Gadgets

Meta is updating its Ray-Ban smart glasses with new hands-free functionality, the company announced on Wednesday. Most notably, users can now share an image from their smart glasses directly to their Instagram Story without needing to take out their phone. After you take a photo with the smart glasses, you can say, “Hey Meta, share

Sonos recently teased that it was set to announce its “most requested product ever.” If you guessed headphones, congratulations. The firm maintains a devoted fanbase, and many people were no doubt eager to see what it would look like were it to apply its expertise to the category. The answer arrives in the form of

Jolla has taken the official wraps off the first version of its personal server-based AI assistant in the making. The reborn startup is building a privacy-focused AI device — aka the Jolla Mind2, which TechCrunch exclusively revealed at MWC back in February. At a livestreamed launch event Monday, it also kicked off preorders, with the

Looking Glass makes trippy-looking mixed-reality screens that make things look 3D without the need of special glasses. Today, it launches a pair of new displays, including a 16-inch mode that runs $4,000. There’s also a 32-inch display, with a ‘if you have to ask how much it costs you can’t afford it’ price tag. The

It’s that moment you’ve been waiting for all year: Google I/O keynote day! Google kicks off its developer conference each year with a rapid-fire stream of announcements, including many unveilings of recent things it’s been working on. Brian already kicked us off by sharing what we are expecting. Since you might not have had time

Smart ring maker Oura is launching two new features focused on heart health, the company announced on Friday. The first claims to help users get an idea of their cardiovascular age, while the second feature aims to estimate their cardio capacity. Depending on a person’s results, Oura will offer strategies on how to sleep, move,

In 2022, Rewind had just raised $10 million from a16z and was building a personal data recording service that promised to privately record your activity and let you search through your own history. But that was before OpenAI launched ChatGPT. Today, generative AI can make what Rewind had built previously — a searchable record of

Have you ever stood in front of a redwood and wondered, “Wouldn’t it be great if this was poetry instead of a tree?” Neither did Joyce Kilmer. Kelin Carolyn Zhang and Ryan Mather, however, have set out to bridge the gap between AI tech and poetry with their captivating brainchild — the Poetry Camera. The

Oura this morning announced that its smart ring will be available in select Target stores in the U.S. The deal, which also brings the wearable to the retailer’s site, follows similar announcements with Amazon in March and Best Buy last April. It’s a good bit of validation for a company that almost singlehandedly legitimatized the

If there’s one overarching takeaway from last night’s Rabbit R1 launch event, it’s this: Hardware can be fun again. After a decade of unquestioned smartphone dominance, there is, once again, excitement to be found in consumer electronics. The wisdom and longevity of any individual product or form factor — while important — can be set

Apple just dropped an invite for its next event. Scheduled for May 7, the “Let Loose” presentation appears to be happening exclusively online — something that became standard fare for the company during the pandemic. Over the last couple of years, however, Apple has returned to in-person events, including WWDC, which kicks off in Cupertino

We’re still well over a month out from WWDC, but Apple went ahead and snuck in another event. On Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET, the company is set to unveil the latest additions to the iPad line. According to the rumor mill, that list includes: a new iPad Pro, iPad Air,

Peloton, the exercise equipment maker and online fitness course provider, said it is laying off 15% of its workforce (about 400 people) as part of cost-cutting measures. The company also said its CEO, president, and board director, Barry McCarthy, would step down after two years in the role. McCarthy, who was previously CFO at Spotify

The Federal Trade Commission hit Razer with a $1.1 million fine Tuesday. The order claims that the gaming accessory maker misled consumers by claiming that its flashy Zephyr mask was certified as N95-grade. “These businesses falsely claimed, in the midst of a global pandemic, that their face mask was the equivalent of an N95 certified

When we reviewed the Pixel Tablet roughly this time last year, we noted in no uncertain terms, “It’s all about the dock.” It was, after all, the one thing that truly distinguished the device from countless other uninspired Android tablets. Now I’m pleased to report that you, the consumer, can purchase the device without the

