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The Chromecast TV streaming lineup from Google is one of the more popular products in the category, primarily due to its low price tag and broad app support. With more than 430,000 reviews on the App Store, Chromecast has even found fans of those in the Apple ecosystem. The latest edition in the lineup, Chromecast with Google TV, elevates the platform from a casting dongle to a full-fledged smart TV device and Apple TV alternative. Although Chromecast’s obvious strength is in streaming video, its Ambient Mode is one of its low-key great side benefits. Ambient Mode (formerly known as Backdrop… more

The close of the second quarter of 2021 brought about a flurry of merger and acquisition and financing activity in the augmented reality industry, headlined by the acquisition of Ubiquity6 and JigSpace’s new multimillion-dollar funding round. The week in AR news also saw activity in partnerships, including Viber getting closer to Snapchat AR and the US Army making progress in testing its military-grade HoloLens 2 from Microsoft. Finally, a marketing promotion featuring Megan Thee Stallion for Cash app may serve as a muse for the presentation of future smartglasses to consumers… Discord… more

With fears over the COVID-19 pandemic subsiding, live concerts are returning. And Doritos wants to send music fans to a few of them via an augmented reality promotion. Dubbed “Mark Your Play,” the campaign is centered on scannable posters, denoted by a Doritos chip displayed as a play button, found in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol, Brighton, Cardiff, and Southampton in the UK. Don’t Miss: 8th Wall’s Web AR Brings Album Art of Pink Floyd to Life Scanning the QR code opens the Doritos Make Your Play website. The AR experience begins with participants… more

It’s all fun and games until the technology is actually put into use and you realize augmented reality is now part of Death Star. That’s what some AR insiders may be thinking once they get a look at the latest modified HoloLens 2 images released by the US Army. • Don’t Miss: Hands-On with the HoloLens 2, the New Best Augmented Reality Experience You Can Get The newest images come from a battery of tests being conducted by the US Army Futures Command and Project Manager Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS). Looking at some of these new images, the modded HoloLens 2 gives soldiers a… more

The Fourth of July, the celebration of US independence, as well as the second paid holiday of the summer, has arrived. If you’re vaccinated, you’re probably planning to commemorate the occasion much differently than last year. However, if you’re still playing it safe, you can still celebrate the Fourth of July with safety and social distancing via these AR Lenses from Snapchat… Don’t Miss: AR Snapshots: Snapchat Lens Shows Us What Our Fav Live-Action Movies Would Look Like from Pixar Animation Dress Up in Virtual Patriotic Costumes Whether or not you plan to celebrate the Fourth in… more

The startup JigSpace, which was among the first apps to support ARKit and LiDAR for iPhone augmented reality apps, has capitalized on its early mover status by innovating within the space. On Wednesday, JigSpace closed a $4.7 million Series A round of funding, led by Rampersand with Investible, Vulpes, and Roger Allen AM participating as well. Don’t Miss: The 50 Best Augmented Reality Apps for iPhone, iPad & Android Devices “Creating and sharing knowledge in 3D should be simple, useful, and delightful. We’re on a mission to unlock the utility of augmented reality at massive scale and bring… more

Yo dawg, Snap heard you using Snapchat augmented reality Lenses in your messages, so it’s putting its AR Lenses in other messaging apps. On Wednesday, Rakuten Viber flipped the switch on an update that brings Snapchat’s popular AR Lenses to many users of its Viber messaging and voice communications app. Don’t Miss: Snap Releases Lens Studio 4.0 with 3D Body Mesh & More, Upgrades Scan as Fashion Assistant Viber users will now have access to 30 Lenses at launch for augmented video messaging and photos created in the app, but the selection will expand over time, with Rakuten Viber planning to… more

No, Jack Dorsey’s Cash app isn’t about to launch an augmented reality device (er, I don’t think…), but its latest outing is about as close as we’ve come to full confirmation that the wearable AR age is upon us. The payments app, which is owned by Square, recently rolled out a flashy new marketing video (see below), and while AR isn’t the star, it’s worth unpacking the major cultural cues contained in the spot. • Don’t Miss: Snap’s Non-Creepy, Fashionable Spectacles Wearable Camera Proves We’re Ready for Mainstream AR Smartglasses The video stars music star Megan Thee Stallion (who is no… more

While Snap may eventually compete with Apple and Samsung in selling smartglasses to consumers, today it is helping them achieve their business objectives via augmented reality. That’s not all that’s new with Snap. the company has also brokered a major content deal with Universal Music Group and showed off a new AR app for its next-generation Spectacles. On the AR headset front, Microsoft HoloLens 2 is helping one museum wow its visitors, while the Varjo XR-3 is fueling a breakthrough in remote virtual collaboration. Apple Promotes Apple Pay via AR & Snapchat Lens Now that vaccinations have… more

The Paris-based technology conference Viva Technology, which hosted the likes of Apple’s Tim Cook and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, is now over. But there are still a few more treats to discover from the annual gathering. Namely, from new Magic Leap CEO Peggy Johnson. • Don’t Miss: ‘The Matrix’ Movie Effects Pioneer & Former Magic Leap Exec Reveals ‘Tragic Story’ of Startup’s Recent Struggles Unlike Cook and Zuckerberg, who both appeared at last week’s tech conference via remote video, Johnson instead decided to appear in person. Although we’re not aware of Johnson’s specifics around the… more