Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
DJI introduces a Ronin stabilizer for mirrorless cameras
The camera stabilizer has been an interesting piece of DJI’s product play. A kind of offshoot of the company’s advanced drone-based imaging systems, the Ronin line has allowed it to appeal to phot
The Dreamlight Zen uses lights and music to help wearers relax
Every time I’m back in Asia, it seems like I’m meeting with another sleep mask company. And every time, I wonder aloud about how the technology might ease the soul-grinding 16-hour flight home. La
Sutro’s smart pool-monitoring device arrives next month
Sutro’s device has changed a lot since the company appeared as a contestant in our Hardware Battlefield way back in 2015. But who hasn’t, really? The startup happened to be in town as TechCrunch p
Kibus is like a Keurig for your pet
In a pitch during a recent meeting at Brinc’s Hong Kong headquarters, the Barcelona-based team behind Kibus Petcare was quick to point out that most millennials consider pets “a member of the fami
Phuture Foods is creating a plant-based pork substitute for the Asian market
We met with a handful of Brinc’s top startups earlier this week during a visit to the accelerator’s Hong Kong headquarters. The lion’s share of the demos involved hardware products, which has lo
Valkyrie Industries is building a haptic VR suit for industrial training
Valkyrie Industries off-handedly refers to the current iteration of its VR suit as “Iron Man v. 1.” It’s a fitting reference. There’s a very “first half of the superhero film” vibe to the
Presso is piloting dry cleaning vending machines at midwestern hotels
Hotel dry-cleaning is the absolute worst. Seriously. Have you ever attempted to get clothes cleaned on the road? You’ll routinely end up paying $10-15 per shirt. As someone who travels a lot for bus
‘Robot umpires’ make independent league baseball debut
Four months after being announced, so-called “robotic umpires” have made their debut in baseball’s Atlantic League. The addition is one of several tweaks currently being piloted in the independe
Apple updates entry-level MacBook Air and Pro for back to school
Apple just announced a handful of key updates to its most popular Mac devices, timed for back to school purchases. The entry-level MacBook Pro gets the biggest bump from this update, bringing the Touc
MLB Ballpark app adds Apple Business Chat-powered concierge experience for All-Star game
Just in time for tonight’s Home Run Derby, Major League Baseball is rolling out a new feature on its Ballpark app that utilizes Apple’s Business Chat feature for a customized in-person experience.
Google’s Pixel 4 renders surface and all anyone can do is stare at that top bezel
This time last month, Google took the surprise (and anticlimactic) move of tweeting out images of the Pixel 4 well ahead of its October launch. Of course, that glimpse just focused on the rear of the
Twitter and Facebook reportedly not invited to White House ‘social media summit’
On Thursday, the White House’s social media summit will reportedly host a who’s who of conservative media pundits. PragerU and Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk have apparently received invites
Mozilla readies launch of news subscription service
Way back in February, Mozilla announced an upcoming collaboration with Scroll aimed at finding a way to help fund news outlets. The organization appears ready to finally launch to the service, sending
Sony’s new wireless earbuds pack great noise-canceling and battery life
I’ve got a 16-hour flight coming up in about a week, so I’m hoping our review units come through before then. For now, my time with the WF-1000XM3 has been limited to a few minutes in a conference
The cassette player finally goes Bluetooth
This month marks the 40th anniversary of Sony’s first Walkman, the portable music player that would forever change the way we consume music. And while the audio cassette long ago fell out of favor f
Appeals court rules Amazon can be held liable for third-party products
In a blow to Amazon, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the mega-retailer can be held accountable for faulty third-party sales. The ruling arrived this week via the 3rd U.S. City Court of Appeals in Phil
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold problems are reportedly fixed — so now what?
In a recent interview, Samsung CEO DJ Koh noted that the company was hard at work on Galaxy Fold fixes (he also said people won’t be using smartphones in five years, so who knows?). And now, a repor
Tidal highlights behind-the-scenes personnel with new credits feature
Listen up, youngsters. Back in my day we had a thing called album art. You’d buy a record and just stare at that thing for hours on end. You’d read the liner notes and check the credits for famili
Newly unsealed court documents reveal additional allegations against Andy Rubin
Newly unsealed documents have revealed a spate of bombshell allegations against Android founder Andy Rubin. BuzzFeed’s Ryan Mac has made the documents available as a PDF, and there’s a lot to unpa
Another major theater chain is reportedly working on a MoviePass competitor
Movie ticket subscription services have had a tough time of it. The two largest names in the business — MoviePass and Sinemia — have been waging what looks to have been a mostly losing bat