Brian Heater, Author at TechCrunch

iPad sales help bail out Apple amid a continued iPhone slide

Brian Heater — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 21:31:50 +0000

In spite of a drop for the quarter, iPhone remained Apple’s most important category by a wide margin.

Neura shows off humanoid robot 4NE-1

Brian Heater — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 15:53:28 +0000

This week’s video shows 4NE-1 doing a lot; in some sense, it’s doing more than we’ve seen from other humanoids in the space.

A tale of two foldables

Brian Heater — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Samsung is still foldables’ 500-pound gorilla, but the company successes have made the category significantly less lonely in recent years.

Alphabet X spinoff partners with Arc’teryx to bring ‘everyday’ exoskeleton to market

Brian Heater — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 16:26:46 +0000

Skip, a wearable tech startup that began as a secretive project inside Alphabet, exited stealth this week to announce a partnership with outdoor clothing specialist Arc’teryx. The deal is the first to bring Skip’s technology to market: “powered pants” that utilize a soft exoskeleton. The tech, called MO/GO, short for “mountain goat,” is a hybrid […]

Researchers are training home robots in simulations based on iPhone scans

Brian Heater — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:00:14 +0000

Researchers at MIT CSAIL this week are showcasing a new method for training home robots in simulation.

Elon Musk sets 2026 Optimus sale date. Here’s where other humanoid robots stand.

Brian Heater — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 20:10:23 +0000

Tesla was not the first company to begin working on a humanoid form factor, but while being the first to market does carry weight in this high-tech space, we’re at the very beginning of the humanoid robot story.

Former Tesla humanoid head launches a robotics startup

Brian Heater — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000

In spite of maintaining stealth until now, Mytra has already drummed up interest with big names. The startup has a pilot with grocery giant Albertsons, among others.

Former Velodyne CEO’s delivery robot startup is ditching LiDAR for foundation models

Brian Heater — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Vayu Robotics is working to make delivery robotics cheaper and more scalable. Ditching LiDAR is a piece of that puzzle.

Made by Google 2024: Pixel 9, Gemini, a new foldable and other things to expect from the event

Brian Heater — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0000

Google is expected to announce four Pixel devices: the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Premium, running Android 15.

What is Apple Intelligence, when is it coming and who will get it?

Brian Heater — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:47:31 +0000

Apple Intelligence was designed to leverage things that generative AI already does well, like text and image generation, to improve upon existing features.

Dyson’s new OnTrac headphones don’t purify air

Brian Heater — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Given the years and money invested in the Zone’s creation, there’s logic in Dyson’s decision to turn its R&D work into a more standard set of headphones with the OnTrac.

Bird Buddy’s new AI feature lets people name and identify individual birds

Brian Heater — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 18:33:22 +0000

Name That Bird determines individual members of a species by identifying distinguishing characteristics that most humans would be hard-pressed to spot.

Watch a robot navigate the Google DeepMind offices using Gemini

Brian Heater — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 14:00:00 +0000

DeepMind has implemented Google Gemini 1.5 Pro to teach a robot to respond to commands and navigate around an office.

Formlabs acquires 3D printing startup Micronics mid-Kickstarter campaign

Brian Heater — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000

What this means for the future of the Fuse line remains unclear, though the companies confirmed with TechCrunch that the Micronics branding is going away.

Samsung unveils Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Buds 3, available for preorder now and shipping July 24

Brian Heater — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 13:14:00 +0000

While Samsung has maintained its own familiar design with the standard Galaxy Buds 3, the Pro are experiencing a sort of Apple identity crisis.

Samsung’s Galaxy Ring, its first smart ring, arrives July 24 for $399

Brian Heater — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 13:04:00 +0000

At Unpacked 2024, the company shared more details about the Galaxy Ring, which represents the first take on the category from a hardware giant.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip 6 arrive with Galaxy AI and Google Gemini

Brian Heater — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 13:03:00 +0000

At the heart of the features is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which is the same system on a chip that powered the Galaxy S24.

Humane execs leave company to found AI fact-checking startup

Brian Heater — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 14:49:00 +0000

Infactory is a kind of fact-checking search engine that will be focused exclusively on data at launch.

Samsung Unpacked 2024: What we expect and how to watch Wednesday’s hardware event

Brian Heater — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 17:56:35 +0000

The Samsung event will feature updates to the Galaxy Z Fold, Galaxy Z Flip, as well as more details on the Galaxy Ring and Galaxy AI.

What happens if you shoot down a delivery drone?

Brian Heater — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 14:50:54 +0000

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, are being shot out of the sky. Incidents are still rare. However, a recent arrest in Florida, in which a man allegedly shot down a […]