So far, the biggest surprise about May 7’s “Let Loose” event is that it’s happening at all. We’re just over a month out from Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference, and yet the company determined there was enough news to warrant a stand-alone event. iPads (including the iPad Pro and iPad Air) will be the focus,

Logitech is moving forward with its handheld gaming console focused on cloud gaming as the company is about to launch its device in Europe. In addition to this release, the company is still actively releasing software updates for the Logitech G Cloud. The Logitech G Cloud will become available gradually between May 22 and June

Jamie Siminoff has been busy. The Ring founder quietly exited the advisor role he took back in March after exiting the brand’s CEO role. He had been at Amazon since its 2018 acquisition of the firm. Turns out he’s sold yet another startup — this time one you’ve never heard of. The clunkily named Honest

Shortly after last week’s joint announcement which saw Apple and Google teaming up on Bluetooth tracker safety measures and a new specification, Google today introduced a series of improvements coming to its own Find My Device network, including proactive alerts about unknown trackers traveling with you with support for Apple’s AirTag and others. The news,

We knew the Pixel Tablet was coming. In fact, we’ve known it for a year. Google teased the device at last year’s I/O. It was one of those “don’t worry, we’re working on stuff” sort of deals, with an extremely broad 2023 release date. The company offered a (slightly) better look at the system at

Google long ago abandoned the pretense of surprise about the Pixel line. There’s an extent to which you can point the finger at the hardware rumor industrial complex. But at the end of the day, the company was always going to take matters into its own hands and announce its most anticipated hardware device a

I’m back in the South Bay this week, banging away at an introduction in the hotel lobby a few minutes before our crew heads to Shoreline for Google I/O. There’s a guy behind in a business suit and sockless loafers, taking a loud business meeting on his AirPods. It’s good to be home. I’ve got

The kooky geniuses at Teenage Engineering are back with a new gadget that is guaranteed to make you salivate until its price tag smacks you back to reality. The maker of drool-worthy synthesizers just announced the TP-7, a teeny portable recorder that features a “motorized tape reel,” which spins as it captures audio and also

Who says compact cameras are dead? Well, the market does, actually; the mobile phone has all but killed off the category altogether, so it’s interesting to see Canon take another stab at the market. The PowerShot series of cameras today gained its newest family member, the V10. The main question this product has to overcome

Dutch social enterprise Fairphone is best known for its mission to build ethical smartphones via a brand that promises fairer wages for supply chain workers and design choices that encourage consumers to cherish and repair the hardware rather than toss last year’s model thanks to modularity and a web shop selling replacement (and upgradeable) spare

It’s that moment you’ve been waiting for all year: Google I/O keynote day! Google kicks off its developer conference each year with a rapid-fire stream of announcements, including many unveilings of recent things it’s been working on. Brian already kicked us off by sharing what we are expecting. We know you don’t always have time

Look, I’m not going to sit here and pretend like the entire world didn’t know this was happening next week, but is a bit of theatrics too much to ask? Google learned a few years back that the best way to juice a product hype cycle is to “leak” the thing yourself, and here here

This week, ten-year-old drone company ACSL announced plans to enter the U.S. commercial drone market. The firm has already taken a sizable bite out of the market in its native Japan, with a certification from the country’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, as well as a deal to provide disaster support for the

Worldwide, about one in six people live with a disability. Whether through injury or illness, disability can manifest itself as an impediment to mobility. There have been fantastic advancements in communication and operational technologies, but there’s always room for improvement, and Augmental, an MIT Media Lab spinoff, thinks that it might be on to something

The prospect of contacting a satellite to send a text or contact emergency services may soon be an effortless reality as startups move from proof of concept to actual product. Canadians on the Rogers network, which just inked a deal with Lynk, will get direct satellite-phone connections across the country; and not to be outdone,