Augmented Reality Apps-If we go back a few years, we will realize how unreal augmented and virtual reality seemed.  Even though both of these technologies have been around for a while now, they still sound pretty exotic. Users will be more leaned towards buying gadgets that incorporate these technologies. Why? Because it’s human psychology, people want to experience new and more exciting things. And of course, what could be better than immersing in the world of augmented and virtual reality.

Augmented reality is the reason why Pokémon Go is able to make it appear as if Pikachu is standing on the sidewalk or sitting on your nightstand. Asides the very popular Pokémon Go AR game, you can find a number of augmented reality apps in the Google and App store as well. If you’ve been looking for ways to experience augmented reality right on your smartphone device, no need to look any further. I set out to hunt out some of the best AR mobile apps to escape reality. I’ve enlisted and described these apps below.

1. SkyView Explore the Universe

If you are someone that is interested in stargazing, SkyView is the perfect augmented reality mobile app for you. With the advancement of technology and the emergence of AR mobile apps like SkyView, you no longer have to be an astronomer to view and interact with stars and constellations in the sky. SkyView is an intuitive stargazing mobile app that utilizes your mobile’s camera to observe the vast sky and identify various celestial objects whether day or night.

Users can find celestial bodies in the sky by simply pointing their camera towards the sky. It’s a very powerful mobile app and can even identify elements in the sky even after you rotate the camera, it automatically recognizes various points in the sky and adjusts itself accordingly. Here are some of its best features:

• • Identifying and naming objects in the sky such as galaxies, planets, satellites, and stars.

• • Shows the location of different space stations as well as of stars.

• • It comes with red or green night mode filters to preserve your night vision.

• • It contains the time travel feature which you can use to jump to the future or the past to see the sky at a different time and date.
  • Easily capture images and share them with your social circle on your social networks

2. Pokémon GO (iOS)

Mobile app development companies are always on the lookout for ways to incorporate new technology into their mobile apps. And no doubt, they are doing an excellent job in utilizing the upcoming technologies. Of course, asides all the other augmented reality mobile apps out there, Pokémon Go is the most popular of the lot. Even before the game was launched, it had a lot of hype and of course thousands of pre-orders. Pokémon Go had its players going to different locations to find different creatures and then throw virtual Pokeballs to capture them.

Furthermore, players could use their captured creatures to battle with other Pokémon using different interactions that combine the physical surroundings with the game itself. The level of entertainment and reality that Pokémon GO brought is definitely unmatchable. Here are some of its features that I absolutely loved:

• • You never run out of Pokémon to catch. It gives you a chance to explore the locations around you and find rare and powerful Pokémon.

• • You can battle with other trainers in real-time.

• • You can make new friends, exchange cool gifts, and trade your Pokémon.
  • Spice up your play by joining different teams and raid battles.

3. ARBasketball – Augmented Reality Basketball Game

ARbasketball is a gaming app based on augmented reality that works using your mobile’s camera and other sensors. Before you head on to installing this mobile app, remember that it is a very satisfying and addicting app. This game allows players to throw virtual balls into a basketball hoop. It is fairly simple to use; all you have to do is print out the marker, place it at your desired location and open the app. After the app is open, point your camera at the marker, you will see a virtual basketball net that you can swipe basketballs into.

4. BBC Civilizations AR

One of the best ways to utilize augmented reality is for the education sector. The Civilization AR mobile app from BBC enables you to locate various historic artifacts and study them by rotating and resizing them as you find fit. After you have installed the app, you will see an amazing tutorial that will explain the procedure of locating and examining an Egyptian mummy. You will be able to see the history associated with the mummy. There are above 30 artifacts for you to explore and admire, this is an excellent AR mobile app for people that love history.

