Samsung Galaxy S9 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

September 23, 2018

Disney’s Zootopia Characters Come To The Samsung Galaxy S9 As AR Emojis

Samsung are continuing to grow their offering of augmented reality (AR) Emoji as three new characters now join the line up from the popular Disney film Zootopia. Also known as Zootropolis in some regions, the characters of Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps and Flash are becoming AR avatars for users to use on their Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone.

Zootopia AR Emoji Gif

For those unaware, Samsung’s AR Emojis allow a user to capture their expressions and mouth movements in real-time with their device and project them onto a character of their choice. Once download, a user can easily create and share animated emojis as images, videos or even gifs in their favourite messaging app. They can even be used a lock screen wallpapers on the device should you always want a little bit extra fun in your daily device usage.

Like other characters, Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps and Flash can all be downloaded for free. To access them, a user needs to access their camera’s AR Emoji mode and tap the plus icon on the right-hand side of the screen. From here simply find the Zootopia AR Emoji pack from the Galaxy Apps Store and wait for the download to finish. Then, once installed, have fun creating your own expressions.

The three join the ever-growing line up of Disney character that are currently available for users to download, including Mickey Mouse and friends along with characters from The Incredibles and Frozen. It was only back in May of this year that The Incredibles 2 pack was released allow users to become Mr Incredible, Elastgirl, Violet, Dash, Jack-Jack and of course, Frozone, who all have a part in the film released earlier this year.

The AR Emoji are able to track over 100 facial features to create a digital replica of the user meaning that almost any expression is able to be captured and share. Of course, given the ability to make animated gifs users could even re-create their favourite moment from the film of a respective character. According to Samsung, more than 6 billion AR Emoji messages are being sent daily, so the new characters are sure to be welcomed warmly by users.

VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on AR Emojis in the future, so stay tuned for more.

May 28, 2018

The Incredibles Come To Augmented Reality With AR Emojis

Samsung’s augmented reality (AR) take on emojis were launched along with the Samsung Galaxy S9, continuing Samsung’s tradition of competing with Apple by creating its own version of the apple Animojis. Samsung are now starting to add in AR emojis themed around the Disney/Pixar franchise The Incredibles.

Samsung has a content partnership with Disney that has allowed iconic characters such as Mickey, Minnie and Donald to become part of the available AR Emojis, with the cast of The Incredibles 2 now joining the roster.

The Incredibles 2 is due to launch in cinemas on 14th June, and is the sequel to the successful original film which was released in 2004, telling the story of a super-powered family who found themselves subjected to restrictive laws and a new threat emerging from Mr Incredible’s superhero past.

Users of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be able to download AR emojis of Mr Incredible, Elastigirl, Violet, Dash, Jack-Jack and Frozone, who in the films was voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. Users will be able to use those emojis to send messages to friends and family in the guise of their favourite character from the film.

Like the other Disney content, The Incredibles AR emojis are available as a free download from the built-in camera app. User to go into the camera app and tap the plus icon to access the Galaxy apps store, then select The Incredibles AR emoji pack and begin downloading.

AR Emoji tracks over 100 facial features to create a digital replica of the user that the AR Emoji than then use as a basis for its animations, allowing the animated character to mimic the expressions of the user.

According to Samsung, more than 6 billion AR emoji messages are being sent daily, so many users will be excited for this new content. For more news on new and upcoming VR and AR content and services, keep checking back with VRFocus.

February 27, 2018

Samsung Galaxy S9 And S9+ Are Daydream Ready Too

Gear VR isn’t the only VR headset Samsung’s new Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones are set to support.

Samsung also confirmed to CNET this week that both devices will support Google’s Daydream mobile VR platform when they launch in March. This isn’t hugely surprising considering that last year’s flagship phone, the Galaxy S8, introduced Daydream support early on. It does mean that, just as will the Gear VR, the S9 is one of the most powerful smartphones out there to support the Daydream ecosystem right now thanks to Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 845 chipset. You can expect it to handle the existing library of games and experiences with relative ease.

If you’re an avid mobile VR user it looks like the S9 will offer you the best of both worlds, then. That said, we’ haven’t got the hands on our phone ourselves to test it out yet.

While Gear VR users will need the most recent version of the headset that released alongside the Galaxy Note 8, the one-size fits all nature of the Daydream View headsets (which hold phones in place with pressure rather than a snapping mechanic) should mean that you can use either model released over the past two years to access Daydream content.

There was a little confusion earlier this week as to if the S9 might enable six degrees of freedom (6DOF) movement on Gear thanks to Qualcomm’s latest tech powering the phone, but it appears that won’t be the case for now. The same is likely true of the Daydream support, too, though don’t forget Google and Lenovo’s 6DOF standalone headset, Mirage Solo, is just a few months away from release, too.

