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Market Reality: Apple Funds AR, Campfire Headset Plans Revealed, Marvel Adds AR to NBA, & Star Wars Day Snapchat Lenses
Apple has a sterling reputation when it comes to managing its supply chain; it's where CEO Tim Cook proved his mettle to succeed Steve Jobs. Now, the company has made a strategic investment with a supplier that will be crucial to its future plans for AR wearables.
News: Campfire CEO Jay Wright on How He Plans to Use AR to Transform How We Work & Collaborate
The mission to rise above the fray to become a leading player in the augmented reality business is a moving target that depends on innovation, resources, and timing.
News: Japan-Based Developer Unleashes Giant AR Gundam Robot on the Public via HoloLens 2
The future of the HoloLens 2, according to Microsoft, is all about enterprise use cases. But that doesn't mean some of the more creative-minded HoloLens developers won't bend the top-tier augmented reality device to their own designs. The latest example of this trend comes from Japan.
News: Apple Secures Supply Chain for AR Hardware with $410 Million Investment into Optical Manufacturer II-VI
As Apple prepares to potentially introduce its (mostly) secretive AR headset for possible introduction later this year and launch next year, the company has made a strategic investment to ensure its supply chain can support it.
News: Marvel Heroes Invade ESPN's NBA Broadcast of Warriors vs. Pelicans Game via AR
Two brands with affinities for augmented reality, Marvel and the NBA, joined forces to inject some AR superpowers into Monday night's matchup of the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans.
AR Snapshots: Celebrate May the Fourth Be with You Day with These Star Wars Snapchat AR Lenses
Thanks to the grandest of puns, May the 4th is Star Wars Day. And what better way to pay tribute to the space opera than with the augmented reality superpowers of Snapchat.
Market Reality: Apple's AR Spaces, Facebook's AR Future, Snap's 3D Acquisition & Campfire AR Headset Launch
There's already some fierce competition between Snap and Facebook in the AR space, but it's about to heat up even more, with Snap snatching up a 3D mapping startup that could add some new AR capabilities to its arsenal.
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: Adidas & Tooz Reveal More About AR Smartglasses Partnership
The progress Tooz has been making in the smartglasses space has been mostly kept under wraps, but the company is slowly giving us a deeper look at what it has in store for smartglasses wearers.
News: Apple's AR Spaces in Updated Clips App Uses iPhone & iPad LiDAR to Give You New AR Video Powers
Ever since the debut of the LiDAR Scanner in the latest batch of Apple's iPhones and iPads, the questions have swirled as to how this would benefit augmented reality interactions.
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.
News: Snap's Acquisition of 3D Mapping Startup Signals Move to Build AR Cloud
The concept of Metaverse, otherwise referred to as AR cloud, where a digital twin of the real world filled with virtual content anchored persistently for all to see, has been a sci-fi dream of futurists for years and an aim for most tech companies who are serious about AR.
News: Zoom Unveils Immersive Feature That Puts Multiple People in a Single Virtual Room
The era of virtual meetings has been evolving every few months, with augmented reality filters leading the charge in changing the way we interact when chatting via video streams.
News: UFC Lets You Pick the Winners in AR via Snapchat Lens
As the sports world slowly gets back to normal while observing pandemic protocols, fans are once again being folded into the mix in innovative ways.
Market Reality: Facebook Execs on AR Future, Amazon AR Beauty Salons, Samsung AR Launch & the Best Snapchat AR Lenses
As a company, Facebook is not shy about talking up its AR smartglasses plans. The latest missive comes from two executives in charge of developing AR software and hardware.
News: Google Gains Ground in Remote Video Race with Virtual Video Backgrounds in Google Meet
As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, so, too, does the demand for video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet.
News: This Is the Secret AR App Powering Amazon's New Entry into the Beauty Salon Business
The march of Amazon to insert itself into nearly every retail arena continues with the e-commerce giant's latest move to launch its own brick-and-mortar beauty salons.
AR Snapshots: Live Out Your Sci-Fi Dreams with Iron Man Suits & Lightsabers in Snapchat
Snap introduced some fantastic new augmented reality abilities in version 3.4 of Lens Studio, the company's tool that allows anyone to create AR lenses for the Snapchat app. The newest features include improved hand tracking and full-body segmentation.
News: Facebook Reality Labs Chief Teases AR Coming to Oculus Quest Gaming, Delves into Future Smartglasses Hardware
The development of virtual reality at Facebook has been evolving lightspeed in the last few years. But while a relatively small group of VR enthusiasts and gamers are enjoying the social media giant's dedication to immersive headsets, it is the augmented reality space and its potential scale that truly has the tech market enthralled.
Market Reality: Epic Games $1 Billion Raise, Apple AR Surprise, Deutsche Telekom Smartglasses & HoloLens Helps Intel
The Metaverse, or AR cloud, has been a sci-fi dream for decades, but only recently have companies begun to actually develop the technology to build it. With its latest funding round, Epic Games is suddenly a front-runner in this pursuit.
