On today's episode, we discuss Facebook letting users choose how their News Feed looks, Clubhouse adding tipping, tech giants betting people are ready for augmented reality (AR) glasses, making the most of "micromoments," Apple making a car, what happens when you look down at your phone while walking, and more. Tune in to listen to the discussion with eMarketer analysts Nina Goetzen and Blake Droesch, and senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Sara M. Watson.

Once relegated to the children’s market, virtual characters are entering the mainstream in China. Fictional as these digitally rendered avatars may be, they hold real jobs, from pop star to influencer, to even news anchor. And they’re becoming increasingly interactive and humanlike, thanks to improvements in technologies such as AI, motion capture, and virtual reality (VR). Recent advancements in augmented reality (AR), in particular, have enabled virtual avatars to step out of social media and make live appearances alongside flesh-and-blood celebrities.

eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Victoria Petrock discusses how to be an inclusive marketer. She then talks about new guidelines for drone delivery, retailers turning to augmented reality (AR) to help online shoppers try products on, and the ceiling for virtual reality (VR) adoption.

Augmented reality (AR) is becoming more widely available on social platforms. It’s mainly been a tool for entertainment and brand awareness, but the pandemic is pushing marketers to explore new use cases.

The iPhone 12 Pro became the first phone to have a back-facing Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) camera, which enables more sophisticated augmented reality (AR). (Top-end Android phones use a similar Time-of-Flight, or ToF sensor.) Lidar can near-instantaneously detect depth and size, allowing for rapid and very detailed mixed reality functions for apps, such as furniture placement or full-body Snapchat Lenses. This should supercharge mobile AR spending and make such ads more feasible.

This report examines key takeaways from our most recent forecasts for US virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) users.

We recently spoke with Leila Kashani Manshoory, founder and CEO of Alleyoop, about the challenges of remote photoshoots, the company’s recent pop-up partnerships with Bloomingdale’s and Verishop, and its foray into augmented reality (AR).

Augmented reality (AR) has become more common on social networks. This year, there will be 43.7 million US social network AR users, according to our March 2020 forecast.

Budget cuts and advertising pullbacks are giving companies in industries like retail, accessories and entertainment new reasons to explore the benefits of these technologies.