Tagged with: Samsung Galaxy S9

February 25, 2018

Room-Scale and 6DoF Coming to New Samsung Gear VR

Samsung has been seeking the limelight today with the reveal of the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. With the release of a new smartphone, this does raise the question of if there will be a new version of the Samsung Gear VR headset to match it. Qualcomm appear to have let the cat out of the bag on that front.

Qualcomm have revealed that the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, which allows for a number of advanced features, such as on-device artificial intelligence (AI) and so called ‘eXtended Reality’ or XR.

Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+ Colour Shades

The immersive technology is powered by the Qualcomm Adreno 630 visual processing system, which allows the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ to introduce room-scale virtual reality (VR) experiences for the Samsung Gear VR, and for 6 Degrees of Freedom (6DoF) controls with simultaneous localisation and mapping, also known as SLAM. The subprocessor is also capable of using ‘Adreno foveation’ which reducing power consumption during VR experiences.

“We are proud to have recently expanded our strategic relationship with Samsung to continue our joint efforts to bring breakthrough mobile experiences to consumers with the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+,” said Alex Katouzian, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Mobile at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Powered by the Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ is designed to deliver the latest advancements directly to consumers.”

“Samsung is built on a heritage of delivering meaningful innovations and is driven by a commitment to defying barriers,” said TM Roh, Executive Vice President and the Head of Mobile R&D at Samsung Electronics. “The Galaxy S9 is built for the way we use our smartphones to communicate and share experiences today, supported by our continuous pursuit for the latest technology with Qualcomm Technologies.”

New Samsung Gear VR and Controller

While a new version of the Samsung Gear VR has not yet been confirmed, the current Samsung Gear VR is only capable of 3DoF, and may not fit the altered dimensions of the new smartphone. VRFocus will bring you further news on developments regarding Samsung’s VR and AR projects.

February 25, 2018

Samsung S9 and S9+ Tech Specs Revealed

Samsung has revealed the Galaxy S9 and S9+ during their recent Galaxy UNPACKED event and the technical specifications for the two devices are here.

Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+

The new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be coming packed with plenty of exciting new features and hardware that allows the devices to deliver the best experience to date. Both of the devices will releasing with the Android 8 (Oreo) operating system (OS) which is the latest release of the Android OS.

Both phones come with a Quad HD + Curved Super AMOLED screen with a 5.8-inch (570ppi) display on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and a 6.2-inch (529ppi) on the Samsung Galaxy S9+. Those big displays come are reflected in the size of the devices with the dimensions of the phones as follow:

Samsung Galaxy S9: 147.7mm x 68.7mm x 8.5mm, 163g, IP68
Samsung Galaxy S9+: 158.1mm x 73.8mm x 8.5mm, 189g, IP68

Moving onto the cameras, both the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9 + come with a 8MP AF (F1.7) front facing camera. As for the rear camera the Samsung Galaxy S9 packs a Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF senor with OIS (F1.5/F2.4) and Samsung Galaxy S9+ having a Dual Camera with Dual OIS, Wide-angle: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF senor with OIS (F1.5/F2.4) and a 12MP AF sensor (F2.4) telephoto lens.

Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+ Colour Shades

To power these cameras the phones are packed with 10nm, 64-bit, Octa-core processors, clocking at 2.7 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHz Quad and 2.8 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHz Quad. You will find a 3,000mAh battery in the S9 and 3,500mAh in the S9+. Fast wired and fast wireless charging are supported.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB + Micro SD card slot and 6GB RAM, 128GB + Micro SD slot on the S9+. Both can have their storeage expanded up to 400GB.

Both phones will support a single and dual SIM card use, with network Enhanced 4X4 MIMO / CA, LAA, LTE Cat.18 coverage. Connectivity specifics include a USB type-C, NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM, Bluetooth® v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+ and location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou).

The biometric lock for fingerprint unlocking has been moved to the back of each device and intelligent scan, face recognition including iris scanning will allow users to unlock complete hands free.

Finally, both the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ will support the following media formats for both audio and video:

Audio: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF
Video: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ have just been revealed by the company and move news and developments will be posted as they are announced. To stay up to date with all the news, keep reading VRFocus.

February 25, 2018

Samsung Introduces AR Emoji With The Galaxy S9

It’s time for the annual Samsung Unpacked event prior to Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018. The big announcement – that everyone was expecting – was for the new Galaxy S9 and S9 + smartphones. While there’s been no mention just yet of virtual reality (AR), augmented reality (AR) has made an appearance, with Samsung unveiling AR Emoji’s.

