Author: Brett Venter

Have you ever felt the urge to shut out the world? Instead of looking for an affordable waterfall in Tibet to live behind, you can perform this useful act of self-care from the comfort of your own home. No rancid yak butter required at all. We’re talking about headphones and their associated noise-canceling technologies. Whether you’re in the office, on a plane, or just standing in a particularly noisy bank queue, the April-May 2024 issue of Stuff has the headphones — ins, ons, and overs — that’ll serve your purposes best. And that’s just the start of this fantastic issue. …

The big drawcard for Samsung’s 2024 smartphones was the debut of Galaxy AI on the company’s flagship handsets. The addition allows for a few unique tasks, like enhanced slow motion, on-the-fly translation, and on-device transcription. And now, many of those features are heading to older phones in the lineup. That’s according to the chaps over at 9to5Google, who spotted a Samsung community manager posting on the company’s forums. The upshot is that, starting in May, older smartphones will start getting the OneUI 6.1 update. Part of that update will include Galaxy AI features (that you don’t have to own a…

Until today, Sony’s WH-ULT900N headphones were merely rumours. There had been one substantial leak but very little real coverage of what the company is positioning as its new ULT headphones. The design looks premium but, in common with one of Sony’s 2023 surprises, the C700N buds, there have been a few sacrifices made to drop the price. Can Sony strike gold two years in a row while offering a more affordable product to the masses? Based on our time with the WH-ULT900N over-ears, that’s just possible. But there are a few items to consider before you put your money down.…

Wristwatches are one of those topics you don’t expect folks to get really nerdy about, even though they do. The newest horology sensation is the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC, a wristwatch with a very specific claim to fame: It’s officially the thinnest watch of its type ever made. You’d think that title would belong to someone like Swiss watchmaker Swatch. But you’d be wrong. Bulgari is a previous record holder but had to go thinner when it was dethroned by a 1.75mm-thick Ferrari-branded wristwatch. The Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC measures just 1.7mm thick. Talking total Bulgari That’s not to…

It’s 2024 and the country still experiences regular load shedding. Sure, we’re in the middle of a short break but we fully expect that outages will return. Products like the Bluetti EB70 Portable Power Station, to give it its full title, will ensure that the constant off-and-on won’t be too horrible to endure. But you can say that about basically any backup battery. Does it have anything special to recommend over the vast swathes of other battery brands in the local market today? That’s a slightly more difficult question to answer. Sure, the Bluetti EB70 has a lot going for…

The folks at Stuff swap headphones faster than a certain subset can lob their keys into a punch bowl. This listening instability means we swing through loads of them in a short period. It also means we know a good pair when we see it. Or, at least, have them on either side of our heads. Anker’s Soundcore Liberty 4 NC in-ear buds are a good pair and we’re not just saying that because these are our latest partners. There’s a lot to be impressed by here. The fit and finish belies the price and the noise cancelling tech definitely…

The flip phone never really went away. Sure, Samsung and friends are bringing it back in smartphone format but the original dumbphone has proved to have remarkable staying power. One of the more recent of these is the Nokia 2660 Flip, which conveniently includes the word ‘Flip’ in the name. It also includes ‘Nokia’ in the title, in case you’re not familiar with Human Mobile Devices (HMD) Global, the company that owns the brand now. You don’t actually need to know any of this. All you need is the desire to own a basic cellular phone with a battery that…

It doesn’t take much to get into retro video games in 2024. Everyone has the hardware in their pocket, for one, and emulators are everywhere. This was particularly true if you’re an Android user, not so much if you are an Apple fan. That’s all about to change. But there’s always a catch when you’re playing in the company’s walled garden. The folks over at 9to5Mac have noted a change in Apple’s App Store guidelines. One difference is that streaming apps can now direct users outside the company’s ecosystem, the result of a recent EU ruling. In the EU, of…

You didn’t think that artificial intelligence would remain (mostly) free forever, did you? A new report claims that Google is looking at ways to begin charging users for AI-powered search and other associated features. That would mark quite a departure from how the company does things. It’s only recently taken the choice to charge users for access to YouTube (if you’d like to avoid ads and have other features as well) so this is a big step. The report, via the Financial Times, reckons that the choice is being made in response to the expense of developing and maintaining AI…

There’s a new Oppo tablet, smartwatch, and set of earbuds in town. Unveiled in Johannesburg today at a compact event near Waterfall City, the new trio was accompanied by hints as to what the Chinese brand has in store, for the country and the world, in the coming months. The main tease? It is, of course, artificial intelligence. All Stuff got was a look at the logo, a stylised “AI”, and a reminder that Oppo AI is coming. Of course, since its own AI centre was announced in February this year, it sort of has to be. Oppo’s newest And…