Verdi, which launched today at TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield, refers to its smart valve clusters as “swarms.” The term denotes the kind of high-density implementation the company is looking to roll out in farms across North America. Retrofitted with existing irrigation technology, the aim of its system is to give farmers more control over the irrigation […]
Facebook adds a battery-powered smart screen to the Portal line
The Portal line has always been a kind of odd duck in the world of smart screens. Facebook’s most significant contribution to the category is almost certainly Smart Camera, which uses AI to track a subject and pan and zoom accordingly to keep them in frame. It was the first big line to bring the […]
Raspberry Pi gets $45M to meet demand for low cost PCs and IoT
Turns out COVID-19 lockdowns have been good for the indoor hobby of hardware hacking: The UK-based foundational behind the low price microprocessor, Raspberry Pi, announced close of a $45 million funding round yesterday. The cash injection into the trading arm of the (non-profit) Raspberry Pi Foundational values it at $500M (pre-money), founder Eben Upton confirmed. […]
Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite returns with a bigger screen, USB-C and wireless charging
We’ve entered the throes of hardware season, with big events from all of the industry’s big names. Amazon has already announced a number of new Fire TVs, with plans for a big (likely Echo-focused) event a week from today. In the meantime, the retail giant just dropped a sizable surprise on our heads in the […]
World’s Largest Chip Foundry TSMC Sets 2050 Deadline To Go Carbon Neutral
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: TSMC announced last week that it would flatten its emissions growth by 2025 and reach net-zero carbon by 2050. That’ll be a tall order for a company that produced over 15 million tons of carbon pol…
Roku debuts new Streaming Stick 4K bundles, software update with voice and mobile features
Weeks after Amazon introduced an updated Fire TV lineup that included, for the first time, its own TVs, Roku today is announcing its own competitive products in a race to capture consumers’ attention before the holiday shopping season. Its updates include a new Roku Streaming Stick 4K and Roku Streaming Stick 4K+ — the latter […]
As offices come back, ATMO launches air monitoring device claiming to give COVID-risk score
Way back in 2015 we covered the launch of the Atmotube, a small, innovative, portable air quality monitor which went on to receive a number of awards after its CES debut. Since rebranding as ATMO, the company, co-founded by Vera Kozyr, is now launching the Atmocube, an indoor air quality monitoring system for businesses and […]
SOSV is building a New Jersey HAX facility for industrial, healthcare and climate startups
SOSV this morning announced work on a $50 million HAX facility in Newark, New Jersey focused on growing industrial, healthcare and climate startups. The five-year development plan utilizes $25 million from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The facility is set to open in June of 2022, with an eye on early-stage U.S. companies working […]
Apple brings macro, low light and cinema-focused updates to the iPhone 13 Pro camera
Apple continues its tradition of improving the photography capabilities of consumer devices with today’s announcement of the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro, available on September 24. Last year’s iPhone 12 had two rear camera lenses, while the iPhone 12 Pro had three; the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro follow suit. The iPhone 13 features […]
Apple’s iPhone 13 sports better battery and improved cameras, starting at $799
The rumors were right. The centerpiece of today’s big Apple event is the latest iPhone. The latest device lands less than a year after its predecessor, now that things have settled down somewhat on the supply chain side for Apple. Last year’s iPhone 12 was a massive seller, bucking the trend of stagnating smartphones sales, […]