Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
Microsoft’s latest business-focused Surface is focused on remote work
As CES starts in earnest today, I anticipate we’ll be seeing a lot of hardware focused on remote work. PC sales saw a nice spike last year, even as smartphone sales continued to slip. There was a lo
UBTech launches UV light disinfecting robots
UBTech is the massively funded Chinese robotics company you’ve (probably) never heard of. If you’re familiar at all with the brand here in the states, it’s likely for its STEM or other robot
Lenovo launches AR glasses for enterprise
Lenovo seems to have gotten the memo that the real money in the augmented reality space is going to be made in enterprise. Ahead of tomorrow’s CES kick off, the hardware company announced the impend
Apple suspends Parler from App Store
Apple confirmed that it has suspended the conservative social media app Parler from the App Store, shortly after Google banned it from Google Play. The app, which became a home to Trump supporters and
Reddit bans r/donaldtrump following violence at the US Capitol
Days after a mob broke into the U.S. Capitol amid protests against Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, another major social media platform has banned a popular pro-Trump forum. Reddit this morning co
Twitch disables Trump’s channel until the end of his term to ‘minimize harm’ during transition
Following a slate of temporary and permanent bans from a number of the top online platforms, popular video streaming service Twitch today confirmed that it has disabled the president of the United Sta
Twitter will reinstate Trump’s account following his deletion of tweets
Update: Twitter has restored Trump’s account as of Thursday afternoon. Trump returns to Twitter with what sounds like a concession speech A Twitter spokesperson has confirmed with TechCrunch thi
Lenovo’s new all-in-one has a swiveling screen, because sure, why not?
Leave it to Lenovo to give the world a swiveling all-in-one. It’s kind of the company’s M.O. — not always the most necessary or practical, but never not interesting. When it comes to fairly
Samsung simplifies with a lower-priced premium Chromebook
Happy almost CES! Sure, the year’s biggest consumer electronics show hasn’t officially kicked off, but, well, what do such arbitrary signposts really mean in a year like 2021, right? Samsung just
Twitter locks Trump out of his account for at least 12 hours
Update: Twitter has restored Trump’s account as of Thursday afternoon. In a reversal of its long standing policy, Twitter has locked the President of the United States’ Twitter account and
Reddit ‘taking action’ on site violations as rioters storm US Capitol
As chaos and violence have erupted in Washington, D.C., social media platforms are grappling with the fallout. A spokesperson for Reddit tells TechCrunch: Reddit’s site-wide policies prohibit conten
Looking Glass is launching 3D photo software for its holographic tech
Last month, Looking Glass Factory introduced the Portrait, its first offering for a more general audience. The device utilizes the company’s impressive holographic imaging technology for a far more
Remembering TechCrunch Japan’s Hirohide Yoshida (1971-2020)
On New Year’s Eve, TechCrunch Japan’s Editor-in-Chief Hirohide Yoshida passed away at age 49. In addition to being a tremendously valuable member of our international team who helped build the sit
C by GE gets rebranded under new ownership, expands beyond lighting
There’s a decent chance you missed the news back in May — there was, after all, a lot going on at the time. General Electric sold off its more than 100-year-old GE Lighting division to smart h
Samsung’s next Unpacked event is January 14
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Samsung’s next flagship is set to debut January 14. The company just confirmed earlier rumors surrounding the date for its next Unpacked event (virtually,
Bose’s latest sleep-centric earbuds mostly do the trick
It’s been a strange year for sleep. For me, levels have fluctuated between too little and too much, but have — more often than not — tended toward the former. 2020 gave most of us no sho
NYC MTA’s contactless fare system completes rollout, will phase out MetroCard in 2023
On the last day of 2020, New York City’s Metro Transit Authority announced that it has finished its roll out of contactless payment systems. With the addition of a final stop in Brooklyn, every MTA
An earnest review of a robotic cat pillow
You don’t need Qoobo in your life. Nobody needs Qoobo, exactly. In fact, first reactions tend to range from befuddlement to bemusement. The robotic cat pillow doesn’t make a ton of sense on the fa
2020 will change the way we look at robotics
Earlier this month, Hyundai acquired a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics that valued the company at $1.1 billion. What’s most interesting about the news isn’t the acquisition itself (it does, a
This quick and clever tool creates an instant homepage for your podcast
Podcast homepages weren’t something I gave any thought to until I launched my own standalone show. And honestly, even then I probably didn’t give enough thought to the subject. For that reason, ma