Apple Intelligence dawdles at the finish line
If you’ve been eagerly awaiting your first big date with the Fruit Company’s take on AI – Apple Intelligence – once it arrives alongside the incoming iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 updates, you might want to take a seat. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has delayed the rollout of Apple Intelligence, ultimately missing the release meant to coincide with the launch of Apple’s new devices in September.
Instead, new iPhone owners will have to wait until October, or more specifically, iOS 18.1 or iPadOS 18.1 to get their hands on Apple Intelligence, reportedly giving Apple as much time as possible to squash remaining bugs. Apple is handing out betas for both operating systems to developers early – allowing developers to get a move on and drive Apple’s sales by ensuring a “smooth consumer release.”
Long story short, that iPhone 16 Pro Max you’ve been hanging around for will, as usual, feature nothing more than a minor hardware upgrade until at least October. Whether the delay of the iPhone 16’s most enticing feature will majorly impact Apple’s sales during its first month of life remains to be seen.
Tecno’s local product line-up just got a little larger
Tecno, famed for its budget-beater smartphones in South Africa (and even a laptop), is stepping out of its comfort zone with the release of two smartwatches, the Tecno Watch Pro 2, and the Tecno Watch 3, set to land on your wrist “in due course.” Specific dates are prices are still a mystery, unfortunately, though we know it’ll be available from all the usual Tecno retailers, as well as Edgars and Vodacom.
The Tecno Watch Pro 2 does its best to convince you it isn’t a budget wearable – a must for an innately budget brand like Tecno. It features a 1.43in AMOLED display, an alloy dial, and most of the health tracking features you’d expect from something like Samsung or Apple. An IP68 rating means it’ll survive the more intense workouts or even a dip into the pool.
The Tecno Watch 3 mimics its Pro sibling in all the bits that matter – nixing the AMOLED display for a regular LED measuring 1.39. It’s thicker too – but manages to retain the same IP68 rating and smart health trackers. Our only concern? Battery life. Tecno fails to mention battery life for either device, leading us to believe they’re less than stellar. Hey, as long as it gets through a day at the office, you won’t hear complaints from us.
We’ll hopefully have more information concerning specs and pricing by the time Tecno is ready for a local release.
Google’s Chromecast sequel could get an Ethernet port (finally)
Have you heard the good word? TV streamer boxes aren’t dead yet, and Google is re-entering the arena with a sequel to the Chromecast with Google TV (4K) – the Google TV Streamer. It ditches the dongle look for a more traditional streamer design, sitting under your TV and, if 9to5Google is right, an Ethernet port. It’s about time.
Unfortunately, most of the streamer’s other specs are still in the dark. The device reportedly arrived at the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) on Friday, not under Google’s account (A4R) but instead under Quanta Computer’s (HFS-GRS6B) account, which handled the manufacture of the Pixelbook, Pixel Slate and Pixelbook Go.
The device is described as a “wireless device” in the vaguest terms possible, though the test set-up involves an HDMI cable, while Ethernet and USB cables are also shown. On a diagram attached to the listing is a mention of “Full connection mode (Ethernet port connected to WLAN AP and HDMI port connected to TV) and stand-alone mode have been verified.”
Unfortunately, processor and RAM specs are still under wraps. We’ll need to wait until Google’s announcement, which is most likely slated for its Google I/O conference in August, where the company is expected to unveil its new Pixel devices. Just… not for South Africa.
The future is now, old man
Do you want a robot to handle your surgery? If you’re visiting the Busamed Gateway Private Hospital in Umhlanga, you might not have a choice. In a first for Ease South Africa and Medhold, the hospital will see the installation of a brand-new Da Vinci Xi surgical robot from Intuitive Surgery on Wednesday, 31 July.
The unveiling will include the CEO of Ease, Imraan Soomra, as well as Busamed’s CEO, Dr Dumani Kula, alongside a demonstration of the robot’s creepy-looking tech. If you happen to be one of Da Vinci’s first, second or even third victims patients, it’s not all bad. There’s still a human at the robot’s helm, which was designed to reach those crevices of the body that a regular human just can’t.
This isn’t South Africa’s first Da Vinci Xi model, either. According to ITWeb, Netcare’s Milpark hospital has had the technology since at least December 2023, with Dr Daniel Surridge being the hospital’s dedicated robotic surgeon after completing the “extensive training and proctor surgeries to achieve accreditation.”
“Making the leap from laparoscopic surgery to robotic-assisted approach, I have found the level of detail this system allows amazing. There is so much more we can do for colorectal conditions with incredible precision: ‘precision surgery’ is what the robotic system is about,” says Surridge.