:50 a.m. ET and you can join in via the Vuzix website to see what the man behind the enterprise AR wearable called the Vuzix Blade has to say about the state of the AR industry.
Snapchat Adds Another Powerful Social Media AR Feature
The art of creating Snapchat Lenses is really only the beginning of the augmented reality experience on the social media platform.
The real interactive fun begins when people begin to use the Lenses in deeply personal ways. One of those personal instances just became easier with the launch of the Birthdays Mini.
Continue reading to discover how the new addition to Snapchat works and why it's important to the platform's ongoing augmented reality development...
JOB ALERTS: The University of Texas at Austin is hiring a Program Manager for its Texas Immersive Institute. Facebook is hiring a Business Development Manager for Horizon, its VR social network. PTC is hiring a Product Manager for augmented reality. The position starts at $125,000 and involves working with the Vuforia platform.
Facebook & Ray-Ban's Stories Smartglasses Mount Challenge to Snap's Spectacles
Just hours after an early leak via Twitter, Facebook and Ray-Ban have officially released their new wearable collaboration.
As we surmised, based on the leaked packaging, the device is called Stories.
Keep reading to learn how the new smartglasses wearable works, what features are contained in the new device, how much it costs, and which countries it will be available in to start...
REALITY BITES: Actor Joe Manganiello, known for his roles in True Blood and the Spider-Man movie franchise, took to Twitter to announce his involvement in a new augmented reality tabletop game experience developed by Mirrorscape, a team comprised of Hollywood and Silicon Valley veterans. "The augmented reality tabletop is here," said Manganiello. "Full builds right in your pocket. Play locally or remote. Mirrorscape's ARcana is putting the tabletop back in tabletop gaming." The game will be partially funded via a Kickstarter set to launch soon.
Apple Suffers Crippling Legal Blow That Could Benefit the Mobile AR Market
The fight to wrest control of apps from Apple's revenue-focused grip just took a major turn in favor of Epic Games.
On Friday, a court issued a permanent injunction against Apple that now allows developers to direct customers to outside payment systems.
Read on to find out how and why this massive change to Apple's App Store ecosystem completely changes the mobile augmented reality app game...
Every Friday, Next Reality reviews the latest headlines from the financial side of augmented and mixed reality. This weekly Market Reality column covers funding announcements, mergers and acquisitions, market analysis, and the like. Check out previous editions of Market Reality for more news you may have missed.
Just updated your iPhone to iOS 18? You'll find a ton of hot new features for some of your most-used Apple apps. Dive in and see for yourself:
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