Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
iRobot i7+ initial impressions
After its go around my apartment, the i7+ is “still learning.” It’s fitting sentiment for the new Roomba, which iRobot is positioning as much as a platform as a robotic vacuum. Like a smartphone
Behold Ubisoft’s gloriously ridiculous Assassin’s Creed Amazon Echo
The Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Echo Plus is a limited edition, which will no doubt make fans want the thing that much more. It’s a standard Amazon device that Ubisoft dressed up in a Spartan helmet,
Captain Marvel is here to save the 90s in first trailer
Brie Larson’s cosmic superhero couldn’t have asked for a better setup than Avengers: Infinity War (Caution — minor spoilers ahead, naturally). Revealed via Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) peri
UBTECH launches a STEM robotics building kit
Here in the States, UBTECH is probably best know for the crazy-walking Star Wars Stormtrooper it released late last year. But the company’s been producing robotics toys for long enough to get a vote
Withings returns from the dead with Steel HR Sport watch
Any time a smaller company is gobbled up by a larger one, you assume the worst. In the case of Nokia buying Withings, that’s more or less what happened. First Nokia launched a handful of products un
Amazon reportedly has an Alexa microwave and more on the way
Roughly this time last year, Amazon unleashed a ton of Alexa devices on the world, including the Spot and new Echos. It follows, then, that the company’s got something up its sleeve for this year, j
Apple Watch and other hardware reportedly spared by new Trump tariffs
The latest round of Trump administration tariffs is set to affect a number of different industries. At least one category previously expected to be impacted, however, is likely to be spared, according
MoviePass competitor Sinemia launches unlimited plan
It’s been a rough few months for MoviePass. But every time the movie subscription service has faltered, one company has been there to pick up the pieces. Sinemia has done a solid job benefiting from
Amazon’s cashier-free Go store opens in Chicago
Now that Amazon’s proven the efficacy of Go with a trio of Seattle locations, the retail giant is starting to open up its cashier-free Go stores at a steady clip. New York and San Francisco are alre
The new iPhone’s here, so Google wants to talk Pixel 3
In the off-chance you haven’t already had your fill of phone news for the week, Google just offered up a few friendly reminders that it’s got its own handset coming out in the not so distant futur
DC Comics’ streaming service launches tomorrow
Tomorrow is apparently Batman Day. That mostly means promotions from the folks at DC Entertainment and the long-awaited launch of the company’s DC Universe streaming service. If nothing else, the si
Amazon’s HQ2 location will be announced this year
Things have been pretty quiet on the Amazon HQ2 front. Earlier this year, the online retail giant announced that it had whittled the list of potential host cities for a second headquarters down to 20,
The iPhone XR is the one to get
The iPhone XR arrived like an afterthought. No surprise, really. Apple’s always been one to lead with its best foot forward — the latest, greatest and, quite literally, the largest. Projecting the
OnePlus will ditch the headphone jack on its next phone
Welp. After making a show of keeping the headphone jack around for a few extra generations, OnePlus is finally succumbing to the inevitable. The company tweeted an image of USB-C headphones and confir
Beats did announce something today, after all
Turns out those rumors that Beats wouldn’t have anything to show off during today’s big Apple event weren’t 100 percent true. Granted, there was no mention of the headphone maker during the even
Apple Watch Series 4 up close and hands-on
I’m sure somewhere out there, there’s someone who wants nothing more in this world than a circular Apple Watch. That person, I’m sad to report, was once again disappointed with the outcome of ye
iPhone XR up close and hands-on
Apple would have you believe that it’s not beholden to such trivial things as the market — roadmaps are long and the company’s always done its own thing. But the XR feels like as much a response
iPhone XS Max up close and hands-on
The most remarkable thing about the iPhone XS Max is that it doesn’t feel huge. It’s all relative, of course. And surely Apple’s old guard would have scoffed at the notion of a 6.5-inch display.
Live from Apple’s iPhone event
Gooooood morning, Cupertino. Today’s the big event at Apple HQ. 2018’s been a slow year for Apple hardware (including a complete no-show at WWDC a few months back). As ever, we’ll be
LittleBits intros three kits to explore music, space and more
LittleBits has been keeping busy. The New York based educational hardware startup recently announced a new Avengers-themed kit and its first acquisition. This morning, it’s back with three new kits,