This story is part of “Follow the Money,” a look at how digital cash is changing the way we save, shop and work. Think about every little thing you do when you walk into a store and pay for something. You stand in line, pull out your wallet and withdraw your credit card. You chat …
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The Leap Motion Project North Star is looking to shake up the augmented reality (AR) market with an approach that’s designed to be open source — and affordable. Leap Motion has always been in the business of exploring 3D hand and gesture controls, going back to the first Leap Motion accessory made for PCs in 2013. Since then, the company’s developed several solutions …
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Snapchat Lenses just got better for iPhone X users The newest version of the Snapchat app for iOS utilizes the iPhone X TrueDepth camera to make the real-time Lens selfies — which can be anything from virtual facepainting to cat whiskers to masquerade masks (shown here) — more realistic than ever, thanks to improved shading, motion tracking and bokeh (blurred …
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Apple, Google, and now Facebook — each will let developers turn your phone into a window to another world. Just point your camera at a poster, and computer-generated characters and objects can augment your world. Case in point: Facebook app’s built-in camera can now unlock a secret little portal inside any poster from the new Steven Spielberg film Ready Player …
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iOS 11.3, the latest version of Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating system, is available now — and it offers more features than you might expect from a “.3” release. Whether you’re interested in augmented reality, cute Animoji or just a way to keep Apple from throttling your old iPhone, damn it, there’s something in this update to pique your curiosity. …
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Nine months ago, Apple stole the augmented reality race. Google has been playing catch-up practically ever since. But now that millions of iOS and Android phones can become portals to any world an app developer dreams up, what’s a Cupertino company to do next? Dissect frogs, apparently. Froggipedia is one of a host of new ARKit apps that Apple just announced, …
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This year a lot more of us will be spending time wearing augmented and virtual reality headsets. Regardless of a growth slump in 2017, the AR/VR headset market is predicted to increase by 48.5 percent year-over-year to volumes of 12.4 million units, according to market research by IDC. The firm also says headsets will grow to 68.9 million units in …
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Google will soon give iOS users the chance to try Google Lens, the augmented-reality technology that lets you use your camera to search for info. Over the next week, you’ll be able to try Google Lens in the Google Photos app for iOS, the company announced Thursday. The feature will roll out over the next week. You’ll have to have …
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Last year, I played Super Mario in AR on a Hololens. The maker of that game, Abhishek Singh, told me he would be focusing on mobile games and ARKit in the future. Now he has another AR gaming idea he’s brewed up: Street Fighter II in AR, using ARKit on an iPhone, so you can literally fight in the street. …
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I never thought I could turn my body into a loudspeaker. Here at CNET, I’m the sound guy. After spending over 15 years working in media production I have a passion for not only music, but sound in general. A few years ago, I thought it would be cool to get a sleeve tattoo comprised entirely of waveforms. I …
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