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News: Magic Leap's Latest Lumin OS & SDK Releases Focus on Features for Enterprise Customers

A year and change into its shift towards enterprise customers, Magic Leap has updated Lumin OS and the corresponding Lumin SDK with some key prerequisites for the business sector.

News: Lego Takes on TikTok with Vidiyo Music Video Playsets & AR App

Toymaker Lego has been on board with building AR into its playsets and mobile apps since the launch of ARKit.

News: 8th Wall Revs Up Realism for Web AR Experiences with Real-Time Reflective Surfaces

Since launching its web-based AR platform in 2018, 8th Wall has continued to push the boundaries of what brands can do with AR experiences outside of native apps.

News: Snapchat Can Turn Your 12-Pack of Labatt Blue Beer into a Virtual NHL Arena

Bud Light being the official beer sponsor of the NFL just makes sense for American football. But what about the NHL, with hockey being the official winter sport of Canada by decree?

News: Rockers Palaye Royale Conjure Creepy Immersive AR Music Video via Jadu App

Up and coming Los Angeles-based rock group Palaye Royale has managed to grow a substantial social media following, and now the group is looking to grow its fan base through the power of augmented reality.

News: Corona Taps Blippar to Promote Its Hard Seltzer Line with AR Games & Recipes

Despite the unfortunate social media-driven association of Corona beer with the virus behind a global pandemic, beverage maker Constellation Brands has pushed its marketing forward like a lime through the mouth of a beer bottle.

News: Microsoft Debuts HoloLens 2 Industrial Edition for Pharmaceutical & Semiconductor Enterprise Users

Ever since the US Army awarded Microsoft's HoloLens a $480 million contract, the battle for enterprise augmented reality has heated up in earnest.

News: Magic Leap Founder Launches the Company He 'Really' Wanted to Start, a Film & Music Studio with Virtual Artists

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.

News: Prehistoric Creatures Return to Life via New iPhone AR App from Celebrity Historian David Attenborough

Apparently, we learned nothing from Jurassic Park, as scientists are still working on bringing extinct species back to life. Until that day comes, you can interact with long-lost animals through augmented reality...if you have a newer model iPhone.

How To: Film Your Own AR Music Videos with Vidiyo, Lego's TikTok Competitor

For its latest take on augmented reality-infused playsets, Lego is giving the young, and the simply young at heart, its twist on the viral lipsync format made popular by TikTok with Lego Vidiyo.

News: You Can Land & Drive NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover in AR with the Smithsonian Channel's New App

Two years ago, the 50th anniversary of the moon landing gave flight to a handful of Apollo 11 augmented reality apps and experiences, including one from the Smithsonian Channel.

News: Google Launches TensorFlow 3D Using LiDAR & Depth Sensors for Advanced AR Experiences

After the mobile augmented reality platforms of ARKit and ARCore moved Google's previously groundbreaking Project Tango (the AR platform that gave us the first smartphones with depth sensors) into obsolescence in 2018, we've seen a bit of a resurgence of what was then a niche component for flagship devices.

News: New Wallace & Gromit Game Amps Up Job Simulations with AR Interactivity

While most established media brands are satisfied with copying Pokémon GO to jump into augmented reality gaming, at least one property is taking a slightly different approach.

AR Snapshots: Anime Makeovers, Mandalorian Helmets, Twerking Muppets & More on Snapchat

In the three years since Snapchat launched Lens Studio, developers and artists have created more than 1.5 million AR camera effects with the desktop tool.

News: Samsung Beats Apple to the Punch with SmartTags+ & AR Finder

Over the past two product cycles, Apple has been rumored to be preparing to reveal its Apple AirTags tracking devices that can help iPhone owners find their possessions with augmented reality.

News: Magic Leap CEO Teases Secret New AR Virtual Meetings App Called 'C3' Being Used Internally

The past year has revealed a gaping hole of opportunity in the world of business called virtual meetings. Some existing players like Zoom hopped on that opportunity, while others like Skype seemed stuck on the sidelines, and Google Meet just managed to catch up in time to snag some of the shift in remote work.

News: Magic Leap Made Me Cry, Probably for the Last Time. Here's Why That's the Good News

A lot of digital ink has been spilled heaping scorn on Magic Leap. Much of that media schadenfreude was due to what some believed were unmet promises versus some of the early hype around the product. Others just seemed to be rubbed the wrong way by the startup's Apple-esque secrecy and penchant for attempting to coin new terms and frameworks for things that were, mostly, already in play.

News: The New York Times Reinvents the Crossword Puzzle for Augmented Reality via Instagram

At first glance, it may not sound like there's much value in doing a crossword puzzle in augmented reality, but The New York Times has managed to revamp the pastime as an immersive game.

