Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
Beats brings noise-canceling to its on-ear Solo headphones
Beats this morning announced that it will be bringing its excellent noise-cancellation technology to its Solo line of on-ear headphones. The Solo Pro are the official followup to the Solo 3, a brandin
Brooklyn-based construction robotics startup Toggle gets $3M seed fund
Toggle, a Brooklyn-based robotics startup, announced today that it scored $3 million in seed funding. The early-stage round was led by Point72 Ventures’ AI Group, with participation from Mark Cuban
Facebook’s new Portal increases privacy, but is still searching for a reason to exist
The timing of the original Portal’s launch was less than ideal. The company reportedly pushed things back as the Cambridge Analytica scandal hit full broil, only to be hit with another data breach d
Samsung opens Android 10 One UI beta ahead of final launch
After pushing back a planned early-October launch, Samsung has introduced the Android 10 beta of its One UI. The 2.0 version of the Android skin follows a little less than a year after the first versi
Kik says it’s ‘here to stay,’ following shutdown reports
It’s been a rough run for Kik of late. The once-mighty messaging service announced in late September that it would be shutting down its app. CEO Ted Livingston noted in a blog post that the startup
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold concierge service is live in the US for those who need it
Part of Samsung’s reboot of the Galaxy Fold was the announcement of a Premier Service. Along with a reinforced version of the phone and a lot more warning labels, the company announced that it would
AI-based firefighter safety startup Prometeo wins IBM Call for Code Challenge
During an event at the United Nations Delegates Dining Room in New York City, IBM unveiled the winners of its annual Call for Code Global Challenge. The competition, which is targeted at computing sol
Google’s Pixel 4 briefly went up for pre-order on Best Buy Canada
The Pixel 4 is set to be unveiled at an event on Tuesday. This much we know for sure. We know a bunch more, too, (as outlined in this rumor roundup from yesterday), thanks to both official reveals and
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active 2 is a solid smartwatch for Android users
Samsung makes good, underrated smartwatches. It’s just been difficult to get much attention in a category so utterly dominated by a single player. Even still, the company has managed to hold onto th
The Yeti X brings real-time level monitoring to the popular USB mic
It’s clear why Logitech bought Blue back in July 2018. The Southern Californian audio company (an acronym for “Baltic Latvian Universal Electronics,” incidentally) has become synonymous with USB
Life with the Samsung Galaxy Fold
Avoid pressing hard on the screen. Tap lightly to keep it safe. Your Galaxy Fold isn’t water or dust resistant. Don’t allow any liquids or foreign objects to enter it. Don’t attach anything to t
Google’s Pixel 4 launches next week; here’s what we expect
Here in New York, the air is crisp and the leaves have begun to turn crimson and brown. That can only mean one thing: hardware season is upon us. Backdropped by cloudy, gray Manhattan skies, Google is
Russia’s Yandex introduces an Echo Dot-style smart speaker
In May of last year, Yandex launched the Yandex.Station. The $160 smart speaker was a clear logical step for the so-called “Google of Russia.” This week, the company is back with the next-next log
Calm and Room made a $4,000 branded ‘meditation booth’
Call it clever branding. Call it peak Silicon Valley. Either way, the Calm Booth by Room will run you $4,195. Perhaps it’s worth it for the peace of mind — and the dozen annual Calm subscriptions
Eureka Robotics’ new robotic arm is designed for optical lenses and mirrors
Last year, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore had a small viral sensation on its hands with the release of Ikea Bot. The robot did laps around its inept human counterparts by autonomously ass
What the hell is up with this Essential device?
Essential CEO Andy Rubin has been pretty silent over the past year for, well, lots of reasons — both business and otherwise. The company has struggled to sell devices, reportedly shipping only 8
How I Podcast: Broken Record’s Justin Richmond
The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it. It’s a rare medium that’s nearly as easy to make as it is to consume. And as such, no two people do it exactly the same way. There are a wealth o
Sony’s next console is… the PlayStation 5, arriving holidays 2020
Part of me wishes Sony had gone for something a little flashier. The PlayStation Unicorn or PlayStation Trebuchet or something. But there’s something to be said for consistency. Simplicity. The next
Amazon introduces a Kindle for kids
While it’s true that many parents are doing their best to reduce screen time as much as possible, there’s something to be said for the Kindle Kids Edition. The best and worst things about the devi
Apple’s MacOS Catalina is now available
For years now, Apple’s been judicious with its MacOS updates. Understandably so. Given the massive online outcry every time Facebook changes the placement of a button, it’s in UX designers’ best