Signs of a new Samsung Gear VR are surfacing

Signs of a new Samsung Gear VR are surfacing

It’s been less than a year since the consumer Gear VR was first shown off and it already seems as though Samsung and Oculus are regrouping to push out a new version of the pre-eminent mobile VR headset. A Dutch Samsung rumors site inexplicably found a listing from an Indian imports database that highlights a new model […]

The reality of AR/VR survival

The reality of AR/VR survival

VR will be big, AR will be bigger (and take longer). But as in most early-stage tech markets, growth will be curved, not straight. There will be a few billion dollars of revenue this year, a progressive ramp in 2017 and a hoped-for inflection point in 2018 (when AR could deliver that magic combination of […]

Hype check: Pokémon Go says more about Pokémon than it does about AR

Hype check: Pokémon Go says more about Pokémon than it does about AR

Basically everyone is Pokémon Go-ing according to Twitter, and I’m sure basic resources like power and water will soon start to shut down because key staff are out chasing Pikachu. But before we go sagely nodding about the coming Augmented Reality revolution the Poképoaclypse foretells, maybe it’s best to take a step back and examine […]

Alibaba snaps up Chinese Android app store Wandoujia

Alibaba snaps up Chinese Android app store Wandoujia

Alibaba has advanced its reach on mobile after it acquired one of China’s most prominent Android app stores, Wandoujia, in an undisclosed acquisition. The deal was announced in Chinese only, and media in the country pegged it at around $200 million. (Alibaba declined to comment on that price when we asked.) That’s a significant amount, for sure, but […]

Ep. 88: Fujifilm’s X-T2 Ups the Game

Ep. 88: Fujifilm’s X-T2 Ups the Game

In Thailand, there’s a wedding photography business that’s attracting quite a bit of attention. It’s called คนตัวเล็ก, which literally translates to “Small Person.” The photographer’s specialty is making couples look like miniature figures living in a giant world. If you ever find a lost GoPro, there’s a decent chance you’ll find footage of the camera’s […]

Up close with Fujifilm’s new X-T2 mirrorless camera

Up close with Fujifilm’s new X-T2 mirrorless camera

If you’re going to show off the follow-up to your well-loved mirrorless camera two years after release, you might as well do it in style — classic cars, rail-thin models, terrible music, the whole nine yards. Fujifilm’s X-T2 interchangeable lens camera made its flashy Manhattan debut at the borough’s Classic Car Club, with a slew of […]

Audible’s new Channels audio content subscription service is a bet on a voice-powered future

Audible’s new Channels audio content subscription service is a bet on a voice-powered future

Amazon-owned Audible announced a new service called Channels today, one that differs from its typical audiobook business in offering more bite-size content from original content producers, as well as recordings of news stores from NYT, WSJ, The Washington Post and others. The original programming will be rolling out over time, covering comedy, investigatory journalism (think Serial) […]

Facebook needs a way to report content as “Graphic But Newsworthy”

Facebook needs a way to report content as “Graphic But Newsworthy”

Mark Zuckerberg believes Facebook Live could illuminate wrongdoing in the world. Facebook still hasn’t explained the details of its policy on censorship of Live video. But today in response to the police shooting of Philando Castile whose last moments of life were broadcast on Facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted that “The images we’ve seen this week […]

Google’s Self-Driving Car Project has a new legal lead

Google’s Self-Driving Car Project has a new legal lead

Google’s Self-Driving Car Project is one step closer to becoming its own independent business. Recode has confirmed that the autonomous-driving company under the Alphabet umbrella has hired The Climate Corporation’s chief legal officer, Kevin Vosen, as its first general attorney. He’s slated to begin later this month. Currently, Google’s self-driving unit is under the company’s experimental […]

Microsoft’s Project Malmo is teaching AI to build stuff in Minecraft

Microsoft’s Project Malmo is teaching AI to build stuff in Minecraft

There’s plenty of precedent for the use of Minecraft in an educational setting. Hell, Microsoft issued an Education Edition of the popular PC game earlier this year targeted at use in a classroom setting. Turns out the game could also prove a useful tool for helping artificial intelligence be more, well, intelligent. Back in March, […]