Brian Heater

Hardware Editor, TechCrunch

Brian Heater is the Hardware Editor at TechCrunch. He worked for a number of leading tech publications, including Engadget, PCMag, Laptop, and Tech Times, where he served as the Managing Editor. His writing has appeared in Spin, Wired, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Onion, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast and various other publications. He hosts the weekly Boing Boing interview podcast RiYL, has appeared as a regular NPR contributor and shares his Queens apartment with a rabbit named Juniper.

Brian Heater

Latest from Brian Heater

As deep-pocketed companies like Amazon, Google and Walmart invest in and experiment with drone delivery, a phenomenon reflective of this modern era has emerged. Drones, carrying snacks and other sundries,…

What happens if you shoot down a delivery drone?

The news brings closure to more than two years of volleying back and forth between some of the biggest names in additive manufacturing.

Nano Dimension is buying Desktop Metal

RoboGrocery combines computer vision with a soft robotic gripper to bag a wide range of different items.

MIT’s soft robotic system is designed to pack groceries

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Robot cats, dogs and birds are being deployed amid an ‘epidemic of loneliness’

Founded in 2015 as a Hasbro spinoff, Ageless Innovations specializes in producing robotic companion animals for the aging population through its Joy for All brand.

Robot cats, dogs and birds are being deployed amid an ‘epidemic of loneliness’

The first six months of the year have seen $4.2 billion invested in robotics, putting this year well on track to beat 2023’s 12-month total of $6.8 billion.

Robotics investments are gaining speed after post-pandemic slowdown

Digit’s first job will be moving totes around a Connecticut Spanx factory — which is most definitely not a euphemism.

Agility’s humanoid robots are going to handle your Spanx

At this early stage, Persona’s pitch doesn’t stray far from the various humanoid firms with which it’s set to compete.

Persona’s founders are certain the world can use another humanoid robot

The perfect device is one that never breaks in the first place, while still allowing for easy user repair access when needed.    

Apple stresses device longevity, extends self-service repair to Europe

Smart ring makers Oura and Circular on Tuesday announced a settlement in an ongoing patent suit. The agreed-upon terms find the French company entering into a multi-year agreement with Oura,…

Circular will pay competitor Oura royalties to sell its smart ring in the US

Mixhalo Translate couples the startup’s ultra-low latency in-person streaming with AI-generated audio translations.

Mixhalo’s latest feature uses AI to beam real-time translation to phones at events

Cover says what sets it apart is the underlying technology it employs, which has been exclusively licensed from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

A new startup from Figure’s founder is licensing NASA tech in a bid to curb school shootings

GrayMatter self-reports that its systems currently produce “a 2~4x improvement in production line productivity [and a] 30% or more reduction in consumable waste.”

Labor shortages are still fueling growth at automation firms like GrayMatter

The $200 Beam pro looks like an Android phone, but instead it’s a mobile device designed specifically for Xreal’s glasses.

XReal introduces a $200 device that brings Android apps to its AR glasses

Apple announced at last week’s WWDC 2024 that users would be able to access loans through third-party app Affirm through Apple Pay.

Apple kills Pay Later feature ahead of Affirm integration

The push to produce a robotic intelligence that can fully leverage the wide breadth of movements opened up by bipedal humanoid design has been a key topic for researchers.

Generative AI takes robots a step closer to general purpose

The ability to pause your activity rings is a minor feature update for most, but for those of us who obsess about such things to an unhealthy degree, it’s the…

Apple Watch is finally adding a feature I’ve been requesting for years

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Why Apple is taking a small-model approach to generative AI

It’s a very Apple approach in the sense that it prioritizes a frictionless user experience above all.

Why Apple is taking a small-model approach to generative AI

“We’re looking forward to doing integrations with other models, including Google Gemini, for instance, in the future,” Federighi said during WWDC 2024.

Apple confirms plans to work with Google’s Gemini ‘in the future’

Apple kicked off its weeklong Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2024) event today with the customary keynote at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. The presentation focused on the company’s software offerings…

Watch the Apple Intelligence reveal, and the rest of WWDC 2024 right here

The company has been pushing the feature as integral to all of its various operating system offerings, including iOS, macOS and the latest, VisionOS.

Apple Intelligence is the company’s new generative AI offering

iOS’ perennial tips calculating app is finally coming to the larger screen.

Calculator for iPad does the math for you

Apple’s WWDC 2024 keynote was packed, including a number of key new updates for iOS 18. One of the more interesting additions is Tap to Cash, which is more or…

Tap to Cash lets you pay by touching iPhones

Apple today kicked off what it promised would be a packed WWDC 2024 with a handful of visionOS announcements. At the top of the list is the ability to turn…

visionOS can now make spatial photos out of 3D images

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What to expect from WWDC 2024: iOS 18, macOS 15 and so much AI

Apple is hoping to make WWDC 2024 memorable as it finally spells out its generative AI plans.

What to expect from WWDC 2024: iOS 18, macOS 15 and so much AI

Apple is set to board the runaway locomotive that is generative AI at next week’s World Wide Developer Conference. Reports thus far have pointed to a partnership with OpenAI that…

Apple’s generative AI offering might not work with the standard iPhone 15

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Siri and Google Assistant look to generative AI for a new lease on life

Voice assistants in general are having an existential moment, and generative AI is poised to be the logical successor.

Siri and Google Assistant look to generative AI for a new lease on life

The warning for the Ai Pin was issued “out of an abundance of caution,” according to Humane.

Humane urges customers to stop using charging case, citing battery fire concerns

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Sonos Ace review: A high-priced contender

The Ace are a contender in a crowded market, but they’re still in search of that magic bullet to truly let them stand out from the pack.

Sonos Ace review: A high-priced contender

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Inside Apple’s efforts to build a better recycling robot

Last week, TechCrunch paid a visit to Apple’s Austin, Texas, manufacturing facilities. Since 2013, the company has built its Mac Pro desktop about 20 minutes north of downtown. The 400,000-square-foot facility sits in a maze of industry parks, a quick trip south from the company’s in-progress corporate campus. In recent…

Inside Apple’s efforts to build a better recycling robot

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Industries may be ready for humanoid robots, but are the robots ready for them?

How large a role humanoids will play in that ecosystem is, perhaps, the biggest question on everyone’s mind at the moment.

Industries may be ready for humanoid robots, but are the robots ready for them?