Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
Microsoft’s more portable Surface Hub 2S ships in June for $9,000
We’ve known Microsoft had something new and Surfacey up its sleeve for this week. Turns out the company’s finally ready to unveil the long-promised Surface Hub 2S. The successor to 2015’s Window
Logitech’s new remote ditches the touchscreen for Alexa
Logitech has a long history of serving AV nerds with its advanced line of universal remotes. In an age of eight million set-top boxes, dongles and video-on-demand services, the Harmony line has done a
Notes from the Samsung Galaxy Fold: day one
More like day 1.5, honestly. I spent most of yesterday sick in bed, with fever dreams of flexible displays. This morning, however, I’m already at the airport. Out of the the frying pan and into the
Unfolding the Samsung Galaxy Fold
The Galaxy Fold is real. I’ve held it in my hands — a few of them, actually. Samsung’s briefing this morning was littered with the things, in different colors and different states of unfolded. A
Parrot’s latest drone targets professionals with a thermal camera
The last several years have seen an interesting pivot for Parrot, from Bluetooth headset/speakers to drones. The company’s ANAFI line is probably one of the best-positioned products to go head to he
Disney/Lucasfilm donates $1.5 million to FIRST
A day after the big Episode IX reveal, Disney and subsidiary Lucas film announced that it will be donating $1.5 million to FIRST . The non-profit group was founded by Dean Kamen in 1989 to help teach
IAM Robotics puts a unique spin on warehouse automation
Before robots get to do the fun stuff, they’re going to be tasked with all of the things humans don’t want to do. It’s a driving tenet of automation — developing robotics and AI designed t
Trump, FCC unveil plan to accelerate 5G rollout
In a press conference today in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, the president laid out a number of initiatives focused on helping accelerate the U.S. role in the 5G race. “This is, to me, the fut
Amazon teams with FIRST for robotics education grants
Earlier this week, Amazon confirmed that it would be acquiring Canvas, a little known Colorado-based startup that creates autonomous driving systems for warehouse fulfillment. It’s the latest in a l
Claire Delaunay will be speaking at TC Sessions: Robotics + AI next week at UC Berkeley
We’re a week out from our third-annual TC Sessions: Robotics event, and we still have some surprises left to announce. I know, we’re just as surprised as you are. We’ve already announced that Ma
Sharp goes clamshell with its folding phone concept
The beauty of the foldable in 2019 is that there’s no consensus yet on the “right” way to do things. We’ve seen a number of different takes on the space as the year has progressed, and no two
MIT’s recycling sorting robot can ‘feel’ the difference between materials
RoCycle is, naturally, short for “recycling robot,” the latest offering out of MIT’s CSAIL lab. The pick and place ‘bot utilizes a unique combination of sensors to help distinguish the mat
Acer’s ConceptD 9 is part laptop, part graphics tablet
When it comes to competing for the hearts and minds of creatives pros, some (see: Huawei) attempt to beat Apple at its own game. Others go an entirely different route. Acer’s ConceptD 9 falls firmly
Samsung Galaxy Fold pre-orders open tomorrow
There are early adopters, and then there are early adopters. Anyone who bites the bullet and picks up Samsung’s $1,980 and up Galaxy Fold falls into the former category. And then there are those who
Hanson recruits Softbank Robotics scientist as CTO
Hanson Robotics announced this morning that it has hired Amit Kumar Pandey, Softbank Europe’s Chief Scientist, as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Science Officer (CSO). In his six years at
Amazon acquires autonomous warehouse robotics startup Canvas Technology
Amazon has acquired Boulder, Colo.-based warehouse robotics startup Canvas Technology, TechCrunch has learned. The deal makes a lot of sense from the outside, adding another important piece to Amazon
The startup behind Walmart’s shelf-scanning robots
Earlier this week, Walmart announced a wide-scale expansion of in-store technology. The news came, of course, as the superstore chain is fighting Amazon’s encroachment with everything it has. The li
Oppo’s new flagship has a bit of everything
It shares a name with the biggest little city in the world, and, fittingly, the Oppo Reno appears to have a lot going for it. Top level, there’s a nutty pop-up camera wedge for selfies, 10x zoom
Here’s the first image of a black hole
Say hello to the black hole deep inside the Messier 87, a galaxy located in the Virgo cluster some 55 million light years away. It may seem underwhelming at first, but it’s one of four images of the
The Agazzi backpack has internal lighting and a fingerprint reader
We love a good bag here at TechCrunch. Heck, it’s a dirty little secret that Bag Week can happen several times in a given year, if we’re so inclined. Generally I prefer a bit of minimalism in