Brian X. Chen

I’m the lead consumer technology writer for The New York Times and author of Tech Fix, a weekly column.

What I Cover

I focus on the societal implications of the tech we use. That includes the erosion of privacy in an era of digital surveillance, the impact of A.I. on how we produce work and the inability to hear dialogue in streaming shows. I also write about the latest advancements in consumer-facing products like smartphones, fitness wearables and VR headsets.

My Background

I’ve covered the technology industry for more than 15 years. I started my career at Macworld, a magazine focusing on Apple products, back when the Cupertino, Calif., company was still considered a tiny player in the PC market.

Shortly after I started the job, I attended my first Apple event, where Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone. In subsequent years, I worked at Wired, covering technology as it rapidly evolved from a special interest to an indispensable utility.

I wrote a book about the smartphone’s society-morphing impact, “Always On.” Shortly after the book was published in 2011, I worked with friends to launch Wirecutter, and, soon after, I was hired by The Times as a beat reporter covering wireless carriers and Apple. Separately, The New York Times Company acquired Wirecutter in 2016.

I grew up an early adopter of technology. I started using the internet in the era of dial-up modems, AOL and Prodigy; I vividly remember the jump to broadband cable modems. At the University of California, Davis, where I studied English literature and film, I was the news editor for the campus newspaper.

Journalistic Ethics

I strive to help consumers, not companies, and always work to be fair and accurate. I have a “no surprises” policy where I always give a subject a chance to comment on a story ahead of publication. I do not own stock in any of the companies I cover. If I am related to or involved with someone connected to a company I may cover, I excuse myself from the story. You can read The Times’s full ethics policy, which all Times journalists are committed to upholding.

I’m most reachable via email: brian [dot] chen [at] nytimes.com. If you’d like to tell me something securely, use the NYT’s secure tip line.

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