Check out some of its amazing features:

• • Exploring and interacting with realistic historic artifacts

• • X-ray features that you can use to discover hidden secrets

• • Use the restore feature to see how an artifact looked when new
  • Take and share photographs of the objects

5. Mondly

Have you wanted to learn a language but always felt that you don’t have enough time. Mondly is one of the augmented reality apps for language learning that will help you overcome this issue. You can choose from 33 different languages; the language you select will be incorporated into your daily exercises to pace up your learning.

Just like ARbasketball, Mondly is also fairly easy to use. After tapping on the AR button, you will have to find a flat surface, once a flat surface is identified, the app will place your AR teacher and she will begin teaching you by showing you various examples of the word to help you easily memorize them. Here are some of the key features that make it an excellent tutor for you:

• • Accurate pronunciation with the help of native speaker and crystal-clear audio.

• • Precise speech recognition to assess your pronunciation.

• • Learning from conversations and phrases
  • A leaderboard feature that will allow you to see the progress of other people around the globe and compete with them.

Conclusion

Remember that I’ve selected the above AR mobile apps from the apps that I had tested. You might know about an app that is better than all the apps mentioned in this list, I would love to hear about it.

Both augmented as well as virtual reality are still fresh technologies, app development companies are constantly looking for ways to use AR in more entertaining and innovative ways. We will just have to wait and see what the future has in store for us.

Image credit- Pixabay

Hong Kong-based mobile brand, iVOOMi, has launched iVOOMi iPro in Indian market to expand its product portfolio at a price tag of just INR 3,999. The smartphone is said to be India’s first FullView (18:9) smartphone which is Flipkart exclusive available from today i.e. September 20.

On this smartphone purchase, Reliance Jio customers will receive a cashback of INR 2,200 on the smartphone purchase which will be credited after recharge with INR 198 or INR 299 prepaid pack.

Key Specifications of iVOOMi iPro

1. iVOOMi iPro features a 4.95 inch FWVGA+ Full View display with 18:9 screen ratio, Shatterproof
2. Powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core MTK 6737 processor
3. Android Oreo 8.1 (Go edition) on top of Smart Me OS 3.0, GPU-Mali-T720
4. 1 GB RAM paired with 8 GB internal storage (expanded up to 128GB using the micro SD card)
5. 5-megapixel selfie camera at the front and a 5-megapixel rear camera with soft flash
6. Smartphone comes with facial recognition technology
7. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, USB OTG, 3G and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India)
8. Proximity sensor and gravity sensor are the sensors available on the device
9. Backed by a 2000 mAh battery and Dual SIM
10. Platinum Gold, Indie Blue and Matte Red color option/variants
11. Supports multiple audio formats, such as AAC, AMR, mp3 and WAV

Ashwin Bhandari, CEO, iVOOMi India, said on the launch of the smartphone, “After due diligence, and an extensive research, we realized that there is an ever-growing demand for entry level smartphones in the country. iVOOMi iPro has been designed keeping in mind the aspirations of a typical smartphone buyer in India who wants to own the best of technology without burning a hole in his pocket. This includes users who are switching from feature phones to smartphones but have a budget constraint. Bringing latest technology at the most competitive prices has been the core vision of the company. With this, we also decided to bring back our much-adored Shatterproof Display coupled with the in-demand AR Emoji.”

Ayyappan Rajagopal, Senior Director – Mobiles, Flipkart, said, “We at Flipkart are excited to have the latest Android Go phone iPro from iVOOMi on our platform. This is a wonderful addition to our suite of products in the sub 10K segment and has truly democratized technology for the masses. This is in line with our overall objective of ensuring everyone in India has access to great smartphone technology at every price point.”

Image credit- Canva

Oppo has launched Realme 1 smartphone, an Oppo’s sub-brand called Realme, which is said to give ‘real products at real price‘ in India. According to the company, the handset is a #makeinIndia concept.

Price of the Realme 1

1. 3GB RAM version at Rs 8,990
2. 6GB RAM version at Rs 13,990
3. 4GB+64GB version will be priced at Rs 10,990 (expected to be launched in June)

As of now, the Realme 1 comes in Solar Red and Diamond Black colour options. There will be a Moonlight Silver variant also that will be coming in June. The smartphone will compete against the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro and Honor 7X.

