Author: Brett Venter

Can you think of a use case for an AI assistant that lives in your TV? If so, Microsoft’s Copilot is likely to be the first option you can use to begin your experimentation. Just don’t ask how the new feature is different from standard voice commands on smart devices. Microsoft says that Copilot will “[transform] the biggest screen in your home into your most personal and helpful companion,” adding that the feature will be free to use on compatible Samsung TVs. It’ll apparently be a “social experience, but the company is light on how it’ll differ from algorithm-driven suggestions…

Samsung has an unexpected event taking place on 4 September this year. Usually, its Unpacked showcases are a bi-annual affair, which might be why this one isn’t explicitly taking the name. It’s being called Galaxy Event, with its timing totally not calculated to intrude on Apple’s annual iPhone presentation. A September event is relatively rare for the South Korean giant, though it’s not without precedent. The last time we saw one (or, perhaps, bothered to tune in) was the Life Unstoppable event, which broadcast in the midst of 2020’s chaos. Unpacking Not-Unpacked Then, Samsung trotted out a more unusual collection…

The way we reviewed the Logitech MK250 keyboard and mouse combo is the way all peripherals should be tested. We wrote the review using it. If the keyboard survives to the end without being snapped in half, it’s probably worth your money. Depending entirely on how much said keyboard costs. It’s an easy bar to clear for anything with a premium build and mechanical switches, but at around R500, anything could happen. It could wind up broken (via strategically applied percussive maintenance) or it could emerge unscathed. The best part? Nobody will know till they arrive at the bottom of…

And here we thought Samsung had dropped the ‘Lite’ suffix from its premium range for good. The South Korean company has just announced its newest affordable(ish) S-series tablet, the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite. Aimed primarily at students and sprinkled with the company’s latest AI promises, the S10 Lite is set to have an international price tag of just over R6,000 ($350). It won’t be quite as attractively priced here at home, but it will make it to our shores in September. When it does, Samsung hopes that the 10.9in tablet’s AI smarts will convince you to stick one… wherever it…

Following several delays, SpaceX’s Starship 10, the first attempt since the last one, lifted off from the company’s Starbase launch platform in Texas. For a change, nothing went drastically wrong until it was supposed to. The massive front section of the spacecraft eventually exploded, but this time, where it was always supposed to — on the surface of the Indian Ocean. It’s what happened in between that was of most importance to SpaceX. As this was a test launch, a simulated deployment of Starlink satellites took place following “a full-duration ascent burn” that “achieved its planned velocity, successfully putting it…

Right on schedule, Apple has announced the date for its annual iPhone keynote presentation. If your guess was ‘early September’, then you were well served by rumour and the company’s somewhat predictable behaviour since… forever. There’s little that can be gleaned from the company’s invitation, which conveys all the pertinent information right up front. Avid Apple watchers can tune into the livestream from the Steve Jobs Theater on 9 September. Local time has the event kicking off at 13h00, but here in South Africa, you’ll have to make space at 19h00. Awe, Apple As usual, the American smartphone maker is…

Stuff has previously spent time with Packard Bell’s entry-level Celeron notebooks, so it was a relief to get something speedier. The Packard Bell Carrera F3, or the Carrera Flex 3, depending on where you’re buying it, features an R8,000 price point (it can be had for less) and justifies the uptick in price by being… well, more advanced. Advancements are seen in the touchscreen display, a more diverse port selection, and a swivelling hinge that puts this notebook into the 2-in-1 category. It’s not an Asus RoG Flow Z13, however. A little more capable than its brethren, it’ll perform better…

When you’re Apple, even mediocre and overpriced products will have their copycats. Chinese brand Vivo has announced its Vision Discovery Edition mixed reality for sale in China, with the new wearable headgear taking a shot at Apple’s own Vision Pro. In terms of design, the two devices look remarkably similar. The visored headset and generous padded headband might have come from the same design engineer, but Vivo’s effort is just two-thirds the weight of Apple’s stupendously expensive hardware. Vision of the future? A raft of other features is supposed to tempt users away from Apple’s premium offering. Dual micro-OLED displays…

There might be few things more depressing than getting to put ‘LinkedIn video influencer’ into your digital CV, but that’s just what businesses and creators taking part in Microsoft’s BrandLink program are unleashing on the platform. Most users will have to remain content with publishing workplace-adjacent stories that totally happened, guys, but larger businesses, with bigger advertising budgets, are being added to BrandLink following a smaller-scale trial in 2024. The result is more advertising on the platform, in the shape of short-form video and content branded as “Shows by LinkedIn”. LinkedIn to the money Microsoft’s platform hopes to capitalise (on…

If you’re a Huawei fan who doesn’t mind dropping R25,o00 on a handset, the Huawei Pura 80 Pro has your name written all over it. Not literally, because that would be silly, but the Chinese company has produced another excellent slab of glass and… another kind of glass. Plus various circuits, components, and a camera sensor that should be experienced rather than talked about. What it still struggles with is what has held the brand back ever since the first Trump administration — software. That isn’t to say it’s a poor experience, it’s just not one that will tempt you…