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You only ‘thought’ the HoloLens 2 was the most expensive augmented reality device on the market. As with many things tech, Japan is here to up the ante with what may indeed be the most expensive AR-dedicated wearable we’ve seen—the Canon MREAL S1. • Don’t Miss: Next Reality’s 30 People to Watch in Augmented Reality for 2020 The device costs a whopping $38,400 (4 million yen) and it’s just the latest in a long line of MREAL AR devices that the company has shown off as far back as 2013, back when Google Glass was originally debuted to the public. Despite Canon’s long history of developing… more

Hand tracking is a key component in making natural interactions with augmented reality content, and one of the leading technology makers in this discipline has just improved on its tracking engine. Ultraleap, the company emerging from the acquisition of Leap Motion by Ultrahaptics, has released a developer preview of the fifth version of its hand-tracking software that brings even more accurate tracking of two hands for AR interfaces. Don’t Miss: Leap Motion’s New Experimental Tools Give Developers Access to Camera Data & Unlock Multiple Device Support Continuing in its constellation-themed… more

The company augmented reality that Rony Abovitz was trying to build at Magic Leap apparently wasn’t working out the way he hoped it would. That company, built on dreams, music, and future-looking entertainment, rather than truly new technology, came with a $2,300 price tag for a device using dynamics most mainstream consumers have never even tried. The hurdles were steep. Today, Abovitz is about to embark upon a new journey that seems to truly speak directly to his interests: entertainment. On Wednesday, Abovitz unveiled his new company called Sun and Thunder. • Don’t Miss: Magic Leap Made… more

As Apple, Google, Snap, and Facebook wrestle for positioning to lure developers and creators to build augmented reality experiences for their respective tools, Facebook is looking at a learning approach for its Spark AR platform. On Tuesday, the Spark AR team launched a new series of online learning courses that are aimed at novices looking to jump into the AR field feet first as well as experienced developers and creators seeking to sharpen their skills. Don’t Miss: This Viral Instagram Augmented Reality Filter Will Tell You Which Disney Character You Really Are Available through the… more

The year 2021 is already promising to yield a number of major shifts in the augmented reality landscape, and Snap is signaling that it has every intention of being an aggressive part of that narrative. On Tuesday, it was revealed that the company has acquired a London-based research group called Arial AI, a team dedicated to developing ways to track the human form in AR with a high degree of accuracy. • Don’t Miss: Bernie Sanders Presidential Inauguration Freezing Moment Spawns Meme-Worthy Snapchat Lens Specifically, the team is described its work as focused on “real-time and high-accuracy… more

Snapchat’s face tracking has certainly come a long way. This week, we’ve got an example of one effect that is nearly guaranteed to freak out your friends. Of course, these face-tracking capabilities are available to the Lens Studio community, as evidenced by an augmented reality tribute to rock gods KISS. For rear-facing camera AR experiences, we have more dancing characters plus a world-morphing effect that boggles the mind. • Don’t Miss: Next Reality’s 30 People to Watch in Augmented Reality for 2020 Try out these Lenses yourself by scanning their respective Snapcodes. Defy Nature… more

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. At Magic Leap, the lemons are the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lemonade is a new solution for virtual meetings born out of social distancing. As reports of Apple’s long-awaited AR wearable begin to kick up again (and designers continue to show off their concepts for the device), two Chinese companies, Lenovo and Rokid, unveiled their latest smartglasses offerings. Finally, Snapchat users found not one but two opportunities to insert AR into the pomp and circumstance of the 2021 US Presidential Inauguration. Magic Leap Built Its Own AR Virtual… more

Ever since China’s Nreal unveiled its Light smartglasses at CES two years ago, an army of look-alikes have emerged from the Asian nation. We can also count Rokid among the companies blazing a different trail with Rokid Glass and Rokid Vision, each owning a distinctive look. Don’t Miss: Rokid Glass Offers a Fashionable Entry into AR Smartglasses Space During its recent Rokid Open Day virtual event conducted at its Hangzhou headquarters, the company revealed its next device, Rokid Vision 2, which follows in the footsteps of its predecessor with a unique look compared to its competitors… more

The latest whispers about Apple’s plans to launch its long-awaited (yet still unconfirmed) augmented reality device hits several familiar notes, but lands on a different refrain. Earlier this month, a generally-reliable analyst has predicted that an AR device from Apple would launch later this year, buoyed by reports from supply chain sources that the company’s rumored smartglasses prototype is entering the second phase of production. Now, rumors of a hybrid AR/VR headset, previously thought to be scrapped in favor of smartglasses with less-immersive capabilities, have emerged from yet… more

The world of politics can sometimes get a little toxic, but with the new administration, there’s already a bit of whimsy creeping back into the online meme space. The latest comes courtesy of a new unofficial Snapchat filter that takes an inauguration meme and lets you bring it into your own space via Snapchat Lens filter. • Don’t Miss: Next Reality’s 30 People to Watch in Augmented Reality for 2020 Of all the political memes to surface during Wednesday’s inauguration, one of the most shared was former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders freezing while huddled in a chair during the… more