Gadgets

Update: Google tells TechCrunch that it remains committed to augmented reality, stating, “For years, we’ve been building AR into many Google products and we’ll continue to look at ways to bring new, innovative AR experiences across our product portfolio.” I know at least one TC staffer who is gutted by the inevitable second death of

Ember has been a fascinating company to watch. The Los Angeles-based startup entered the scene with a self-heating mug, only to leverage its temperature tech learnings to enter the cold chain space, where it has developed containers for medical supply shipping. I suppose you could say that the firm has returned to its roots with

The Nest Protect is the single best piece of smart home hardware I’ve ever purchased. Not everything in your home would benefit from being connected, but smoke detectors really do. They go a long way toward providing peace of mind when you’re away from home. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but if you do, it

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Apple is building a mixed reality headset that’s set to ship this year. The company’s MR (AR+VR) hardware ranks among its longest-lasting rumor cycles. Some (Apple Watch) have borne fruit. Others (that pesky Apple TV set) not so much. The category doesn’t feel like a foregone conclusion

When Microsoft, after a decade-long hiatus, relaunched its now 40-year-old Flight Simulator series in 2020, it reignited interest in a genre that had long been a mainstay of PC gaming. It’s one thing to marvel at the graphics of the new Flight Simulator, though, and another to try to play the game with mouse and

The reMarkable 2 is a great tablet for reading long documents on, annotating them, taking notes, sketching… but not for full-on writing. At least, it wasn’t until they put out this great keyboard folio that converts this tablet into a pretty compelling minimalist writing station — if you don’t mind a slightly premium price. The

The Sonos One wasn’t broken, but that doesn’t mean the company’s is above fixing it. Over two generations and a few variants, the compact speaker has become one of the company’s most popular. Really, it’s been a big win for a firm whose portfolio can give off a whiff of inaccessibility, compared to other connected

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple could be working on a new HomePod device that would feature a built-in display for 2024. The rumor seems to be based on third-party supply chain companies, such as Tianma, a Chinese display manufacturer. This new product in the HomePod lineup would look completely different from existing HomePods as

Drone delivery is one of those ideas that’s been sold as “the next big thing” forever. Regardless of how bullish you happen to be on the technology, there’s undeniably a lot that has to be figured out before we can start having serious conversation about mainstream adoption. Regulator issues are a big box to be

Ring just launched its first doorbell in two years. The $180 Battery Doorbell Plus brings head-to-toe video and improved resolution to the Amazon brand’s lineup. The smart home accessory features a 150×150-degree view that allows you see a visitor’s entire body. The company says the Doorbell Plus has the highest resolution of any of its models

Apple has a tendency to introduce a new iPhone color in Spring. And this time, it’s yellow. The company is adding the color option to both iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Last Spring, the company launched a new green color (Alpine green for the Pro models) for the iPhone 13 series, and in 2021,

Three years after the debut of its wildly popular Razr phone, Motorola gave the world the Rizr. While beloved by many, the product never managed to capture the same level of cultural cache as its predecessor. The two devices shared some key design languge, with the Rizr distinguishing itself by way of a display that

Drone developer Brinc today showed off its newest drone, designed to help cops and others who care about public safety do their jobs from a safe distance. The new quadcopter is called Lemur 2 and is tooled up and ready to go into areas that otherwise would be too dangerous for humans. The new drone

The slowdown was inevitable, of course. Nothing stays hot forever — especially in this industry. By tech standards, smartphones have had a good run, but the last few years have seen device makers searching for the magic bullet to help the sales slide reverse course. The arrival of 5G was a nice reprieve, but next-generation

Neuralink’s ambition to provide a brain-computer interface orders of magnitude better than what’s out there now has hit headwinds with the FDA, Reuters reports. The agency reportedly rejected the company’s application to begin human testing last year, a somewhat expected obstacle that seems nevertheless to have frustrated backer Elon Musk. The well-sourced report explains that

