Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
AI construction startup Versatile raises a $20M Series A
San Francisco-based construction startup Versatile is announcing today that it has raised a $20 million Series A. The round was led by Insight Partners and Entree Capital, along with existing investor
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 will land on phones in Q1 2021
As promised, more info following yesterday’s Snapdragon 888 announcement. First off, as expected, the company’s next flagship SoC will arrive in the first quarter of next year. We’re still waiti
Looking Glass’s next product is a holographic digital photo frame
Looking Glass’s technology is extremely cool, but has, thus far, been prohibitively expensive, ranging from $600 for its 8.9-inch product to $6,000 for the 15-inch model — and an undisclosed s
Qualcomm announces the new Snapdragon 888 chip
Qualcomm kicked off an all-virtual version of its annual summit this morning by announcing the launch of the the Snapdragon 888 platform. The chipmaker is clearly saving some key information for later
How Ryan Reynolds and Mint Mobile worked without becoming the joke
In the past decade, celebrity interest and investment in tech companies has significantly increased. But not all celebrity investments are created equally. Some investors, like Ashton Kutcher, have pr
Rockstar programmer: Rivers Cuomo finds meaning in coding
“Hi, I’m Rivers from the band, Weezer,” Rivers Cuomo says with a slight smile and a wave. He turns away from the camera for a bit, before launching into his best infomercial pitch. “Imagine yo
Gift Guide: 5 solid tech gifts to help decrease stress and increase sleep
Even in a normal year, the holidays can be an anxiety-inducing hellscape. In 2020, though — honestly, it’s hard to say what manner of climactic finale this historically rough year might have on ta
YouTube suspends and demonetizes One America News Network over COVID-19 video
YouTube today confirmed that it has suspended right-wing cable channel One America News Network (OAN or OANN for short). The penalty comes after a violation of YouTube’s stated COVID-19 misinformati
Fortnite adds a $12 monthly subscription bundle
Fortnite’s free to play model has no doubt been a big driver in the battle royale title’s stratospheric success. Epic clearly hasn’t had much issue monetizing the game. While revenue slipped las
Gift Guide: 7 perfect gifts for podcasters and streamers
So, this one is going to be a different from last year. Because everything is different from last year. I know 2020 has been a pretty big change for my own personal podcast. I always prefer conducting
Gift Guide: 7 great gifts for anyone working from home
Let’s just get this out of the way: For the past several years, I’ve contributed the “Best Gifts for Frequent Travelers” segment to TechCrunch’s annual gift guide. I love it. It was easily m
Amazon’s Echo Buds get new fitness tracking features
I wasn’t super impressed when I reviewed the Echo Buds around this time last year, but Amazon’s first shot at Alexa-powered fully wireless earbuds was passable. And while they’ve already been on
Walmart is buying JoyRun assets to add ‘peer-to-peer’ product delivery
The last time we wrote about JoyRun, it was raising $10 million. Today, the Bay Area startup has some very different news to share, as it becomes part of Walmart as Walmart has purchased select assets
After Apple’s M1 launch, Intel announces its own white-label laptop
Its long fruitful relationship with Apple may be sunsetting soon, but Intel’s still got a fairly massive footprint in the PC market. There’s never a good time to get complacent, though (a lesson t
Amazon’s drone delivery team hit with layoffs amid reorganization
Amazon has confirmed an early Financial Times report outlining layoffs at the retail giant’s Prime Air drone delivery program. “As part of our regular business operations, we are reorganizing one
Amazon’s smart glasses get an upgrade, as its smart ring is discontinued
As strange as they are, you would be forgiven for forgetting about the existence of Echo Frames. Amazon announced the smart glasses among a deluge of Alexa-focused products at an event last year (whic
Spotify opens a marketplace for Canvas looping artwork designers
Spotify today announced that it has leveraged last year’s SoundBetter acquisition to create a marketplace for artists who make short, looping visuals for Canvas. The feature, which began rolling out
‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ will air on PBS, in spite of Apple TV+ rights exclusive
Call it a holiday miracle. Apple today announced that animated holiday classics “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will, indeed, be appearing on television this yea
This $99 gadget helps you make music, no skill required
At CES back in January, I met with a handful of founders who were/are crowdfunding musical instruments. It’s a fascinating category and one to watch if you have a passing interest in either music or
Trump will lose protected Twitter status after his presidency
Twitter has at various times acknowledged that Donald Trump isn’t bound by the same rules that govern the rest of us. This executive privilege has allowed him to continue posting comments that could