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News: Google Extends AR Search Lead Over Apple with Landmark Recognition for Google Lens

This week, Apple unveiled its own version of Google Lens in the form of Live Text. In response, Google just hit back with a new feature for its visual search tool called Places, a new search category that can recognize landmarks and return information on them within the camera view, which Apple touted as a capability of Live Text during its WWDC keynote.

News: Join Loki on His Time-Traveling Adventures with This Snapchat Lens

Like its predecessors WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel's latest series for Disney Plus, Loki, has its own augmented reality experience.

News: Apple Delivers Competitor to Google Lens & Google Maps AR Features in iOS 15

Mobile augmented reality for iOS typically comes through apps via ARKit, but Apple is borrowing a few pages from Google's playbook and bringing AR directly to iOS 15.

News: Magic Leap Working with AMD on Processor for Next-Generation Enterprise AR Headsets

After tapping Nvidia for its first AR headset, Magic Leap is calling in reinforcement for its future enterprise-focused efforts.

News: Lego Transforms Statues into AR Creatures at Legoland Windsor Theme Park via Mobile App

Few brands have been more enthusiastic about augmented reality than Lego, which has now expanded its AR experiences from toys to theme parks.

News: Google Adds Raw Depth API to Improve Spatial Awareness & Depth Data for Android AR Apps

For most mainstream users, LiDAR sensors for precision depth sensing remain the exclusive domain of Apple iPhones and iPads, but Google is helping Android device makers close the depth gap on the software side via its ARCore toolkit.

News: Google Adds Sports Athletes to AR Search, Includes Virtual Street Signs in Live View AR in Google Maps

Since bringing augmented reality features to Search and Maps, Google has made them arguably the most useful augmented reality products in its portfolio.

News: Google Offers Virtual Photo Booth Web App Ahead of Socially Distanced I/O Conference

Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic is showing signs of winding down, nevertheless, Google will still hold its annual I/O developer conference as a virtual affair, with keynotes and sessions available as live streams and on-demand videos starting Tuesday, May 18 and concluding on Thursday, May 20.

News: Niantic Primes Its Lightship AR Engine for Transformers Game, Global Launch Slated for 2021

With the tagline "More Than Meets the Eye," the Transformers franchise was pretty much preordained to have its own augmented reality game, and AR gaming pioneer Niantic has stepped up to fulfill that destiny.

News: 'The Matrix' Movie Effects Pioneer & Former Magic Leap Exec Reveals 'Tragic Story' of Startup's Recent Struggles

Magic Leap has had a rough couple of years, highlighted by high-profile executive departures, lawsuits, troublesome patent shuffles, and massive layoffs.

News: Magic Leap Experiencing Yet Another Major Executive Shake-Up, Report Says

Just when everything seemed settled over at Magic Leap, it turns out that the internal tumult is still in play.

News: Microsoft Emerges from the Trenches with More Details Behind the Army Edition of HoloLens 2

When we got our first look at US Army soldiers testing Microsoft's modified HoloLens 2 last year, it still looked very much like the commercial edition, with some additional sensors attached.

News: Microsoft Brings Chromium-Based Edge Browser, Swipe to Type & More to HoloLens via Windows Holographic Update

Since its launch two years ago, the HoloLens 2 has been the best AR headset available, and nothing has come close to touching it since.

News: Rovio Reinvents Angry Birds as Web-Based AR Tower Defense Game for Burger King Campaign

Angry Birds, one of the first franchises to find success in mobile gaming, continues to shoot its shot at new life in augmented reality gaming.

News: Transform Your Friend into an AR Musical Synthesizer via This HoloLens 2 NFT App

One of the oldest electronic musical instruments is the theremin, a synthesizer that generates sound based on hand gestures, as featured in the classic "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys.

News: AT&T and NBA Launch Mobile AR Experience via Chicago Bulls App

The Chicago Bulls may not be very relevant in the current NBA standings, but they do lead the league in one other area.

News: Netflix Fantasy Franchise 'The Witcher' Opens Early Access to AR Game Called Monster Slayer

Having found success in video games and a hugely popular Netflix series, The Witcher franchise is now on the hunt for the coin Pokémon GO has earned in location-based augented reality mobile games.

News: Marvel Studios Tosses 'Falcon & the Winter Soldier' AR Game to Fans in Time for Finale

Disney Plus shows WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier are both streaming hits, but the two series could not be more different in terms of giving fans a taste of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

News: Samsung's New App for Galaxy Smartphones Turns the World into Your AR Canvas

After integrating Snapchat into its latest Galaxy A Series smartphones, Samsung is trying out a new AR camera app for its army of mobile devices.

News: Snapchat, Google & Verizon Highlight Humanity's Impact on the Environment with AR for Earth Day

It's Earth Day, which means that nonprofits, individuals, and brands are making a concerted effort to raise awareness of environmental issues and how to change behaviors to reverse impacts of pollution, deforestation, and suburban sprawl, among others.

News: Google Adds Pac-Man, Hello Kitty & More Japanese Anime & Video Game Characters to AR Search

Gamers, anime fans, and those with an interest in Japanese culture are in for an AR treat courtesy of Google.

News: Intel Takes Us Inside to Reveal How HoloLens 2 Is Transforming Computer Chip Production

The enterprise applications powering the adoption of the HoloLens 2 are only just ramping up as developers continue to work with the still relatively new hardware.

News: Hulu, Coinbase, Ray-Ban & Captain Morgan Unlock Advertising Gold with Interactive AR Ads

We've reached the point in the trajectory of augmented reality's growth where AR advertising experiences are becoming commonplace tactics rather than rare experiments.

News: You Can See to the Other Side of the World with Google's Latest Web-Based AR Experiment

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.

News: Devilish Lil Nas X AR Experience Debuts on Jadu App

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.

News: Google Adds New AR Galleries & Audio Guided Tour to Arts & Culture App

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.

News: Microsoft Wins $21 Billion Contract to Produce Military-Grade HoloLens for US Army

After years of testing and modifications, the US Army is moving forward with its customized version of HoloLens 2 from Microsoft.

News: Niantic Previews the Future of AR Gaming with Codename: Urban Legends Demo

As if teasing its own smartglasses weren't enough, augmented reality gaming developer Niantic gave gamers a glimpse of how 5G speeds can revolutionize how they play mobile games in the near future.

News: Google Maps Expands Live View AR Navigation Capabilities to Airports & Shopping Malls

The AR walking navigation feature in Google Maps, which is arguably one of the most useful mobile augmented reality to available to consumers, is about to get even more indispensable for travelers.

News: Inside Microsoft Mesh, What Is It & How Does It Work? We Have the Answers

When Microsoft unveiled Mesh a couple of weeks ago, the move revealed a major part of Microsoft's next steps toward dominating the augmented reality space, particularly with regard to enterprise customers.

News: Pizza Hut Delivery Now Comes with Slice of '80s Gaming via Pac-Man in AR

What is old is new again. In this case, a classic arcade game gets the augmented reality treatment. In a new promotion playing off its ad campaign featuring actor Craig Robinson (The Office, Hot Tub Time Machine), Pizza Hut has turned its pizza boxes into a virtual Pac-Man game via web-based AR technology.

News: Snapchat's Body Tracking AR Tech Lends Hand for Organ Donation Education

Sure, Snapchat AR Lenses can be fun, but they can help communicate complex issues as well. While our Facebook news feeds were filled with references to 311 Day, March 11 is also World Kidney Day, the United Kingdom's National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) used the occasion to educate its constituents about organ donation.