Beginning of sale

The handset will go on sale by May 25 at 12 noon on Amazon India website. Buyers will get Reliance Jio benefits of up to Rs 4,850. There will be added 5% cashback offers for SBI card holders.

Specifications of the Realme 1

1. Features a 6-inch full HD+ screen 2160X1080p resolution with 84.75% screen-to-body ratio
2. Features the diamond cut design on the back
3. Made of 12-layer of nanotech giving it a bright and polished frame
4. Powered by MediaTek’s 12nm octa-core Helio P60 processor, which is claimed to improve the speed by 50% and also assist in temperature controlling of the device
5. Storage versions — 3GB+32GB variant and 6GB+128GB internal storage
6. Android Oreo 8.1 based on Oppo’s Colour OS
7. 3410 mAh battery with AI support that is said to help the device’s performances by analyzing the users’ usage pattern
8. 13 MP rear camera and an 8 MP front facing camera. The cameras are capable of supporting AR stickers within the app and offer Bokeh and Vivid mode
9. Equipped with Oppo’s AI Beauty 2.0 Technology, which is said to recognize 296 facial spots in the users’ face to enhance selfies
10. Device is capable to endure extreme weather conditions viz. -15 degrees to 55-degree Celsius, both for a period of up to 7 days

Image credit- Canva

Chinese consumer electronics and mobile communication company, Oppo brand under OPPO Electronics Corp., has finally launched its flagship smartphone Oppo F7 in India today in an event held in Mumbai. OPPO’s major product lines include smartphones, Blu-ray players and other electronic devices.

This newly launched baby is the successor to the Oppo F5, the highlight of this device is its whopping 25MP front-facing camera with Artificial Intelligence features, which the company is claiming to be the first on a camera smartphone.

The only real competition for the handset in this aspect comes from Vivo which is offering a slightly low 24MP selfie-camera in its recently launched Vivo V9.

Price & offers on Oppo F7

Oppo F7 is priced at Rs 21,990, for the 4GB RAM variant and Rs 26,990, for the 6GB RAM variant. Both the variants come in Solar Red, Blue and Moonlight Silver color options. There is also a Black diamond-cut edition of the Oppo F7.

The device will be available via flash sale only on April 2 online exclusively on Flipkart and offline on its 777 stores. The first sale of the handset will begin from April 9.

Specifications of Oppo F7

• 6.23-inch full-HD+ display with 1080×2280 pixel resolution and 19:9 aspect ratio.
• It has an iPhone X-like notch on the top.
• Processor- An 64-bit octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 processor paired.
• Storage options – 4GB of RAM with 64GB ROM and 6GB of RAM and 128GB ROM.
• Dual sim support and a dedicated microSD card support, with triple slots.
• AI Beauty 2.0-powered 25-megapixel front-facing camera with Sony 576 Sensor HDR.
• Single rear camera lens of 16-megapixel with LED flash, comes with AI recognition for up to 16 scenes. The camera also boasts of the Portrait and Vivid mode.
• Color OS 5.0 based on Android 8.1.
• Facial unlock feature.
• Battery- 3400mAh (offers 15 hours of battery backup on a single charge).
• Connectivity- 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.
• Fingerprint sensor at back

AI enabled device focuses on better color reproduction and detailing. As for the Artificial Intelligence features, the camera is capable of scanning more than 296 facial spots and arm and neck recognition as well. It is capable of differentiating the gender, age, skin tone, and skin type of the person in front of the camera. The AI-learning of the Oppo F7 recognizes the habit of the user and remembers it and does that automatically for them for their subsequent pictures. Another feature of the camera is its Vivid Mode, which is said to keep the face of the person natural but enhances the background. The camera of the Oppo F7 also comes with AR-based sticker support as well as group selfie-beautification capability.

Image credit- Canva