Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
Music mixing marketplace EngineEars raises $1M, with help from Kendrick Lamar
EngineEars today announced a $1 million raise. The company’s first round of funding features investments from Kendrick Lamar, DJ Mustard, Roddy Rich and Slauson and Co. “Quality of sound is st
Peloton apologizes, agrees to treadmill recall
Peloton today announced that it will be cooperating with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), agreeing to two voluntary treadmill recalls for the Tread+ and Tread versions of its home t
Forerunner’s Eurie Kim and Oura’s Harpreet Rai discuss betting on consumer hardware
"I think every founder I know thinks that their decks are shared a lot more. I don’t feel like that, but I know that comes from experience."
Fitness ring maker Oura raises $100M
It’s been a wild couple of years for Oura. Last year, in particular, proved to be a major driver for the wearable fitness manufacturer. With the pandemic bringing professional sports to a screeching
Chromebook shipments grew 275% in Q1
New numbers from research firm Canalys point to continued growth for PCs in 2020/21, as the pandemic has forced many to rethink how — and where — they work. PC shipments have grown for fou
Private equity firm Apollo to buy Verizon Media assets for $5B, will rename business ‘Yahoo’
Following several days of negotiation and rumors, Verizon today announced that it has entered an agreement to sell its media assets to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion. Apol
Path Robotics raises $56M Series B for automated welding
Columbus, Ohio-based firm Path Robotics today announced the completion of a $56 million Series B. The round, led by Addition (featuring Drive Capital, Basis Set and Lemnos Lab) brings the robotic weld
US video game spending increased 30% in Q1
Even as signs of life after the pandemic have begun to emerge here in the U.S., increases in video game spending continue. There’s no doubt that much of last year’s big numbers were driven by stay
Head, tail, knees and trees (knees and trees)
Some fun ones this week, so let’s get all of those pesky business transactions out of the way first, shall we? I mean, not that tens of millions of dollars changing hands for future robotics technol
Smartphone shipments jumped 27% globally in Q1
More good news from a smartphone market currently rebounding from the far-reaching impacts of the pandemic. New numbers from Canalys put global shipments for Q1 2021 at 27% above where they were the s
Google announces career and digital training initiative for formerly incarcerated individuals
Google today announced the launch of Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry. The initiative — created in partnership with nonprofits The Last Mile, Center for Employment Opportunities (CE
3D-printing marketplace Shapeways set for SPAC
Shapeways this morning confirmed earlier reports that it has entered into a deal to go public via SPAC. The model, which has become increasingly popular among tech companies in the past year, has alre
Here’s Samsung’s new flagship laptop series, the Galaxy Book Pro
Following the customary weeks of leaks, Samsung just announced a couple of new additions to its laptop line. The Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 joined the hardware giant’s wide range of dev
Gamified connecting rowing machine maker Ergatta raises $30M
As the world takes its first steps back to relative normalcy, there remains a major question mark around how profoundly our day-to-day is going to be changed for good. Nowhere does that question loom
CES will return to Las Vegas in 2022
It was, I admit, slightly strange not feeling the extreme anxiety over the holidays at having to return to Las Vegas this past year. But nature is healing. Vaccinations have begun rolling out in much
Roam Robotics introduces a smart knee brace
There are lot of companies out there making robotic exoskeletons. In fact, it’s one of the more active categories in the space — and for good reason. These sorts of technologies have the abili
Robotic vision startup Plus One raises $33M
San Antonio-based Plus One Robotics today announced a $33 million Series B. The round follows an $8.3 million Series A announced in 2018 and brings the company’s total funding to north of $40 millio
Amazon announces new Fire tablets and kids editions
There’s a bunch of tablet news coming from Amazon this morning. Leading the way is the release of two new 10-inch devices: the Fire HD 10 and Fire HD 10 Plus. The former features a 1080p display
iOS 14.5 goes live with Watch unlocking, tracking transparency and kissing emojis
At its big event last week, Apple tipped off the forthcoming arrival of the latest point update to iOS. Today 14.5 goes live for all users, and it’s shaping up to be one of the bigger updates to the
Apple commits to 20,000 US jobs, new North Carolina campus
Apple this morning announced a sweeping plan to invest north of $430 billion over the next five years. The company says the deal involves “economic benefits” in all 50 states and would create, all