Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
Apple warns against storing the Apple Card in leather and denim
First of all, keep it out of the light. It hates bright light, especially sunlight, it’ll kill it. Second, don’t give it any water, not even to drink. But the most important rule, the rule
Timbuk2’s Parker is a commuter backpack made for the long haul
It’s finally Bag Week again! The most wonderful week of the year at TechCrunch. Just in time for back to school, we’re bringing you reviews of bags of all varieties: from backpacks to rollers to
Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman are coming to Disrupt SF
Ten years ago, a hardware startup launched a fitness device onstage at TechCrunch 50. The $99 gadget combined a pedometer with a diet-monitoring system, designed to help wearers meet their fitness goa
IFTTT warns against migrating Nest devices to Google accounts
Google says it’s moving Nest devices over to a unified Google ecosystem for the sake of simplicity. But simple can be complicated, as is certainly the case here. In May, after user pushback, the com
Segway-Ninebot’s new scooter drives to its docking station for a recharge
At an event in Beijing last week, Chinese scooter company Segway-Ninebot Group unveiled a trio of new products. The most compelling of the bunch was no doubt the KickScooter T60, which harnesses AI to
These are the games coming to Google Stadia
Google’s game streaming service isn’t set to launch until November, but the company kept the hype train going through the mid-August doldrums with a Gamescom Stadia Connect live stream. As promise
Trump and Tim Cook talked easing tariffs again
On Friday night, the president once again tweeted about Apple . This time, however, things were a bit more positive. “Having dinner tonight with Tim Cook of Apple,” he wrote in advance of the meet
US Commerce Department adds 46 Huawei affiliates to entity list
Update: Huawei has responded to the DoC’s move, We oppose the US Commerce Department’s decision to add another 46 Huawei affiliates to the Entity List. It’s clear that this decision,
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ review
It’s true, you’ve got the Galaxy Note to thank for your big phone. When the device hit the scene at IFA 2011, large screens were still a punchline. That same year, Steve Jobs famously joked about
Motorola has GoPro aspirations for its latest budget handset
Good on Motorola for keeping it interesting. At the end of the day, I’m not sure how large a market there is for a budget “action camera” phone, but in a world of samey electronics, at least the
Apple, Samsung continue growth as North American wearables market hits $2B
New numbers out of Canalys show strong continued growth for the North America wearables market for Q2. The market hit $2 billion value for the quarter, according to the firm, marking a 38% year over y
Huawei employees reportedly aided African governments in spying
A new report from The Wall Street Journal could be another damning piece of evidence for a company already under a good deal of international scrutiny. The paper is reporting that technicians working
Ajit Pai formally recommends T-Mobile/Sprint merger approval
Ajit Pai has long signaled that he would approve a T-Mobile/Sprint merger, but today the FCC chairman made it official. In spite of widespread opposition suggesting that the combining of the country&#
Misfit releases a new Wear OS smartwatch
It’s almost certainly no coincidence that Misfit’s new smartwatch bears more than a passing resemblance to the Fossil devices announced a week or two back. The one-time modular fitness startup has
Oregon joins lawsuit opposing T-Mobile/Sprint merger
Oregon this week became the 15th state (plus the District of Columbia) to sign onto a lawsuit seeking to stop a T-Mobile/Sprint merger. The suit, co-signed by 16 attorneys general, argues that a merge
Phones, laptops and game consoles get tariff reprieve until December
Update: Trump confirmed to reporters that the delay is due to timing for the holiday shopping season. “We’re doing this for the Christmas season,” he said. “Just in case some of the tariffs wo
Spotify’s podcast dashboard comes out of beta
Over the last couple of years, Spotify has made a big push into podcasts. The tip of the spear has been major investments, including acquisitions of companies like Gimlet and Anchor. It’s all part o
Samsung’s Note 10 game streaming arrives in August
Update: Samsung has since adjusted timing. The app will be available this month, not early September as originally reported. PlayGalaxy Link got fleetingly little stage time at last week’s Unpacked
DJI slims down and simplifies its smartphone gimbal
As we noted last month, DJI’s camera stabilizer line began life as an offshoot of the company’s drone offerings. Since then, however, it’s grown into a pretty massive portfolio in its own right,
Verizon is selling Tumblr to WordPress.com parent, Automattic
Six years after Yahoo purchased Tumblr for north of $1 billion, its parent corporation is selling the once-dominant blogging platform. WordPress owner Automattic Inc. has agreed to take the service of