Brooklyn

A 2016 Brooklyn federal ruling rejecting an order to make Apple unlock an iPhone made the borough a focal point in the encryption fight between Apple and the DoJ.

Who they are

Brooklyn appears in technology coverage primarily as a geographic venue and operating base: a federal-court setting for the Apple-iPhone encryption dispute, a launch-event location for Google and Samsung hardware, and home to startups including Underdog and Overtime as well as the Bitcoin Academy initiative.

The recent arc

Coverage peaked in 2016Q2 around the Brooklyn iPhone case, when a federal judge ruled the government could not use the All Writs Act to compel Apple to unlock a device. Subsequent stories tracked the DoJ’s continued demand for Apple’s assistance and then its decision to drop the appeal after obtaining the passcode, making Brooklyn a concrete venue in the broader encryption-policy confrontation.

The recent arc

More recent coverage is dispersed across consumer hardware, startup financing, and technology services. Google chose Brooklyn for its 2022 Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel Watch event; Bloomberg reported Samsung’s planned July 2025 Galaxy Unpacked event there, expected to feature AI updates and new Galaxy Z devices. Meanwhile, Brooklyn-based Underdog raised a $35 million Series B in 2022 and a $70 million first Series C tranche in 2025, while Overtime raised a $100 million Series D and Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z launched Bitcoin education classes at a Brooklyn public-housing complex.

The tension

The defining tension is between device security and law-enforcement access: Apple and the iPhone sit opposite the DoJ in the Brooklyn case, where the government sought compelled technical help and the court rejected its All Writs Act theory. The later hardware-event stories add a different competitive layer, with Google and Samsung using the borough as a stage for rival Pixel and Galaxy product cycles.

Why it matters

If this pattern continues, Brooklyn’s significance in tech coverage will be less as a single industry cluster than as a recurring intersection of policy, product launches, and venture-backed consumer platforms. The Apple litigation showed how a local court can shape a national encryption debate, while Underdog’s financing and Samsung’s event suggest the borough remains useful both as a startup base and as a visible venue for major technology announcements; the durability of either role remains contingent on future legal cases and company activity.

Related: Apple · iPhone · DoJ · Google · Samsung · New York