AR

Virtual and augmented reality, collectively known as mixed reality (MR) or, more recently, "extended reality" or XR, always had the potential to make life not only more fun but also more productive. Most applications, however, may have focused too much on the "fun" aspect, making most people presume the technologies are mostly just for entertainment. These experiences can, of course, be quite interesting but Google's latest WebXR experiments for smartphones try to prove how they can be educational as well.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook has talked about Apple car rumors, augmented reality, and the electric vehicle segment and his contact - or lack of - with Tesla's Elon Musk, amid speculation by analysts that the Cupertino firm is readying a handful of ambitious launches into new categories over the next few years. Though Cook is, as always, tight-lipped about details and exact product plans, it's clear that Apple isn't interested in a low-key role in either AR or autonomous driving.

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Samsung has been talking up its new Galaxy SmartTag Plus gadgets since the beginning of the year. When they were first talked about, the launch date was noted as coming soon. The Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus is now officially available for preorder, with an expected availability date of April 12, 2021. That's only a bit more than a week from now.

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Niantic's CEO has teased the Pokemon Go-maker's first augmented reality glasses, with a cryptic preview of the digital eyewear on Twitter. It's the first public sign of the company's smart glasses, though Niantic - which is also partnering with Nintendo again on a Pikmin game - has been talking about AR gaming for some time now.

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Apple's mixed reality headset could buck the VR trend and offer a much lighter, slimmer form-factor, according to a new analyst report, as the Cupertino firm addresses one of the biggest criticisms of AR and VR tech. Well-rumored over the past few years, Apple's augmented reality headset and smart glasses roadmap is believed to already consist of several generations of model, as the company chases the cutting-edge in affordable wearable displays.

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Although less successful with its own IP, Niantic Labs found a more profitable market in making AR games around already known franchises. Pokemon GO still remains its most successful attempt while Harry Potter: Wizards Unite still has a loyal following despite lower numbers. Niantic's true product, however, is its "Real World" AR platform and it is brushing that up again for another Nintendo franchise, this time revolving around the even more cutesy creatures of Pikmin.

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Facebook has revealed another step in its path to augmented reality Smart Glasses, a wrist-based controller that blends AI and nerve-tracking EMG to leapfrog traditional input systems. While the eventual goal is a super-smart artificial intelligence that instinctively intuits what you might want from your high-tech glasses, Facebook says, this wrist-based input controller is much more practical in the shorter term.

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Facebook has pulled back the curtain a little on its smart glasses project, with the augmented reality eyewear biting off a huge challenge - and facing potential users with a tricky decision about just how much they trust the social networking behemoth in their lives. As Facebook describes it, the AR glasses it has in mind would be intuitive and proactive, a constant daily companion rather than a device you periodically pull out of your pocket.

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Audi has revealed the interior of its upcoming Q4 e-tron electric compact SUV, potentially the most important model in the automaker's new EV range, and one which includes a new augmented reality head-up display. Previewed back in early 2019 as the Q4 e-tron concept, the zero-emissions crossover promises to be Audi's most affordable e-tron so far, helping nudge the technology - and the nameplate - into far more garages.

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When it comes to the world of ferreting out details about Apple products that haven't launched, one of the most successful analysts is Ming-Chi Kuo. The analyst has been offering accurate information on unannounced Apple gear going back for years, typically relying on sources within the Apple supply chain. Kuo is now predicting a future Apple augmented reality/mixed reality headset rumored to land in 2022.

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Of all the big tech companies, Apple is perhaps the only one left without its own kind of virtual, augmented, or mixed reality headgear. Of course, it has also been rumored to be working on such devices for years now with almost no end in sight. The end might actually now be in sight if Ming-chi Kuo's predictions are on the mark. If so, Apple will not just have one but actually three such products launching in the next 9 years, including its own AR contact lenses.

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Facebook CFO David Wehner spoke this week about new smart glasses that are expected to launch later this year in collaboration with Ray-Ban and Luxottica. This isn't the first time we've heard of said glasses - but it is the first time anyone from Facebook has suggested the glasses will be anything less than extraordinary. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference today, Wehner pointed to Facebook's future in augmented reality technology.

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