Month: April 2021

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. Now, with the pandemic continuing despite the deployment of several vaccines, the Portal portfolio is positioned to become your dedicated Zoom device as well. Don’t Miss: Hands-On: Facebook Pioneers Augmented Reality for the TV with Latest Portal HardwareOn Wednesday, Facebook updated Portal TV, the smart camera/streaming box hybrid for televisions, to support GoToMeeting and Zoom. Facebook/YouTubeThe company previously extended support for these platforms to its standalone Portal devices, which also support BlueJeans and Webex. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed that the company plans to bring support for BlueJeans and Webex to Portal TV at a later date. Zoom on Portal also supports the popular virtual backgrounds that add a spark of fun to drab video conference calls. In addition, Zoom on Portal TV brings much of the same…more

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. We’ve seen the likes of Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Ariana Grande publish Snapchat Lenses to push their new releases, while Bruno Mars and others have created augmented reality effects with Lens Studio that act as extensions of their work. Don’t Miss: How to Expand Your Available AR Effects for Your 3D Spectacles Videos In this edition of AR Snapshots, we highlight AR experiences from some of the hottest artists around… more

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. We’ve seen the likes of Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Ariana Grande publish Snapchat Lenses to push their new releases, while Bruno Mars and others have created augmented reality effects with Lens Studio that act as extensions of their work. Don’t Miss: How to Expand Your Available AR Effects for Your 3D Spectacles Videos In this edition of AR Snapshots, we highlight AR experiences from some of the hottest artists around… more

Have you ever wondered where you’d come out if you drilled to the other side of the world? Now, if you have an Android device and Chrome web browser, you can find out. On its Experiments with Google hub, Google has aggregated a collection of AR experiences built on the WebXR standard that show off the outer reaches of what is possible for web-based AR development. Don’t Miss: Google Flips the Switch on Web-Based Augmented Reality Experiences for ARCore Probably the coolest of the AR experiences in the WebXR collection is Floom, which opens a portal to the other side of the globe at your… more

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. Second, Snap also has its Partner Summit scheduled for May, and now that virtual stage is expected to include the reveal of its own smartglasses. Third, Niantic… more

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. After previewing a proof of concept of Pokémon GO running on HoloLens 2 earlier this month, Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke on Monday shared a closely-cropped photo of a pair of smartglasses emblazoned the company’s wordmark on the temple. Don’t Miss: Niantic Adapting Pikmin as Mobile AR Game in New Alliance with Nintendo”Exciting to see the progress we’re making to enable new kinds of devices that leverage our platform,” said Hanke in the tweet accompanying the image. In a subsequent tweet, Hanke name-drops work with Qualcomm on reference designs. Despite the cryptic nature of the tweets, the company has already tipped its hand regarding its efforts in smartglasses development. In 2018, Niantic made a strategic investment into waveguide display maker DigiLens, with Samsung eventually…more

Who had Lil Nas X, blood-drop Nikes, and satan worship on your 2021 bingo card? In a story that’s stranger than fiction, the “Old Town Road” rapper has ruffled some feathers with the video for his new single, “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” filled with demonic imagery usually reserved for death metal bands. Don’t Miss: Rockers Palaye Royale Conjure Creepy Immersive AR Music Video via Jadu App As if that weren’t enough, his collaboration with sneaker designer MSCHF to release “Satan Shoes” (customized Nike Air Max 97s with human blood-infused ink injected into the shoe’s air pocket) has… more

With NFTs taking the art world by storm, it’s a bit refreshing to know that you can enjoy world famous masterpieces in the comfort of your own home via augmented reality without emptying your cryptocurrency wallet. And that’s what you get with the Google Arts & Culture app, which adds three new Pocket Galleries with world-famous masterpieces, one of which emulates guided tours in real-world museums. Don’t Miss: Google Arts & Culture Drops AR Synth Exhibit That You Can Play This week, the Google Arts & Culture team introduced Pocket Galleries featuring works from the Jean Pigozi Collection… more