Author: Brett Venter

Mercedes-Benz already makes expensive cars that can go just about anywhere but Brabus is a company that specialises in something altogether different. Armoured vehicles, for people with enough money that they really, really want to remain safe while driving. And their Brabus Invicto, which is built using the Mercedes-Benz G-Class as a base, is now available in South Africa. Taking the Brabus If you want one of these, it’s not as simple as popping down to the Merc dealership. Sure, it’s a G-Wagon but it’s got more than a few aftermarket parts. If you want one locally you’ll have to…

BMW’s cars — it’s concept cars in particular — tend to live in the future. The Motorrad Definition CE 04, BMW’s newest electric bike concept, is headed in that direction as well. But way, way out in a dystopia future, where corporations run everything, pollution is rampant and … hang on a minute. That’s this one. Judge BMW The German auto-maker’s electric scooter looks like it comes from one of any number of dystopian futures. It might have spawned on Total Recall’s Mars, it looks like the sort of thing Judge interns ride to work in 2000AD’s Judge Dredd comics……

Yes, the Xor Titanium is a real phone. No, you can’t afford it. And, frankly, unless you’ve got a stupid amount of money lying around, you probably don’t want one. Unless, that is, you’re a fan of the departed Vertu luxury smartphone lineup. And that’s because Xor (which is pronounced ‘Eggsor’) is a new company very much in the vein of Vertu. That is, it’s all about high-end phones for people who can afford them — without worrying too much about specs. Which is unsurprising, really. Xor was co-founded by former Vertu design head Hutch Hutchison, and several of that…

If you’re a long-time reader of Stuff, odds are you’ve seen something that Boston Dynamics has done. The robotics company is responsible for several interesting robots, include Spot and Atlas –two of the creepiest bots to walk the Earth. Because, well… they’re likely to make it to retail at some point. And they’re faster than us. Boston Dynamics started life as a standalone company before being bought up by Google in 2013. It was then sold to Softbank in 2017. And, now, it may be headed to a new home, as Huawei is supposedly in talks with the robot maker’s…

If you’re Samsung right now, then you’re probably pretty pleased with yourself. There are only really two smartphone makers in contention for the title of Number One Smartphone Brand — in the Western world, anyway — and, typically Apple is the titleholder. But… but, Samsung’s managed to snatch the crown away from Apple. That’s the word according to Strategy Analytics, which specialises in various tech markets around the world. But while that may be good news for Samsung right now, it’s probably only temporary. Everything’s coming up Samsung Which is a shame, if you’re working for the South Korean company…

Huawei’s Honor is going back to China, if a report by Reuters is accurate. The smartphone maker’s budget sub-brand, Honor, is being sold off in a deal that’s set to make Huawei about $15.2 billion — a not insubstantial sum of cash. At least, that’s the story according to various sources. Huawei’s Honor will go to a consortium made up of Chinese distributor Digital China and the government of Shenzen. You know, the place where most of you tech is made? (And also Huawei’s home town.) Keeping your Honor intact The sale will be made entirely in cash, according to…

The big news at Apple’s One More Thing event was the new M1 processor — which is all fine and dandy but it’s useless if it’s not inside something. Something like the 13.3in MacBook Air, for example? Or the Mac Mini, as well as the 13.3in MacBook Pro? Yeah, that sounds a little more like it. MacBook Air Look, as expected, nothing’s changed for Apple’s devices — visually, that is. It’ll look the same on the outside as Intel-toting machines, which means you’ve got two choices: brag, or silently bask in the speed upgrades that Apple’s new chip offers. Apple’s…

Apple’s gone and done it — by which we mean it has announced its own processor, the M1. Because Apple doesn’t go for very descriptive names (it’s a thing for them), explaining the M1 goes a little something like this: Apple’s made the M1 as a processor replacement, one that will eventually transition to the company’s whole product line. It’s an integrated system-on-chip (SoC) that looks a lot like its existing mobile processors, at least in terms of architecture. In terms of performance… well, Apples making some serious claims. Like, seriously serious. And we kinda believe them. We’re still gonna…

South Africa might be all about the iPhone when it comes to Apple’s kit but the pending One More Thing event, which takes place later this evening, has something a little special in store for fans. That is, (most likely) the announcement of the first Apple MacBooks powered by Apple’s very own processors. Intel’s probably not very happy about this… The valley of silicon The biggest thing incoming will be new MacBook models, bearing the first Apple-made processors to grace the company’s notebook hardware. But not, we reckon, the last. This is probably the beginning of an extensive shift from…

Stuff will test pretty much anything, provided we can get our hands on it. Smartphones, TVs, tablets, notebooks… sure. But we’ve also fiddled with night-vision goggles, thermal cameras, surfboards — you name it, if it’s even slightly technological, we’ll test it. As is the case with Under Armour’s new SportsMask, which has been designed to keep sportspeople safe from spreading the dreaded ‘Rona. Just a pretty face? The Under Armour SportsMask (just to look at it) is an attractive bit of apparel. Especially if you’re a fan of slick design. Under Armour knows how to design gear that looks good…