Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
Google is buying Fossil’s smartwatch tech for $40 million
Rumors about a Pixel Watch have abounded for years. Such a device would certainly make sense as Google attempts to prove the viability of its struggling wearable operating system, Wear OS. Seems the c
Researchers ran a simulator to teach this robot dog to roll over
Advanced robots are expensive, and teaching them can be incredibly time consuming. With the proper simulation, however, roboticists can train their machines to learn quickly. A team from the Robotic S
Hany Farid and Peter Barrett will be speaking at TC Sessions: Robotics + AI April 18 at UC Berkeley
We’re very excited to announce our first guests for this year’s TC Sessions: Robotics. TechCrunch is returning to the U.C. Berkeley campus again this April for another full-day session delving int
Amazon is holding a public version of its secretive MARS conference
All most of us will see from Jeff Bezos’s secretive MARS conference are a few photo shoots of the world’s richest man attempting to look as cool as possible around some very cool robotics. This su
Google’s Pixel 3 Lite could bring back the headphone jack
Word about the next member of the Pixel family started leaking out just after Christmas. Now the rumored Pixel 3 Lite is getting some more time to shine, courtesy of a three minute YouTube video that
Behold, Slack’s new logo
New year, new you, new Slack. The popular workplace chat service’s resolution clearly involved a bit of a facelift, starting with a new logo. A redesigned version of the familiar grid logo launched
Apple reportedly looking to subsidize Watch with Medicare plans
If nothing else, the addition of ECG/EKG reinforced Apple’s commitment to evolving the Watch into a serious medical device. The company has long looked to bring its best-selling wearable to various
Anchor says it’s ‘powering’ 40 percent of new podcasts
Podcasting’s greatest asset has always been its accessibility — for consumer and creator alike. But even the simplest medium requires a little know-how, and Anchor’s overarching goal has long be
The Motorola Razr could return as a $1,500 foldable smartphone
Motorola has revived the Razr name a few times over the years, but the once-mighty brand has failed to regain the heights of its early days as an ultra-slim flip phone. But what better time for the ph
The Square Off chess board melds the classical with the robotic
CES crowds can be tough — especially toward the end of the week. You’re physically and emotionally drained, and you’re pretty sure you’ve seen everything the consumer electronics world has to
The Sims gets its own in-game Alexa-style assistant, Lin-Z
There’s nothing like The Sims to log off from reality for a bit. Getting away from the increasingly ubiquitous world of smart assistants, on the other hand, is a different matter entirely. EA announ
Apple’s battery cases return for the iPhone XS and XR
There’s no shortage of iPhone cases out there, of course. But for those who absolutely must have Apple’s stamp on their accessories, the company just dropped a couple of official charging cases fo
Doogee is launching a rugged modular smartphone
The week following CES is probably as good a time as any to launch a Kickstarter campaign for your strange new smartphone. After all, a company like Doogee is going to have difficulty rising above the
Spider-Man’s European vacation gets cut short in ‘Far From Home’ trailer
Even your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man needs a vacation. Between all of the mild-mannered studenting and Avenger-style world saving (not to mention what transpired during Infinity War), Peter Park
Kano will start releasing Star Wars and other Disney-branded products later this year
Educational computing kit company Kano announced today that it has signed a two-year licensing deal to create Disney-branded products later this year. Details are still pretty scant on how precisely t
CyPhy Works rebrands as drone data collection company Aria Insights
CyPhy Works announced this morning that it is shifting focus and rebranding as Aria Insights. The new company is focused on utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning to help analyze data
Mental well-being took center stage at CES 2019
This week, the Las Vegas Convention Center was packed with many of the year’s biggest new devices. But over the last several years, The Sands has become the place where the real magic happens. The s
Anker’s PowerPort Atom is my permanent new travel companion
I had to fight a couple of co-workers for this thing. It’s a strange thing to fight over, I realize, but we are strange people with a strange job. And more importantly, I won. I’m plugged into the
Sensel’s pressure-sensitive display tech works underwater
The Morph is a fun little computer peripheral. The small trackpad uses a series of silicone covers to recreate different interfaces, from a QWERTY keyboard to a drum pad. Ultimately, however, it’s t
A Pong table managed to wow CES 2019
That’s not the kind of headline one expects to write going into the week. But here we are. Universal Space’s analog Pong table is a mindblower in a whole unexpected way. The tabletop machine goes