Author: Duncan Pike

At a local launch event this evening, Vivo unveiled its X300 and X300 Pro smartphones. They are the first lot of new flagship smartphones to arrive in South Africa — those from Samsung, Honor, Huawei, et al. will be along in the coming months. Having already launched in China in October last year and much of Europe in the months that followed, there isn’t much we didn’t already know, other than the always-elusive local price and availability date. As with the X200 Pro that launched early last year, Vivo’s focus is very much on photography with the X300 series, in…

If it feels like it hasn’t even been six months since Oppo launched the last Reno-branded smartphone in the country, you’d be right on the money. But that isn’t stopping the company from dropping the Reno 15 F and Pro models as some of the first smartphones to launch in SA in 2026. “Building on the success of the Reno14, the Reno15 Series strengthens what has made the Reno stand out in the premium mid-tier segment. It introduces a sharper design and refined camera features while keeping the reliability and accessibility that South African users have come to expect,” said…

With all the technology that crosses our desks, it can be challenging to know which will have the biggest impact. The MX Master 4 from Logitech, for example, seems like a fairly standard thing — a mouse aimed at folks who sit at a desk using one all day. If that’s you, here’s what you’re missing out on by using another mouse, because [spoiler] this thing is really good. But it’s just a mouse… Correct. It’s just a mouse. A mouse that can probably do a whole lot more than you’re used to. Does your mouse vibrate? This one does,…

British audio stalwarts Bowers & Wilkins usually impress whenever it releases a new product, whether that be R100,000+ floor-standing speakers or sub-R10,000 ANC Bluetooth headphones. The Px7 S3 continues that trend with a stylish choice of materials, a superb build quality, and a sound signature most folks will enjoy. In isolation, the Px7 S3 would be an easy purchase. However, with a local retail price of around R7,800 (but occasionally less), it runs into stiff competition from the usual suspects. Here’s what you need to know to determine if the Px7 S3 are the right cans for you. Premium start,…

Everyone loves a good comeback story, but in the tech industry, they’re less common. Enter the Pebble Round 2. It’s the latest wrist-based wearable from founder Eric Migicovsky’s company, which got a shot at redemption at the beginning of last year when Google released Pebble’s source code from its intellectual prison. It didn’t take the Pebble folks long to get things rolling again, because “no one has created a smartwatch that fits [their] specific set of needs.” You can read the manifesto here if you’re not familiar with the origins of the modern smartwatch. Pebble Round 2 comes full circle As you…

It’s never been easy to wade through the countless budget TV offerings and find something that balances price and performance effectively. When TCL launched its new range of TVs earlier this year, including the C6K, it became even harder. TCL sent us a review unit of the C6K to find out if a R14,000 TV is worth your time and money. Thankfully, it doesn’t take that long to set up, and that’s not even the only reason why the C6K is worthy of your consideration. It’s more about the internals The phrase ‘you get what you pay for’ often accompanies…

Magic V5 is Honor’s newest folio-style folding device to launch in South Africa. It follows the Magic V2 (the Magic V3 skipped SA), which arrived here a little late, in March last year. The Magic V5 didn’t receive much fanfare this time around and is only officially available on contract through Vodacom. Not exactly a huge local release for the Chinese company’s flagship folding device. However, none of that really affects how this device performs, and that’s what we’re concerned with. Thankfully, as you’d expect from a flagship device, it’s pretty damn good – let’s get into how. The full…

Following the rather disappointing launch of Battlefield 2042, it seems that those responsible were just as eager to right their wrongs as the fans longing for a return to what made previous entries in the franchise titans in the first-person shooter (FPS) pantheon. It’s only been a couple of months since Battlefield 6 launched, following an early access period. We said in our first impressions that there was a lot of fun to be had, and since the proper launch, there’s even more of it. There are still issues affecting many aspects of the game. They might still be addressed…

Hisense has just launched its latest gaming monitor, simply called the Hisense 27GX. The company’s latest monitor goes the same way as the rest of the high-end monitor industry lately, by stuffing it full of features. Not that we’re complaining. One of the headlining features is the ability to switch between two refresh rate modes. This is proving to be a rather popular feature, but its implementation can be hit or miss. Hisense seems to have found a good balance, at least on paper, between the 4K 160Hz mode and the FHD 320Hz mode. It can’t match Asus’ 4K 240Hz…

November, and with it, Black Friday, might be over, but there are still plenty of great deals on tech to be had this Cyber Monday. That could mean scrounging around the web, hunting down deals for things you might think you want, but turn out to be hot garbage. It’s a much better idea to put your hard-earned money towards the tried and tested gear. Here are five deals for stuff we’ve tested that we especially recommend if you can find them for the prices advertised. We don’t know how long these will be on special or if there will…