Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
Apple’s 27-inch iMac gets a processing and graphics boost
Apple sold a lot of Macs last quarter — a record, in fact, for Q3, jumping a full 21%, year over year. Given the state of the world, with most office workers moving to a remote setup, there’s litt
Microsoft showcases mobile gaming accessories designed to work with Xbox cloud gaming
Way back in the before times of October 2019, Microsoft announced that it would be expanding its Designed for Xbox stamp of approval to a line of mobile accessories. The play was pretty obvious: The c
Boston Dynamics CEO Rob Playter is coming to Disrupt 2020 to talk robotics and automation
Back in January, Robert Playter became the CEO of Boston Dynamics. It was a momentous occasion, marking the company’s first new CEO since its founding in the early 1990s when the company was founded
The 4a and 5 will be Google’s first 5G-enabled Pixels
Surprise. The latest version of Google’s budget Pixel device will be one of the first two to get its next-gen technology. It’s an odd strategy, to be sure, but sometimes roadmaps work out like tha
Google’s budget Pixel 4a addresses its premium predecessor’s biggest problem
The Pixel line has always felt like more of an underdog product than one should reasonably expect from a corporation as massive as Google. After years of partnerships and Nexus devices, when Google fi
How one moonshot VC approaches investing in the COVID-19 era
"If you only draw upon 20% of the population for that talent, you're missing out on people who are going to create these watershed things that do have a different perspective."
It’s not an Apple Watch, it’s an Oppo Watch
Behold, the Opple Watch. Many have borrowed heavily from Apple’s wearable, but few, if any, have done so as brazenly as Oppo. Sure Fitbit received some guff for the squircle hardware design of its V
Huawei overtook Samsung in global smartphone shipments for Q2
Things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing for Huawei in recent years. The company’s rapid trajectory has been disrupted by on-going battles with the U.S. government that have, among other things,
Samsung reportedly considering a Google deal that would deprioritize Bixby
For some time now, Bixby hasn’t been much of a talking point for Samsung. It seems that the smart assistant has lost its luster even for the company that once touted it as the centerpiece of its mas
Mirror competitor Tempo raises a $60M Series B
No doubt about it, home fitness is hot. The category had already been gaining considerable traction in recent years and months, but the ongoing pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated interest by orders
Petit Qoobo cat pillow set for December US release, following crowdfunding campaign
A lot has been written about increased interest around automation and robotics during the pandemic — I know because I’ve done a lot of the writing. Most of these discussions tend to revolve around
CES cancels Las Vegas event, goes online-only
CES 2020 got in just under the wire, ahead of COVID-19 reaching true international pandemic levels. And until today, the show’s governing body, the CTA, was planning to keep its record unbroken. Tod
Extra Crunch Live: Join Playground Global co-founder Peter Barrett for a live Q&A right now
Playground Global has an eye on the future. A quick glance at the investment firm’s portfolio showcases a wide-ranging list of investments, covering robotics, autonomous driving, neural network, qua
‘Tenet’ will get an international release before hitting US screens in September
“Tenet” has long been expected to be a bellwether for filmgoers’ readiness to return to theaters. Director Christopher Nolan is a blockbuster machine, and if anyone can get butts in seat
Google will continue to let employees work from home through the end of June 2021
Following earlier reporting, Google has confirmed that it will continue to allow employees to work from home through the end of June of next year. The company told TechCrunch that Sundar Pichai announ
VCs and startups consider HaaS model for consumer devices
"If it's providing continuous value, then it should be worth paying for," Y Combinator Partner Eric Migicovsky tells TechCrunch.
Neo’s Ali Partovi on best practices for hiring early-stage startup engineers
On day one of TechCrunch’s Early Stage virtual conference, Ali Partovi joined us to discuss best practices for startups looking to hire engineers. It’s a subject that’s near and dear to his hear
Microsoft showcases gameplay from ‘Halo Infinite’ and other Xbox Series X titles
Last month Sony showcased gameplay from a slew of upcoming PlayStation 5 titles, including Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Stray and NBA 2K21. Today it was Microsoft’s turn. The company announced 13 titl
Fox Sports is adding ‘virtual fans’ to empty baseball stadiums
The Toronto Blue Jays may not have a home yet this season, but one thing’s for sure: Plenty of teams are going to be playing in the uncanny valley this year. The spectacle of a major league base
Gorilla Glass Victus can survive a two-meter drop and is set to arrive on a Samsung device soon
You might not know Gorilla Glass by name, but odds are pretty good you own at least one device sporting Corning’s chemically strengthened glass composite. It’s been a ubiquitous feature of consume