Author: Brett Venter

Apple’s high-end iPhones are the obvious winners when it comes to included tech but there’s something to be said for the iPhone SE. For starters, people might be able to afford one without donating an internal organ to that sketchy trenchcoat-wearing chap with the unusual accent standing in a back alley holding a styrofoam cooler with a scalpel stuck in the lid. No, we don’t want to talk about it. Rumours about the fourth generation of the iPhone SE have been around for some time now but this newest lot — coming via leaker Ice Universe on the Chinese social…

Some camera hardware is aimed at professionals. There’s an easy way to spot which gear it is — count the zeros at the end of the price. The new Canon EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II are very stunningly obviously aimed at pros. Regular folks don’t need cameras that cost in the upper five-to-six-figure range. Not unless they’ve got a crippling social media obsession, at any rate. If you’d like to stick one of the Canon EOS R1 units on a tripod to capture your daily social snaps, you’d best be prepared to drop R140,000 here at home for…

It’s been a few months since the last time an EV claimed to be the most affordable of its type in South Africa. The newly launched Dayun Yuehu S5 has turned up to claim the crown of “most affordable EV on SA roads”. At R400,000 for the base model S5 and R450,000 for the co-called VIP model, the Chinese brand may be right. If you haven’t heard of Dayun, you’re not alone. We were similarly mystified by the name when information about the S5 landed on Stuff’s collective desk. It’s being brought into the country by Enviro Automotive, a local…

Escape rooms have their adherents. They’re usually folks looking for a way to unwind from the stresses of competitive pub quiz play. Some of them probably drive a Porsche. At least, that’s what the folks at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart are banking on. That’s right. The location showcasing much of the German car brand’s history has launched what it calls an “escape game”- presumably because it can’t call a challenge that spreads out across the museum a ‘room’. But what, exactly, does it involve? Porsche-ing their luck For starters, it involves an online booking and up to five visitors…

Is load shedding properly gone, then? Given how far South Africa has progressed through winter, it’s tempting to believe that is the case. But there will always be another power outage or, failing that, a camping trip. Taking something relatively compact, like the Bluetti EB3A, is a handy way to keep your devices topped up for most of a long weekend without hanging around the campsite’s only plug point. There is, after all, more than one use for a portable power station. They were invented for folks who like to travel away from electricity (but who still need it) rather…

Samsung’s second Unpacked of the year is here and this one, much like the last, is as much about Galaxy AI as it is about the new devices coming from the company. There’s a decent crop of the latter, at least, with the Galaxy Fold 6 and a revamped Flip 6 putting in an appearance. There’s something altogether new in the form of the Galaxy Watch Ultra and there are also new Galaxy Buds to look forward to. Best of all, the launch date isn’t far off for South Africa, with pre-orders on everything coming to SA opening immediately and…

LG Electronics dropped off our radar a little after it dropped smartphones from its roster. Fewer product releases annually and all that. This could change thanks to a new purchase by the South Korean tech company. Athom is — or rather was — a Netherlands-based smart home company. It hasn’t moved or anything but it is under new management. LG has acquired some 80% of the company outright, planning to secure the remaining 20% over the next three years. LG’s new Homey Why, you ask? It’s all to secure a few new Homeys for the South Korean company. Homey is…

The folks who make up Stuff are all nerds in one way or another. Some enjoy movies, some are keen on audio, and others are into gaming or Lego or astronomy. But everyone’s keen on something to the point of obsession. Only… Stuff doesn’t get many telescopes through its doors so it’s hard to indulge that astronomy obsession properly. This might be why we jumped at the Celestron Starsense Explorer DX130 AZ for review. The StarSense Explorer DX130 AZ is a 130mm (5-inch) Newtonian reflector that uses the StarSense Explorer and an included alt-az (altazimuth) mount for simple night sky…

A short time ago Amazon revealed its Astro robot, a dinky little rolling Alexa machine with a dead-eyed stare and the ability to follow you anywhere that doesn’t include stairs. A little while after that, it launched a business version of the critter. Astro-for-business was intended for sentry duty, fitted with a night-vision camera, two-way conversation ability, and always-on video surveillance. It also included a monthly subscription on top of the R44,000 ($2,400) price for the robot itself. Turns out, that wasn’t too popular. Astro-no-money Less than a year later, the robot is being retired. The in-home version is still…

Drone maker DJI has made a surprise move into the world of land-based transportation. No, you’re not going to get a carbon fibre e-bike directly from the company, pre-fitted with an excellent camera and gimbal (though that would be awesome). You might find yourself on a similar vehicle propelled by the Chinese company’s tech. It’s not the first oddball choice DJI has made in recent months. The company has also launched its own series of backup batteries, though we’ve yet to see these turn up here in South Africa. Hopefully we’ll see a bicycle toting the company’s Avinox Drive System…