Author: Brett Venter

Apple is not generally the sneakiest of companies. One of the most secretive, certainly, but sneaky? Nah. So when we found out that there’s possibly an undercover hardware launch taking place this week, we were… shall we say, surprised? According to an internal memo seen by website MacRumours, Apple has a new… something in store for the world (provided you live in the States or the UK) as of this week. As of 8 December, to be precise, which is about typical for the company’s actions of late. Apple hosted online events in early September, October and November this year.…

Samsung has started rolling out Android 11 to its handsets, starting with the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra. Those phones are the first on the list for the software update, following Android 11’s release three months ago. But don’t get too excited yet — the rollout is starting with Korea, the States and “most of” Europe before heading elsewhere. The updates should take place over the next week on Samsung’s first flagships for 2020. In addition to the updated Google OS, users will get access to Samsung’s own One UI 3 — which looks like it borrows more than…

Everyone know that the Xbox Series X is basically just a PC that plays console games, so how about a PC that looks a little like a Series X? That’s what the Razer Tomahawk offers its users — desktop-level power in a seriously compact form factor — while still stacking a full-sized GPU. Razer’s got some epic products, like this crop from RazerCon earlier this year, but the company also makes computer hardware. It was only recently that South Africa got official access to the Razer Blade range of notebooks, so laying hands on a Razer Tomahawk might prove to…

There’s a lot going on with the iPhone 12 this year but one thing that all of the handsets have in common is 5G support. Which… isn’t really available here in SA, except under very specific circumstances. Very specific indeed. So much so that, if you want 5G to work on your iPhone, you’ll have to use it on MTN’s network. At least, that’s what the yellow cellular provider said today. What’s more, MTN also said that it’s the only network offering 5G coverage for Apple’s newest handset. The company said, “MTN will be the only network authorised to enable…

The nice thing about virtual reality is that you control just about everything that happens there. Unless you’re playing Arizona Sunshine or Half-Life: Alyx or something, in which case you’re reacting — but the environment is tightly controlled. Nothing like real life, which is why it feels better and better to escape into VR these days. And devices like Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 are attempting to make that easier than ever to do. And succeeding. Purely based on the hardware, if you want to dive into a really compelling virtual reality experience without buying a massive PC and a headset…

It’s that time of the year again. No, not where you stress about how much weight you’ve gained and promise to do better. Qualcomm’s revealed its newest high-end mobile processor, the Snapdragon 888. Bet you were expecting something with a five at the end, weren’t you? Technically we should have seen the Snapdragon 875 or even 885 (the current chip is the Snapdragon 865) but Qualcomm’s gone for the 888, because… reasons? It’s “…an auspicious name in Chinese culture”, reports Engadget. That’s probably reason enough to do it. Plus, everyone likes consecutive numbers. Snapdragon 888, by the numbers Qualcomm’s still…

Everybody wants to be a bank these days, obviously because that’s where the money is (sorry, sorry). Seriously, the latest company to launch its own digital wallet/payment solution is Telkom, which today launched Telkom Pay Digital Wallet — or just Telkom Pay, if you value your time. The service will be linked to WhatsApp (which isn’t concerning at all) and will do all the usual things. You’ll be able to make and receive payments, and Telkom’s also setting it up as a point-of-sale payment option, meaning businesses could use the service to take in cash for services (or products) rendered.…

Samsung’s got a large number of smartphones at its arsenal, with the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note being its headliners. But now it’s also added the Galaxy Fold and that’s… a lot of headliners sharing a limited amount of limelight. Which is why reports are floating around the Samsung may be doing away with its Galaxy Note lineup. And while this has been expected for ages, there’s a new report out in more mainstream press that lends extra credence to talk of a big change from Samsung in the next few months. The last Note you’ll ever use Reuters says,…

In ordinary circumstances we trust Facebook with our data about as much as we trust a fart during a bout of gastric flu but, as bad as that is, we’d trust the social media giant with our financial data even less. And yet Libra, its own cryptocurrency, is supposedly scheduled for a limited release in 2021 — which is much later than expected. Libra’s horoscope That’s according to the Financial Times, but Facebook’s ambitions have been cut back from its original scale. Is it the result of much of the world giving Facebook’s plans the finger upon announcement? We’d like…

See, this is what happens when you’re late. Xiaomi has turfed Apple out of the top three smartphone sellers on the planet, relegating the American brand to a lowly fourth place for the third quarter of 2020. All because they delayed the iPhone 12 for 2020 — a September launch might have seen Apple hang in there. But it doesn’t hurt that the Chinese brand shipped the number of phones it did in the third quarter of 2020. That smartphone sales slump that hit the planet when everyone was locked down in their homes seems to be recovering, and Xiaomi…