Category: Hardware

Amazon’s Halo fitness tracker raises privacy concerns for Amy Klobuchar

After reading a review of Amazon’s new fitness tracker, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar penned an open letter. “Recent reports have raised concerns about the Halo’s access to this extensive personal and private health information,” the lawmaker wrote to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. “Among publicly…

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Daily Crunch: Apple launches Fitness+

We review Apple Fitness+, Gmail goes down and Pornhub cracks down on unverified content. This is your Daily Crunch for December 14, 2020. The big story: Apple launches Fitness+ Brian Heater tried out Apple’s new $10-per-month subscription service for guided workouts, prompting some broader reflections on exercise during this terrible…

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Amazon’s body-scanning Halo fitness band is now available to everyone in the US

Given all of the…feedback Amazon has received, it’s hard to believe the Halo wasn’t widely available until today. Announced in late-August, the product has been offered in “early access” to invited users. That changes today, however, as the product opens to everyone in the U.S. The band runs $100, a…

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German Bionic raises $20M led by Samsung for exoskeleton tech to supercharge human labor

Exoskeleton technology has been one of the more interesting developments in the world of robotics: instead of building machines that replace humans altogether, build hardware that humans can wear to supercharge their abilities. Today, German Bionic, one of the startups designing exoskeletons specifically aimed at industrial and physical applications —…

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In&motion raises $12 million for its wearable airbag systems

French startup In&motion has raised a $12 million (€10 million) funding round led by Upfront Ventures, with 360 Capital also participating. The company has been working on wearable airbag systems for motorbikes. Integrated in a vest, the airbag is completely autonomous and can detect crashes in 60 milliseconds. The company…

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Daily Crunch: First impressions of the AirPods Max

We try out Apple’s new headphones, Spotify resets passwords and Airbnb goes public. This is your Daily Crunch for December 10, 2020. The big story: First impressions of the AirPods Max Our fearless leader Matthew Panzarino has written what he insists is “not a review” of the AirPods Max, (not…

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