Samsung S9 event ARemoji

Very much in the same vein as Apple’s iPhone X announcement, Samsung’s AR Emoji’s allow users to create an emoji that looks, sounds and acts like them thanks to the new camera on the Galaxy S9.

As Samsung explains in a press release: “AR Emoji uses a data-based machine learning algorithm, which analyses a 2D image of the user and maps out more than 100 facial features to create a 3D model that reflects and imitates expressions, like winks and nods, for true personalisation. AR Emoji shares your real-life feelings not only in video but also with a range of stickers in uses a standard AGIF file format so users can share their emojis across most third-party messaging platforms.”

So with AR Emoji’s not only can you create your own digital character you’ll be able to use it on apps like Whats App or Facebook Messenger. Plus, Samsung has revealed a collaboration with Disney, bringing some of the company’s well known cartoon characters to the software.

Samsung Galaxy S9 - Samsung Unpacked AR Representation (Back)

Attendees also got to see another use of Galaxy S9’s AR functionality by pointing the smartphone at their badges, bringing up a digital model of the device which could then be flipped over to show the various colours the smartphone comes in.

In addition to AR Emoji’s, Bixby, Samsung’s intelligence platform, has been integrated into the camera, combining AR and deep learning technologies to provide helpful information about your surroundings. “With real-time object detection and recognition, Bixby instantly generates information directly on top of the image that the camera is pointing at. Users can translate foreign languages and currency in real time with Live Translation, learn about their surroundings, purchase products seen in the real world and track calories throughout the day,” states Samsung.

AR is set to be a big part of smartphones this year. Most recently Google announced the roll out of ARCore 1.0., bringing advanced AR features to Android devices.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be available starting 16^th March in the UK, with pre-orders opening today at 18.00 GMT. For any further VR or AR related updates, keep reading VRFocus.

February 25, 2018

Samsung Galaxy S9 Price and Release Date Revealed

Over the past few weeks there have been a number of rumours and leaks regarding the newest iteration of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy smartphone line. The Samsung Galaxy S9 has now been officially revealed.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ were announced at the Samsung Unpacked event that took place during the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. Samsung representatives spoke of how the way that consumers use smartphones, noting that communication has become more visual than written. The Samsung Galaxy S9 is designed with this in mind.

Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+

“The way we use our smartphones has changed as communication and self-expression has evolved,” said DJ Koh, president and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “With the Galaxy S9 and S9+, we have reimagined the smartphone camera. Not only does the Galaxy S9 and S9+ enable consumers to shoot great photos and videos anywhere, it’s a smartphone that’s designed to help them connect to others and express themselves in a way that’s unique and personal to them.”

Customers in the UK will be able to get pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ from 25th February, 2018. Customers who manage to place their order before 7th March at 23:59 GMT will receive their devices seven days early, on 9th March. The devices will otherwise be available from 16th March from Samsung.com and selected retailers.

Colours available at launch will be Midnight Black, Coral Blue and a new hue called Lilac Purple, which Samsung are expecting to be very popular among its audience. Some retailers are offering trade-in deals for customers when purchasing the S9 and S9+.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ offers stereo speakers, surround sound provided by Dolby Atmos and a newly refined edge-to-edge Infinity Display. The camera has also undergone significant redesign to introduce a dual aperture lens to allow for clear images In low-light. A new augmented reality (AR) Emoji feature is also being introduced.

Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+ Colour Shades

The Samsung Galaxy S9 will be priced at £739 (GBP) and the S9+ will be £869.

Further news on new and upcoming Samsung products for AR and VR will be here on VRFocus.

February 22, 2018

Samsung’s Galaxy S9 AR Reveal Has Been Leaked

It looks like Samsung was planning something a little different for the reveal of its S9 smartphone this year, but it’s backfired a little.

All signs point towards Samsung announcing its new flagship smartphone at its Mobile World Congress Unpacked press conference in Barcelona this Sunday. However, as reported by XDA Developers, a Reddit user that downloaded the Unpacked app was able to break it down and uncover a neat little gimmick for the kit’s reveal. An AR component allows users to press their phone against their badges and then project a virtual rendition of the S9 into the palm of their hand through their smartphone screen.

As you can see in the images above, users are able to see the front and back of the phone and even change the color of the backing. In the past, Samsung has used its Gear VR headset to reveal new Galaxy phones, so we’re not surprised to see it now using AR to do the same for this year’s model.

Tradition dictates that the S9 will be the latest in a long line of Samsung smartphones to support the Gear VR mobile headset. Rumors and leaks suggest the phone will have the same 1440×2960 display as the S8 though may have increased computing power with the help of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chipset.

Expect to see more on the S9 at Samsung’s event on February 25th.

Tagged with: Samsung Galaxy S9