News: 8th Wall Powers Netflix AR Experience for George Clooney Film 'The Midnight Sky'

Help me, George Clooney. You're my only hope. If that mash-up of cultural references doesn't make sense, it will momentarily.

News: Snapchat Delivers Augmented Reality Gifts with New Holiday AR Lenses

You won't have to ask Santa for holiday-themed augmented reality experiences, because practically any social and shopping app that offers AR effects has them available now.

News: Welcome Baby Yoda into Your Personal Space with Google Search AR

Google, you have something that I want. You may think you have some idea of what you are in possession of, but you do not. In a few moments, it will be mine...and it can be yours, too, dear readers.

News: NR30 Innovator in Augmented Reality Spotlight: Aidan Wolf

This year, as part of the Next Reality 30, in partnership with Snap, we're spotlighting an up-and-coming innovator in augmented reality. Specifically, we were searching for an independent developer or creator who embodies the bleeding edge spirit of AR and its ability to leverage machine learning. This year's honoree is Aidan Wolf.

News: Google & Red Bull TV Premier 'The Last Ascent' with Synced AR Experience That Puts Nature in Your Home

In recent weeks, Google managed to capitalize on the hype surrounding the Star Wars streaming series The Mandalorian with an AR app that was not only exclusive to Android but also available only for 5G-equipped devices.

News: How You Can Put Street Art Legend KAWS & Even That Mysterious Alien Utah Monolith in Your Own Home via AR

Sure, you could leave a random monolith in Utah and get some notoriety for your street art. Or, you can let others put your art anywhere they'd like with augmented reality so they can appreciate it where they are.

News: Google Gifts 5G Android Smartphones with 'The Mandalorian' AR App

With the new season of The Mandalorian underway, Google has launched a new AR app that enables some Star Wars fans to connect with virtual characters in between new episodes.

News: HBO Rolls Out 'His Dark Materials' AR Experience To Bring Characters to the Real World

In this year of everything going virtual and remote, it makes even more sense now that Hollywood is leaning heavily on augmented reality. In this case, it's HBO using AR to promote its highly-acclaimed original programming.

News: Nintendo Crafts AR Content for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

The Animal Crossing series has been a big hit for Nintendo, so in a bid to enhance the experience even more for users, the game is getting the augmented reality treatment.

News: Snoop Dogg's Cali Red Wine Pours Another Glass of AR via 8th Wall's WebAR

When Treasury Wine Estates released 19 Crimes Snoop Cali Red this summer, named for its new partner in wine, rapper Snoop Dogg, it already came with the brand's signature AR-enhanced label.

News: Manscaped's Brand Hype Grows into Augmented Reality via Snapchat Lens

If you're a man and subscribe to podcasts or YouTube channels that cater to masculine interests, then you've almost certainly encountered sponsorships from Manscaped. And that means I don't have to explain what the company is selling you (for the uninitiated, it's a company dedicated to helping you trim your body hair—most notably, your nether regions, in addition to other areas).

News: Apple's LiDAR Scanner on New iPad Pro Provides Possible Peek at How Its Smartglasses Will See the World

Just as predicted (but perhaps with less fanfare than usual), Apple has made the move of adding a depth sensor to the rear camera of its latest edition of the iPad Pro.

News: Magic Leap Unveils First Look at Magicverse AR Cloud & New Meetings Capabilities in Lumin OS Update

With many office workers in the US being asked to work from home if their job allows, Magic Leap's customary updates for the Lumin OS and Lumin SDK brings some help to keep distributed workforces connected.

News: Magic Leap Looking into Sale of the Company, Report Says

The rumors have been circulating for months, but now there's a source attached to the notion that Magic Leap is looking to sell itself off after a rough couple of years following the launch of its Magic Leap 1 augmented reality device.

News: BBC Earth Releases 'Micro Kingdoms: Senses' Insect Experience on Magic Leap 1

As first reported by Next Reality last year, game developer Preloaded, in partnership with BBC Studios, has finally launched BBC Earth - Micro Kingdoms: Senses.

News: Apple Working on AR Shopping App for iOS 14, Report Says

Apple's first AR wearable might not arrive until 2022, but we may have an early preview of what it will be like to wear a pair of its smartglasses via iOS 14.

News: Disney's Alternate History Series 'Motherland: Fort Salem' Uses Snapchat AR to Give You Magical Powers

Alternate US history is the go-to move for hot new cable and streaming shows, from HBO's Watchmen to Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, reimagining how things might have turned out is an endless well of narrative inspiration.

News: Envision Accepting Pre-Orders for Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 with AI Software to Assist the Visually Impaired

Computer vision is a key component in enabling augmented reality experiences, but now it can help give sight to the blind as well. In this case, that assistance comes from Envision, developers of mobile apps for iOS and Android that use optical character recognition (OCR) and object detection to provide an audio description of the user's surroundings.