Top all-time · #857
The Bolt Blog
Company blog · blog.bolt.iostartupshardware
The Bolt Blog is the company blog at blog.bolt.io, writing about startups and hardware. Since 2013, 78 different Hacker News readers have linked it 114 times, most often “Why Juicero's Press Is So Expensive (2017)”. The last post was in 2021, but the archive is still widely read.
Rarely recommended · 5 of 40 sampled comments recommend it?
Why HN links it
The Bolt hardware blog, linked for teardowns of consumer devices such as Juicero and Logitech mice, and for writing on hardware product development, manufacturing and business models like the Keurig model.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 40 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Investing at the intersection of the digital and physical world
Most-linked posts?
- Why Juicero's Press Is So Expensive (2017)16 people · 16 mentions · first linked 2019-10-23
- Logitech MX Master 3 vs. 2S Teardown7 people · 8 mentions · first linked 2019-10-08
- Why Juicero’s Press Is So Expensive6 people · 7 mentions · first linked 2017-04-24
- Startups Can’t Manufacture Like Apple Does (2014)6 people · 6 mentions · first linked 2016-05-27
- The Failure of Coin3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2016-06-14
- Nice Read on Hardware Startups2 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2017-04-25
- Casper Glow Teardown2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2021-04-01
- What cracking open a Sonos One tells us about the Sonos IPO2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2018-07-08
- Stop saying hardware is hard2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2016-07-28
- The Hardware Startup Valley of Death2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2016-02-26
What Hacker News says?
> On mine, the horizontal wheel does not have this feature. Maybe the newer model does. I have both the current model and the older one. the horizontal wheel has been improved a bit - it's larger, and they moved the side buttons so that it's harder to hit them accidentally when scrolling horizontally (see this [0] comparison pic from a teardown [1] that I also linked elsewhere in this thread) but the "shifting" feat…
Comment linking /logitech-mx-master-3-vs-2s/
on “The new and upgraded Framework Laptop”Submitted Why Juicero’s Press Is So Expensive as a story · 484 points
HN discussionhere [0] is a teardown of the current generation compared to the previous, to show how much design and attention to detail goes in to them. I was an MX Master 2 user for years, and bought a 3, along with an MX Keys [1] at the beginning of covid WFH. still going strong 2 years later, and I would buy both again in a heartbeat. 0: https://blog.bolt.io/logitech-mx-master-3-vs-2s/ 1: https://www.logitech.com/en-us/produc…
Comment linking /logitech-mx-master-3-vs-2s/
on “The new and upgraded Framework Laptop”Submitted Teardown: Casper’s Clever Little Nightlight as a story · 450 points
HN discussionIt reminds me of a less-extreme version of Juicero. They made a $700 WiFi-connected "juicer" that squeezed bags of juice using QR codes to scan the bags and then a custom power supply, custom machined gears, and a custom 15A 330V DC motor to actuate a press to squeeze the bags between two metal plates. Of course, a roller could have done it for a fraction of the price, or you could have just let gravity pour the jui…
Comment linking /juicero/
on “Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test”Submitted Startups Can’t Manufacture Like Apple Does (2014) as a story · 341 points
HN discussionThat box of tools reminds me of the engineering teardown of the Juicero: https://blog.bolt.io/juicero/
Comment linking /juicero/
on “Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery”Submitted Kickstarter is Debt as a story · 254 points
HN discussionI think this is a good example of why the Keurig method of hardware sales[1] works so well. People would be okay with buying marked-up juice pouches because that's the real product. The juicer is just a means to an end. [1] https://blog.bolt.io/keurig-accidentally-created-the-perfect...
Comment linking /keurig-accidentally-created-the-perfect-business-model-for-hardware-startups-18e9c3b4e796
on “Why Juicero’s Press Is So Expensive”Submitted Logitech MX Master 3 vs. 2S Teardown as a story · 216 points
HN discussionThe thing that troubles me is not that people tried a dumb idea. It's that they spend $120m trying a dumb idea. That is 100 seed rounds that never happened. Could we have learned the lessons here for less? I'm gueessing yes; the ridiculously over-engineered [1] juice press is a good sign that efficient use of capital was just not a priority. [1] https://blog.bolt.io/heres-why-juicero-s-press-is-so-expensi...
