Facebook issues update following cancellation of ‘in-person’ F8 event over coronavirus

Facebook has issued an update following its decision to cancel this year’s F8 conference over coronavirus fears.

F8 is Facebook’s annual event to update the world on its plans for world domination. The event is developer-focused but users also watch the conference to learn about all the new apps, features, and even hardware coming their way.

In a blog post, Facebook wrote:

“Given the growing concerns around COVID-19, we’ve...

28 February 2020 | Platforms

GDC State of the Game Industry 2020: Key trends for the year ahead

The latest GDC State of the Game Industry survey has been released highlighting several interesting trends for the year ahead.

2020 is set to be an important year for the gaming industry. The next-generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles are due to arrive in time for Christmas wishlists, there are murmurs of a Nintendo Switch Pro, VR is maturing, and cloud gaming will accelerate.

Console wars: The last generation?

11 percent of survey respondents said their current project is...

27 January 2020 | Gaming

Google Cardboard goes open-source as VR SDK development halts

Google has open-sourced its Cardboard project as Mountain View winds down its mobile VR ambitions. Cardboard was an impressive project which showed expensive hardware was not necessary for VR apps, but that it certainly helps. In a blog post, Google wrote:

“From a giveaway at Google I/O to more than 15 million units worldwide, Cardboard has played an important role in introducing people to VR through experiences like YouTube and Expeditions.

7 November 2019 | Android

#MWC19: Achieve immersion through video and VR

A session during MWC highlighted the growing importance of video and VR when it comes to creating immersive experiences.

Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo, was part of the session. Vimeo is the largest ad-free video network and its monetisation model allows it to be agnostic, even allowing creators to publish to YouTube.

Sud highlighted that video is becoming ‘the de facto form’ of communication. People expect a constant supply of professional, engaging video...

26 February 2019 | Artificial Intelligence

Mozilla aims to expand WebVRs capabilities with the WebXR API

Mozilla is building a new API called WebXR aiming to expand the capabilities of WebVR and enable the creation of mixed reality experiences on the web.

WebVR was first conceived in spring 2014 by Vladimir Vukićević from Mozilla with the aim of providing an open source API for displaying VR content on the web. On March 1st 2016, the Mozilla VR team and the Google Chrome team announced version 1.0 of the WebVR API.

The API is supported across many browsers including...

17 September 2018 | Android

Unity makes it easier to build apps supporting both ARCore and ARKit

Game development platform Unity has made it easier to build apps supporting both ARCore and ARKit with a new cross-platform API.

Unity calls its new solution AR Foundation and it aims to solve many of the problems developers face with augmented reality development.

AR Foundation allows developers to leverage features in the ARCore and ARKit toolkits such as plane detection and world tracking.

 

Bradley Weiers, AR/VR Technical Product Manager, and Michael...

20 June 2018 | Android

Snapchat plans to launch a developer kit for its AR camera

Social messaging giant Snapchat has become somewhat renowned for its AR features, and it appears some of those will soon be in the hands of developers.

According to TechCrunch, Snapchat is preparing the launch of its first complete developer platform under the tentative name of Snapkit.

Prototypes of the platform reportedly allow other apps to offer a ‘Login with Snapchat’ option; similar to other major social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

Multiple...

30 May 2018 | Development Tools

Vulkan 1.1 on Android P brings VR improvements and more

In March, the first major update to the Vulkan cross-platform GPU API was released, and as of this week, Google have confirmed version 1.1 will be supported by Android P. Here's what you need to know about Vulkan 1.1 for Android development.

First of all, there are several features here are big news for the update as a whole, but aren't likely to be relevant to Android P devices. Multiple GPU support is perhaps the headline feature in this category, as it requires two or...

11 May 2018 | Android

ARCore is now used for over 85 apps on Android

Google’s ARCore SDK has been used to implement augmented reality elements in over 85 applications on Android.

The SDK was first released in August last year for testing exclusively on Google’s own Pixel 2 smartphones. During this year’s MWC, the compatibility list grew to include the first generation Pixel devices, Galaxy S7/S7 Edge/S8/S8+, LG V30/V30+, ASUS Zenfone AR, and the OnePlus 5.

With the ability to reach many new users, ARCore has since attracted...

21 March 2018 | Android

Magic Leap’s SDK for building AR experiences has launched

AR company Magic Leap has launched its highly anticipated SDK for building experiences on its platform.

Magic Leap works on its AR technology in relative secrecy. For the first time, the company is opening its doors and inviting developers to build “digital experiences that blend seamlessly with reality, enriching the physical space around us with objects and characters that respond to and interact with their surroundings.”

The SDK was launched during GDC (Games...

20 March 2018 | Platforms