Author: Duncan Pike

South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTIC) has announced two new local e-commerce platforms, launching on 1 July 2025, for ‘proudly South African products’. Shop Proudly SA, which is already live and open for business, is a business-to-customer platform, while the second, called Market Access Platform (MAP), is a business-to-business platform. The aim of these new digital stores is to further growth and support for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and locally manufactured goods and services. Growing local e-commerce “These platforms are meant to provide a seamless and centralised portals (sic) that will make it easier for…

Chinese automaker Chery recently claimed the crown for the most affordable hybrid SUV following the launch of the Tiggo Cross Chery Super Hybrid (CSH). This is the first hybrid from Chery to launch in South Africa and follows on from the petrol-driven Tiggo Cross that debuted late last year at the Festival of Motoring. The Tiggo Cross CSH is available in two trim levels, Comfort and Elite, with the former sporting a starting price of R438,900. That’s over R50,000 less than the immensely popular Toyota Corolla Cross HEV. The Elite model starts at R469,900. Crossing over with Chery The Tiggo…

At its local launch event last night at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, Honor South Africa took the wraps off the Honor 400 and 400 Pro smartphones. Following on from the successful Honor 200 and 200 Pro that launched last year, the 400 and 400 Pro bring a few hardware upgrades and more AI smarts to the table. For not a whole lot more money, either. The Honor 400 lands with a recommended retail price (RRP) of R13,000, while the 400 Pro will require you to spend R18,000. If either of those are out of your reach, Honor has already…

Hear that? It’s the sound of cheering, and it’s coming from Apple gamers. Steam for Mac is about to become a properly optimised native app on Apple Silicon-powered devices, like that M1 MacBook Pro you’re still holding onto. Valve recently released a new beta version of Steam for Mac that runs natively, meaning it doesn’t rely on Rosetta, Apple’s translation environment for programs not originally designed to work on M-series devices. And the best part? You can already try it out for free. Steaming up your Mac At its WWDC conference this week, Apple announced changes to all of its…

Last night during the Xbox Showcase, Microsoft and Asus took the covers off two new Xbox-themed handheld consoles – the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X. If you’re familiar with Asus’ last handheld affair, these won’t look too foreign. The only major physical difference we can see is the contoured Xbox controller-style grips. There’s also a dedicated Xbox button that will launch Microsoft’s Game Bar overlay, to go along with the Armory Crate button. The secret Xbox sauce lies in the new ‘Xbox full screen experience’ which Microsoft says is “optimized specifically for handheld gaming.” Take your Xbox…

It was inevitable that Marantz, the dependable hi-fi brand, would develop its own wireless speaker. Even so, we were pleasantly surprised when the company announced the Horizon and its bigger brother, the Grand Horizon, towards the end of last year. Known for its high-end audio and home theatre amplifiers, separates, and receivers, Marantz is now exploring a new venture with this duo of wireless speakers. But, as new as they are, the company’s 70-year pedigree is still palpable, and not just when you’re running your fingers over the marble base and seamless fabric. Marantz says the Horizon was created for…

How much are you willing to pay for good, or even great, home audio? We’d probably have as many different answers as people who answered. And what about near-perfect home audio? Danish audio stalwart Bang & Olufsen celebrates its centenary this year, so it’s kind of fitting that its local distributors picked now to officially launch the flagship Beolab 90 floor-standing speakers in the country. Polarising design, effortless sound The Beolab 90 isn’t new, it was first launched in 2015 and named for the company’s 90th anniversary. Yet, ten years later, it is still regarded as one of the best…

It wasn’t that long ago that we had the last ProArt P16 in for review. As this is essentially the same laptop, just a little faster at some tasks, most of what we said about the last one applies to this one too. That’s almost entirely a good thing, as the last one looked great and proved capable of handling any creative workloads we threw its way. It could also hold its own with some gaming, but if that’s what you’re doing, Asus has a few other options that will bring you more joy. If you just need something to…

Want tech but don’t want to pay full price? This weekend, Checkers Sixty60 is holding its Xtra Xtra Weekend sale, the retailer’s most ambitious online-only promotion to date, with up to 60% off online-listed goods in the Checkers Hyper delivery areas. There are over 250 deals listed in the Sixty60 app and on the retailer’s website, which now allows you to complete your whole shopping trip right in your browser. “With Xtra Xtra Weekend we are stepping firmly into the general merchandise e-commerce space. We’re competing at the highest level with the intent of becoming South Africa’s everyday store —…

It might be the first official day of Computex 2025, but that hasn’t stopped the big brands from releasing their plethora of new tech already. Acer is one such big brand and, along with the usual new devices, unveiled a few unique things too. The Acer FreeSense Ring and AI TransBuds from Acer Gadget apparently “reflect the company’s growing expansion into AI-powered wearables and real-time communication tools.” One guess as to what each one does. Acer Gadget branches out with smart wearables If you guessed a ring-shaped health tracker and real-time translation earbuds, congrats, you win all the points. The…