Developers and enterprise customers chomping at the bit to get their hands on HoloLens 2 may not have to wait much longer, as Microsoft passed one of the remaining hurdles needed to release their new tech into the wild.
But Microsoft isn't the only tech giant with new augmented reality hardware shipping soon, as Samsung announced its latest generation devices in the Galaxy Note series, including the Galaxy Note 10+, which packs a depth camera for advanced AR apps.
While Magic Leap doesn't have any official new hardware to sell at the moment, the company did mark the anniversary of the launch of its flagship device, Magic Leap One, this week. So what better time than now to try out some of the possibly overlooked spatial computing apps available on the device? And even the little guys are preparing to launch their own AR hardware, as Tilt Five revealed a timeline for the release of its AR gaming headset this week.
HoloLens 2 Passes Through the FCC, Hints at Imminent Release
We know that Microsoft's HoloLens 2 is due to start shipping later this year, but despite the trickle of news about the device, we still don't know when.
Now, a new set of documents on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website confirms we probably won't have too much longer to wait.
Continue reading for more details from the FCC filing and what it means about the imminent release of HoloLens 2...
REALITY BITES: On Monday, Snapchat parent company Snap announced that it will offer $1 billion in convertible senior notes to private investing institutions. The company noted that it will use the cash to cover capital expenditures and operating expenses, as well as potential acquisitions. Given the company's emphasis on AR, could this mean the acquisition of a smartglasses maker is on the horizon?
Samsung Adds Depth Camera to Galaxy Note 10+ for AR Capabilities
The mobile augmented reality war for dominance between Apple and its Asia-based rivals is in full effect.
On Wednesday, Samsung continued the pattern it established with the Galaxy S10 4G smartphone by adding adding a depth-sensing camera to the new Galaxy Note 10+, which gives the device with some interesting augmented reality superpowers.
Samsung unveiled both the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ at its customary launch event for the product line, with the Note 10 packing three rear-facing cameras (16MP ultra wide, 12MP wide-angle, and 12MP telephoto) but the Note 10+ also adds a fourth camera, a VGA sensor dubbed the DepthVision Camera, for sensing depth.
Read further to learn more about the DepthVision Camera and the AR experiences it will facilitate on Galaxy Note 10+...
REALITY BITES: An interesting side note to Samsung's unveiling of the new Galaxy Note series is a strategic partnership with Microsoft to deliver unified computing experiences between mobile devices. Suddenly, a Galaxy Note 10+ with 3D scanning capabilities becomes an interesting possible companion for HoloLens 2 for enterprise customers.
Commemorate Magic Leap One's First Birthday with Some New Apps
Whenever the name Magic Leap comes up, the talk inevitably seems to turn to the company's big-name backers and "unicorn-level" amounts of cash poured into the venture. And if it's not that, observers tend to focus on the company's market strategy and overall prospects.
These are all important discussion points, but amid all the analysis and futurecasting, one thing about the Magic Leap One seems to get overlooked a little too often: It's actually fun to use!
You may know some of the major titles that bear this fact out, some of which require a larger space to be effective, and others which lend themselves to very specific use cases. Continue reading for more on a few of those Magic Leap One apps that you might not have had a chance to try, but should...
REALITY BITES: Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz marked the one-year anniversary of Magic Leap One's launch with celebratory tweet followed by a blog post recapping the company's milestones with the headset's Lumin OS, the apps published for it, and more. Meanwhile, AT&T is shifting its focus to business apps for its next Magic Leap hackathon, taking place Sept. 27-29 in Plano, Texas.
Tilt Five Launching via Kickstarter in September
Augmented reality gaming startup Tilt Five is ready to reinvent old school Dungeons & Dragons-style games for the modern age with its augmented reality headset and tabletop game system.
The company showed off the gaming headset, along with the wand controller and game mat that complete the system, at tabletop gaming convention Gen Con 2019 in Indianapolis last week. During the conference, Jeri Ellsworth, the co-founder and CEO of Tilt Five, also disclosed that the company is planning to launch a crowdfunding campaign in September, with the first products shipping in December and a wider rollout of the product over the first two quarters of 2020.
Learn more about what Tilt Five will do, how much it will cost, and how it stands up against its competitors in immersive gaming...
REALITY BITES: What's in a name? In AR, it depends on who you are. Google has just changed the name of the consumer-facing app for ARCore to Google Play Services for AR. Despite the change, Google will still refer to the software developers toolkit as ARCore. But that's not all. As Google Maps AR walking directions moves out of alpha into beta, the feature has been given a new name: Live View.
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.
Cover image via Microsoft/YouTube
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