Author: Duncan Pike

By now, you’ve likely heard of virtual reality (VR) and probably know what it does. Then, there’s augmented reality (AR). That one’s probably familiar, too. But unless you’re already invested in the VR/AR space, you’re less likely to have heard of Xreal. Having recently launched in South Africa, it’s aiming to change that. Formerly Nreal, Xreal was founded in 2017 and launched what it says were the “first consumer-grade AR glasses” in 2019. Towards the end of last year, it launched the Xreal One and Xreal One Pro AR glasses with its X1 spatial computing chip. We’ve been playing with…

Following Chinese and global launches last month, Oppo South Africa has stuck to its word and officially launched the flagship Find X9 Pro in South Africa, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of R30,000. Sales for the device should commence tomorrow, Friday, 7 November, exclusively from Vodacom, which has taken the liberty to bump the price up by R3,000… for some reason. Not counting the Find N2 Flip that saw a small number of units made available in the country in 2022, this is the first device from Oppo’s flagship Find series to launch in South Africa. “More than…

You know those smart streaming sticks (or boxes) that breathe new life into old TVs, giving them the ability to stream modern content, play games, and generally operate better? Well, the same concept can be applied to your car. This is the OneNav Classic. If you’re driving something from the era when touchscreen infotainment systems with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay were reserved for cars four times the price, having a OneNav Classic fitted is an affordable way to get that functionality without springing for a whole new vehicle. Internal automobile upgrade The headlining feature of this double DIN…

Following a soft launch at Comic Con earlier this year, Acer has officially launched its Acer AITV, the company’s first 4K Google TV-based streaming device. From 1 November 2025, it will be exclusively available from Incredible Connection, Computer Mania, Takealot, and Amazon. It looks like the “exclusive launch price” is sticking around, so expect to pay R1,500 to be one of the first in the world to take one home. Acer AITV lands in SA first “We ran a soft launch at Comicon Africa in September to gauge the interest and test a few concepts as our go-to-market campaign was…

Battlefield 6 hasn’t even been out a full month, and new content is already on the way. Today, that takes the form of the game’s free-to-play battle royale game mode, Battlefield REDSEC, and the first of three planned post-launch content updates. The battle royale mode won’t be surprising if you followed BF6’s launch hype. A scrap of a teaser was shown off during the open beta launch event, and data miners uncovered references to a codenamed ‘Granite’ project, which turned out to be Redsec (short for ‘Redacted Sector’). Getting Battlefield 6 to more gamers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn8k1g3vMDU&rco=1 Come 17h00 SAST today, Tuesday, 28…

If you make a habit of skipping leg day, or would rather scoot around the office in your chair than get up and walk, Nike’s Project Amplify could be just what you need. These futuristic kicks act as “a second set of calf muscles” for “everyday athletes” who want to walk or run more while expending less effort. They’re probably also good for the more serious athletes, although then it might feel like you’re cheating. Nike subhead “Project Amplify started with a single question: What if we could find a way to help athletes move faster and farther with less…

South Africa’s Ministry of Home Affairs has announced a new pilot program that hopes to reduce passport waiting times from 18 months down to just five weeks. The catch? It’s only for South Africans who don’t live in South Africa… for now. “For the first time ever, #TeamHomeAffairs is launching the option of doorstep delivery! From 1 November, citizens abroad will have the option to have their Passport delivered to their home when they use our new service centres abroad,” Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs, wrote. We have Home Affairs @ home “This marks the first time ever that…

On the heels of its X300 series launch, Vivo has officially announced that OriginOS 6, its take on Android 16, will be shipping to global markets. The new X300 devices support the updated OS out of the box, but it will roll out to older devices in the coming months. Before you get too excited, the new OS probably won’t ship to every Vivo device. It’s more likely that only upper mid-range and flagship devices will be eligible for the update, like the pricey X200 Pro launched at the start of this year. Still, it’s a welcome change from the outdated…

Vivo announced its new X300 series flagship smartphones last night at its debut launch event in Shanghai, China. The Vivo X300 and X300 Pro follow on from the X200 Ultra launched earlier in the year. While the latter device skipped the South African market, the incoming X300 series seems to bridge the gap that typically exists between pro- and ultra-level devices, so much so that it’s hard to tell where the soon-to-follow X300 Ultra will fit in. Vivo X300 wants to snap your pics Like the X200 series it succeeds, the X300 puts camera performance front and centre. Both the…

Remember back in January when Netflix said it would roll out party and couch co-op games on your TV ‘in the future’? Well, that future is finally here, kinda. The streaming giant’s co-CEO, Gregory Peters, has announced what the first of those titles will be and that they’re coming for the holiday season during the recent Bloomberg Screentime conference. “We’re creating a completely new way to play games — one that’s as easy as streaming a show on a Friday night,” said Netflix in its announcement post. You’ll need a Netflix sub, and some friends There will be five party games…