Comment linking /heres-why-juicero-s-press-is-so-expensive-6add74594e50
on “Juicero Is Shutting Down”Submitted What cracking open a Sonos One tells us about the Sonos IPO as a story · 191 points
HN discussionthis is another teardown with a similar conclusion https://blog.bolt.io/heres-why-juicero-s-press-is-so-expensi...
Comment linking /heres-why-juicero-s-press-is-so-expensive-6add74594e50
on “Juicero Is Shutting Down”Submitted What Hardware startups can learn from Pebble as a story · 93 points
HN discussionLogitech MX Master does something like that for its scroll wheel to go into click or freewheel mode: https://blog.bolt.io/logitech-mx-master-3-vs-2s/
Comment linking /logitech-mx-master-3-vs-2s/
on “Bluetooth Trackball Mark II”Submitted Demystifying Hardware Jargon as a story · 55 points
HN discussionI am a big fan of the bolt blog. https://blog.bolt.io/ Its a hardware/hardware startup blog written by what looks like a full(ish) stack hardware VC.
Comment linking /
on “Ask HN: What programming blogs do you follow?”Submitted Barriers to Entry for Hardware Startups as a story · 32 points
HN discussionThe MX Master 3 takes this further by using an electropermanent magnet, which is technology I didn't know existed: https://blog.bolt.io/logitech-mx-master-3-vs-2s/
Comment linking /logitech-mx-master-3-vs-2s/
on “Remembering Windows 3.1 themes and user empowerment”Submitted Kickstarter is Debt as a story · 10 points
HN discussionHave you looked at a Juicero teardown [0]? It's overengineered to the point where it's a genuinely astonishing bit of engineering art. It's also an incredibly stupid product. Those things are completely compatible. [0] https://blog.bolt.io/juicero/
Comment linking /juicero/
on “How SQLite is tested”Submitted Casper Glow Teardown as a story · 9 points
HN discussionThere's Juicero https://blog.bolt.io/juicero/
Comment linking /juicero/
on “Thriving on the Technical Leadership Path”Submitted The Failure of Coin as a story · 9 points
HN discussionI believe that's always been a thing. A long time ago I read this teardown article [1] of real vs counterfeit Beats headphones. And even the counterfeit versions had metal weight added to make it feel like the real Beats headphones! [1] https://blog.bolt.io/our-beats-were-counterfeit/
Comment linking /our-beats-were-counterfeit/
on “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”Submitted How Hardware Startups Stop Commoditization as a story · 7 points
HN discussionYou may not be aware but comments like this (e.g. "too expensive", "a few LEDs & a microcontroller") are pretty much a trope for hardware entrepreneurs these days. I think it's important for this to be pointed out because I feel such comments are (1) ill-informed; (2) disrespectful; and, (3) encourage poor thinking around pricing strategies. (1) Depending on the model, on its own the Nordic MCU is, say, ~$US2.60 @ Q…
Comment linking /hardware-by-the-numbers-part-2-financing-manufacturing-474c7efe6c5f
on “Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code”Submitted Stop Saying “Hardware Is Hard” as a story · 6 points
HN discussionRelevant: https://blog.bolt.io/keurig-accidentally-created-the-perfect... Keurig created a hardware sales model orthogonal to printers. That is, people are excited to buy the recurring element (pods) and accept that the several-hundred-dollar device is just a means to an end. They don't feel ripped off, compared to buying printer ink that costs nearly as much as a new printer.
Comment linking /keurig-accidentally-created-the-perfect-business-model-for-hardware-startups-18e9c3b4e796
on “K-Cup creator John Sylvan regrets inventing Keurig coffee pod system”Submitted The Hardware Startup Valley of Death as a story · 6 points
HN discussion
