Hardware

Google and Fitbit have announced that existing Fitbit users will have the option to start logging in using a Google account this summer. Users aren't required to move to a Google account immediately, but will need to do so by 2025. If you're a new Fitbit user, you'll be required to regi

A few years ago, mattress company Casper’s co-founders Philip Krim and Jeff Chapin were banging their heads against the wall. Krim was in Long Island in New York while Chapin was in Wyoming. The weather in New York can be pretty different from that in Wyoming, but when bad storms roll through

After a nice spike during the first two years of the pandemic, global PC shipments continued to drop for a fourth consecutive quarter. Analyst firm IDC's latest figure has Q1 down 29% from the same time last year. Canalys paints an even more troubling picture for the industry, with a full 33% d

In the Netherlands, central heating boilers will be banned by 2026 and its government has incentivized the installation of heat pumps. Meanwhile, the U.K. government estimates that heating buildings accounts for 25% of the U.K.'s greenhouse gas emissions. It passed the Energy Security Bill, and

News of Mojo Vision's pivot rather poetically dropped during CES. After years of trying out the latest iteration of the company's smart contact lens in various Las Vegas hotel suites, I found myself typing up this news sitting in the hallway of the Wynn, waiting to talk to an HTC executive

If you’ve ever renovated a house, you’ve suffered through the ordeal of getting custom-made cabinets, a costly and lengthy process that involves rounds of back-and-forth with dealers and designers taking up to half-a-year to complete. Now, a California-based startup, Ronbow, wants to sh

As free promotion for hardware startups go, one would be hard pressed to point to something better than a $175 million Spielberg film. “It was actually Warner Bros. that had reached out to us to get two Omnis for use in the movie,” Virtuix founder and CEO Jan Goetgeluk tells technewss. “We s

Personal vertical farms — that's the big promise driving Babylon Micro-Farms. The Richmond, Virginia-based startup produces the Galleri, a large $15,000 wall appliance designed to grow more than 50 different plant varieties for on-site harvest. The system is obviously price-prohibitive fo

You'll have to forgive the truncated newsletter this week. Turns out I brought more back from Chicago than a couple of robot stress balls (the one piece of swag I will gladly accept). I was telling someone ahead of the ProMat trip that I've returned to 2019 travel levels this year. One bit

Amazon now allows T-Mobile customers to link their mobile numbers and make or receive hands-free Wi-Fi calls through Alexa-enabled devices like Echo Dot or Echo Show. This comes more than two years after the e-commerce giant partnered up with AT&T for a similar feature. Customers will need to e

Covariant was founded in 2017 with a simple goal: helping robots learn how to better pick up objects. It's a large need among those looking to automate warehouses, and one that is much more complex than it might appear. Most of the goods we encounter have traveled through a warehouse at some po

Apple released the tvOS 16.4 update to the public yesterday, bringing various improvements to the system, including a new “Dim Flashing Light” feature. The new accessibility option can detect flashes of light or strobe effects and then automatically dim the display of a video. The “Dim Flashi

Any doubts that ProMat has become a robotics event were laid to rest the moment you walked on the floor at Chicago's McCormick Place. Locus Robotics planted its flag in a big, expensive way front and center in the convention center's south hall. In less than a decade of existence, Locus has

India’s ongoing efforts to boost local manufacturing of iPhone devices seem to have paid off to some extent, as the locally manufactured iPhone shipments grew 162% year-on-year by value in 2022, according to Counterpoint. On Tuesday, the market research firm said that Apple now captures 25% o