Nothing’s presence stood in stark contrast to OnePlus at this year’s MWC. Whereas Carl Pei’s old company, OnePlus, put on a flashy launch event for a concept device yesterday, Nothing has largely used the event to meet with vendors and other big names in the industry. We sat down with Pei yesterday, fittingly in a

At a session on the future of 6G during Mobile World Congress, expert speakers from companies such as Samsung, the European Space Agency and Telefonica came together to give their views about how 6G will play out. The first thing to note is that it’s not arriving anytime soon. The projections are that the likes

The OnePlus that was founded in 2013 was a cautious company, deliberate in its release schedule. The Shenzhen-based firm would announce one to two phones a year, not hung up on being the first to market with new features. It was a cadence that allowed the company to distinguish itself, in part, through pricing, with

The days of a cautious OnePlus release cycle appear to be behind us. In January, the Oppo-owned mobile brand unveiled its new flagship, the OnePlus 11. Earlier this month, the 11R arrived, focused on the growing Indian smartphone market. These days, the company also offers last year’s 10T and 10 Pro, three budget Nord devices,

The PlayStation VR2 is a simultaneously exciting and disappointing development in the virtual reality space. Well-specced, easy to set up and reasonably light and comfortable, Sony’s latest still can’t shake the fundamental issues that have prevented VR from going mainstream: a lack of compelling content and despite a brand new 4K OLED display, distracting image

In a word: “telecom.” Network and enterprise have long played a key part in Barcelona’s big mobile show, but more than ever, such topics are going to have an outsized role at the event. The consumer element appears to be taking an increasing back seat at the event, which kicks off in earnest next Monday.

Home fitness had a huge moment at the outset of the pandemic — and understandably so. People were stuck at home, gyms closed and suddenly workout options seemed to dramatically decrease. As with the teleconferencing revolution, plenty of startups were waiting in the wings to pounce on the sudden opportunity. As predicted, when the world

Traeger’s latest pellet smoker brings welcomed innovations to a new price point. The company just unveiled its latest Ironwood design, which offers a handful of features that debuted on the more expensive Timberline product line a few months ago. As a longtime Traeger smoker owner, I’m excited about these updates as they make using the

Indian startup Ultrahuman has made a name for itself since 2019 by building out a subscription fitness platform which offers a range of workout and wellness-related content, integrating with third party wearables like the Apple Watch. In 2021 it expanded into offering medical grade sensing hardware which monitors real-time blood glucose — spinning up a

Apple took a big PR hit as news spread that its item tracker the AirTag was being used for stalking and car thefts, which led the company to retool its software with a closer eye on user safety. AirTag’s competitor Tile is now introducing its own plan to make its device safer, with the launch

I’m not sure how high up size is on the VR scene’s current list of complaints. Truth is, there are still a lot of things standing between the technology and mainstream acceptance. Still, massive, bulky headsets are a thing worth discussing. Back at CES, I tried HTC’s Vive XR Elite, which made portability a centerpiece.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch5 will now offer improved period tracking features thanks to a new partnership with Natural Cycles that leverages the smartwatch’s temperature sensors to make better predictions. The launch follows last fall’s announcement of a new temperature sensor on the Apple Watch Series 8 that similarly allows wearers to improve their period predictions as well

There’s a lot to be said for consistency in this world. There’s also a lot to be said for realistic expectations. OnePlus should be applauded for both. While it’s true the company has had various stumbles over the years and the Oppo transition hasn’t been seamless, one can generally rely on the phone maker for

Last year, Apple introduced the new Pro version of its AirPods lineup, Samsung upgraded its Pro buds and Google launched the first Pixel Buds Pro. Now it’s OnePlus’ turn with the Buds Pro 2 — priced at $179. Launching along with the OnePlus 11 flagship, the Buds Pro 2 brings improved sound with the duo

Samsung is the best at big. Big, brash, bold, kitchen sink phones. The company that mainstreamed the phablet a dozen years ago has never given up on big dreams about big phones. Last year, the company took a risk — sunsetting the beloved Note line. While I stand by my initial assessment that the Samsung