Lego is infusing its bricks with digital magic in a series of new augmented reality experiences using Apple’s updated ARKit 2. The Lego AR experiences, due out later this year, combine real-world Lego buildings with digital landscapes. Build a physic…
Popular titles like PUBG and Fortnite have given a new life to mobile gaming which has resulted in more and more smartphone manufacturers coming out with their very own gaming smartphones. ASUS has jumped on that bandwagon today as well with the launch of its ROG Phone at Computex 2018. This is the company’s first smartphone that has been built specifically for mobile gaming.
The device has an aggressive look and comes with many features that are aimed at improving the mobile gaming experience for useres. There are dedicated accessories such as the external cooling fan that can be clipped on the handset’s back and even a handheld dock which can add a second screen to the device.
As far as the specifications are concerned, the ROG Phone is powered by an “exclusive version” of the Snapdragon 845 processor from Qualcomm. The stock chip is clocked at 2.8 GHz while the one in this handset is clocked at 2.96GHz which is the first for a mobile device. ASUS says that the device also features a 6 inch 2,160 x 1,080 AMOLED display with HDR and 90Hz support with a 1ms response rate.
The company hasn’t confirmed how much internal storage the device has but did reveal that it will ship with 8GB of RAM. There are dual front-facing speakers, a 12MP/8MP dual rear and 8MP front camera, and a fingerprint reader onboard. It even has a silver ROG logo at the back which has a programmable RGB backlight.
It’s interesting to note that the device has three USB Type-C ports, one is at the bottom where you’d expect it and two are conjoined and placed on the left. ASUS wants to make sure that users can continue to play games even when they’re plugged in without having the cable get in the way while it’s charging the handset’s 4,000mAh battery.
Pricing information hasn’t been confirmed as yet and ASUS says that the ROG Phone will be out at some point in the third quarter of this year.
ASUS ROG Phone Has Been Developed For Mobile Gamers , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
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For all the parents who have had to read the same damn books over and over.
The lineup is noteworthy this time around.
Apple announced the next version of iOS at its WWDC developer conference. While iOS 12 won’t be available before the fall, it’s always interesting to get a sneak peek at the next version of iOS.
Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi first talked about some numbers. 81 percent of iOS users are currently running iOS 11. 6 percent of Android users are currently on the last version.
“For iOS 12, we’re doubling down on performance,” Federighi said. iOS 12 is going to be available on all devices that currently support iOS 11.
It’s interesting the Federighi talked about iOS 12 on the iPhone 6 Plus. Apps launch 40 percent faster, the keyboard comes up 50 percent faster and opening the camera is 70 percent faster.
You get the idea, the big new feature of iOS 12 is performance and optimization.
But it doesn’t mean that Apple didn’t think about new features. Apple has created a new file format for augmented reality called USDZ. Adobe CTO Abhay Parasnis talked for a couple of minutes to announce that Adobe apps are going to support USDZ.
Apple is launching a new app to educate people about augmented reality. This app is called Measure and works pretty much like popular third-party app MeasureKit. While Apple says USDZ is a file format for augmented reality, Federighi also showed a USDZ 3D file in the middle of an Apple News article.
And the company is also updating ARKit with multiplayer augmented reality. You can get the same augmented reality experience with multiple devices. The company invited Martin Sanders from Lego to talk about ARKit. You can point an iPad at a Lego set to add virtual buildings and objects, and recreate a tiny little city.
“Over a trillion photos are captured on the iPhone each year,” Federighi said. Apple is updating search with iOS 12. While you’ve been able tp search for objects or categories, such as cars, dogs, beach and hiking, it’s been hard to find. Apple is going to add suggestions to improve discovery.
Apple is reusing an Apple Music idea and adding a “For You” tab. It’ll show you old albums, memories, photos with people you care about and more. For You can also suggest you to share photos with friends and family members. When you share them, it looks like it creates a link that you can send in iMessage. The other person will also get a suggestion to share photos back. It’s like shared albums, but a bit refined.
As for Siri, Apple is introducing shortcuts. It’s not just for voice, Apple is also adding shortcuts on the lock screen or in the search screen for instance. If you’re running late for a meeting, you’ll get a suggestion to send a text to the other person. Shortcuts on the lock screen are like app suggestions, but with more specific actions.
Apple will open up shortcuts to third-party developers to store information or set up shortcuts. Developers will be able to put an “Add to Siri” button in their apps. For instance, you can store your flight details under the “flight to Portland” shortcut. So if you ask Siri that phrase, you’ll get your flight details.
The Workflow team has been working on the Shortcuts app. It’s just like the automation app Workflow that Apple acquired a couple of years ago. But you can also configure connected devices using Shortcuts, and trigger shortcuts using the HomePod. So there you go, Apple is back in the voice assistant game with this new ecosystem of shortcuts.
Apple is also redesigning Apple News and the Stocks app. There’s a new sidebar in the News app to improve navigation. You’ll also get a sort of Yahoo Finance in the Stocks app with share prices, headlines, after-hour pricing. The Stocks app is coming to the iPad too.
As for iBooks, rumors were right. Apple is adding audio books to iBooks (and removing them from the Music app). And the company is also rebranding iBooks to Apple Books.
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