AR is the next step that the major Canadian bank is doing to compete within its market.

Royal Bank is updating its mobile application to help to incorporate a number of new state of the art features to appeal to customers who enjoy location based mobile services, but with a unique twist in the form of an augmented reality app element.

All a user needs to do is to open the map in the application and the AR feature will display the results of the query.

The augmented reality app is meant to help to make it easier for customers to be able to find the nearest Royal Bank (RBC) ATM or bank branch. The AR function provides a live streetscape that uses icons to guide the customer to the nearest location, including the distance to get there. The key to this update is to make the location feature easier and more convenient for the customer to use.

The bank’s augmented reality app is only the latest in its many smartphone friendly options.

According to the head of the emerging payments division at RBC, Jeremy Bornstein, “Making continuous improvements to our mobile app to allow our customers a smooth user experience is a priority for us.” The tool that allows customers to locate branches and ATMs is among the most commonly used in the existing mobile app from the bank, he added.

The bank believes that by combining this popular feature with a live street view that incorporates various location based elements, it has enhanced the usability and effectiveness of this tool in a very practical and appealing way.

In order to use the augmented reality feature, the latest version of the mobile app is required. The “Find a Location” function needs to be opened and the icon the icon can be tapped to turn the smartphone’s camera feature on . The application then links the compass in the device with the live image and its location based service with the RBC location database in order to guide the customer to the nearest branch or ATM location.

That location is presented on the screen and then the augmented reality app provides on screen directions to bring the customer from his or her present location to that of the desired ATM or branch.

Cutting edge new tech from songs to fingerprint sensing are on their way to their devices.

Among the various barriers that have stood in the way of areas such as m-commerce and payments, has been mobile security, and in an effort to help to provide consumers with a greater sense of confidence, some of the leading tech giants are working on some cutting edge new ways to provide that.

Google, for example, is working on an app that allows typed passwords to be replaced with a user’s unique song.

This mobile security app functions by setting a smartphone next to a tablet or laptop that plays a uniquely generated sound through the device’s speakers. The human ear may or may not be able to hear the unique “song”, but it can be picked up by the smartphone’s microphone. This could, in theory, allow Google to change the way that we think about passwords. The application, itself, was created by Or Zelig, Eran Galili, and ori Kabeli, of Israel. They claim that they created it as “security measures had become overly complicated and annoying.”

At the same time, mobile security news has “confirmed” that the Samsung Galaxy S5 will include a fingerprint sensor.

As the unveiling of the new Galaxy S5 from Samsung is expected next week, rumors are flying, and Sammobile has issued a report that claims that it has “confirmed” that the device will be equipped with a new fingerprint reading technology that will be built into the home button of the smartphone.

The report indicated that the fingerprint sensor feature operates when the finger is used to vertically swipe the pad while it is held flat and the swiping is done at a medium speed. Previous rumors had suggested that the entire screen on the Galaxy S5 would be the equivalent to a single large fingerprint reader. However, this new release indicates that it will be built into the home button in a way that is more comparable to the iPhone S5 from Apple.

Clearly, mobile security is becoming one of the top features that help to expand the appeal of the latest devices. Consumers are starting to feel the need to make their gadgets harder to access by the wrong people, particularly as they are conducting a larger number of sensitive tasks with them.