News: Google Signals Smartglasses Ramp Up via Job Postings for Waveguides & Other AR Disciplines
For better or for worse, Google started the race towards smartglasses for everyday use with Google Glass before scrapping the Explorer Edition and pivoting towards enterprise customers.
News: ReplayAR App Preserves Hollywood's Most Beloved Movie Theater Using Augmented Reality
The pandemic has forced a number of public-facing businesses to either temporarily close or permanently cease operations, with one of the biggest victims of this trend being the movie theater business.
News: Deutsche Telekom Opens Early Access to Tooz Smartglasses via Dev Kit
If you're a developer working on the bleeding edge of augmented reality, or even an enthusiastic smartglasses early adopter, being first in line for new wearable hardware is a priority.
News: BMW Opens Augmented Reality Showroom for Plug-In Hybrids on the Web via 8th Wall
At its height, the COVID-19 pandemic forced many auto showrooms to close their doors. As the pandemic persists, many consumers are still hesitant to let their socially distanced guard down.
News: Investors Bet $1 Billion on Epic Games to Build the Metaverse
Over the past three years, Epic Games has raised billions of dollars in funding on the success of Fortnite as well as Unreal Engine, one of the top 3D engines available for developing games and AR experiences.
News: Apple Hides Augmented Reality Surprise in Invite for Next Big Event
Apple's augmented reality teases just keep on coming from the halls of its Cupertino labs. The latest comes in the form of an invitation to Apple's next public-facing event.
News: Snap Teams with LACMA & LA Artists to Launch Location-Based AR Art Monuments Around the City
When most people think of Los Angeles they think of Hollywood and the movie industry, but in the last 10 years the city has rapidly transformed into a thriving new hub for visual artists.
News: Airstream Lets You Take a Road Trip in Its Latest Trailer via Augmented Reality
The year 2020 sparked a trend of people moving out of big cities, with some opting to buy mobile homes and vans to travel rather than be cooped up in a tiny apartment during quarantine.
Market Reality: Google Pushes Web AR, Lil Nas X Goes Immersive, Coinbase & Ray-Ban Snapchat into AR Marketing
This week, Google showed off some wild new and innovative AR experiences that showcase the WebXR protocol for browser-based AR content, while 8th Wall applied its own web-based AR platform in service of Captain Morgan.
AR Snapshots: Snapchat Pumps Out Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift & the Beatles
Snapchat and its augmented reality capabilities have become a haven for music artists seeking to promote their new albums or simply amplify their art with immersive experiences.
News: Facebook Portal TV Evolves as Remote Work Device with Zoom & GoToMeeting Support
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook enjoyed a boost in sales of Portal, its smart video cameras with AR effects, as social distancing became the norm.
Market Reality: Apple AR Headset Event in the Works, Snap & Niantic Have Their Own Smartglasses Plans
The race for the future of AR wearables gained steam this week with several pivotal developments. First, Apple, the subject of numerous reports and rumors regarding its purported AR headset, is reportedly eyeing an in-person unveiling of the device for later this year, rather than introduce it at its upcoming virtual Worldwide Developers Conference, which would usually be as good a time as any to make a big AR hardware announcement.
News: Apple Planning In-Person AR Wearable Device Launch In Coming Months, Report Says
The Apple rumor drumbeat is getting louder: a wearable augmented reality device is almost certainly coming, very soon.
News: Next Snap Spectacles Expected to Include AR Displays, Report Says
Snapchat parent company Snap may finally be taking the big step into the fully-functioning augmented reality wearables realm with the next iteration of its Spectacles devices.
News: Apple Reveals Dates for Online-Only WWDC Event
Even as the world continues to grapple with the pandemic, the tech industry continues to chug along, with some looking for ways to present new products, and in some cases continue major conferences that reveal the latest in augmented reality developments.
News: Niantic Teases Smartglasses Running Its Popular AR Apps
Mobile augmented reality gaming pioneer Niantic is chomping at the bit to get games like Pokémon GO out of smartphones and onto smartglasses, and it appears to be taking matters into its own hands.
Market Reality: Microsoft Reveals More Mesh Details, Nintendo Taps Niantic for AR Games & Ricoh Prepares 3D Display
Microsoft believes its Mesh platform can help developers build immersive AR apps more easily. We spoke with a member of the Microsoft team to learn more about the platform.
News: Ricoh Previews 360-Degree Holographic Display Prototype, Plans to Ship by 2022
With non-fungible tokens (NFTs), particularly those that are 3D in nature, holographic displays are becoming more indispensable for those looking to show off their valuable works of art.
News: Niantic Adapting Pikmin as Mobile AR Game in New Alliance with Nintendo
Two of the three entities behind Pokemon GO, the reigning champion in mobile augmented reality gaming, are joining forces again to see if lightning can strike more than once.
Market Reality: NFT & AR Converge with Atari, MF Doom & Virtual Homes, Plus Samsung Partners with Snapchat
Snapchat may trail Facebook and Instagram in terms of daily active users, but a new partnership with Samsung may get those innovative AR Lenses onto the mobile devices of a lot more users.