Author: Brett Venter

We’re not sure if you’ve noticed but Apple’s a rather popular company. So popular, in fact, that they’re able to claim the most-sold smartphone of 2020 as their own. That phone? The iPhone 11. The information? That comes by way of London-based market research firm Omdia. Turning it up to 11 Apple’s iPhone 11, according to Omdia’s data, has sold more than 37 million units since the beginning of 2020. Those are very decent numbers in a global economy decimated by pandemic but they’re even better when you take a look at the other devices on the list. That’s because…

It’s entirely possible that you’re one of those folks still playing Pokémon Go. And, if you are, it’s about time you start paying attention to your Android and iOS versions because the popular AR game is about to drop support for a few older operating system versions. Pokémon Go is evolving Long story short, if you’re using an Android smartphone that still runs Android 5.0 Lollipop (yes, we know, but there are still some folks out there) to play Pokémon Go then you’d best look at upgrading either your operating system or your smartphone. Developer Niantic is dropping support for…

We’ve been ready and waiting for the flying car for literal decades. Because nothing makes you want to take off into the skies more than sitting stuck in traffic for a few hours. Alas, that technological milestone still eludes us but, with the latest test by Toyota-backed SkyDrive, we can at least see it in the distance. One small step for a car…  The SkyDrive SD-03 is being billed as the smallest electric VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle in the world — we’re assuming that means the smallest ‘manned’ electric VTOL — and it certainly looks the part. There’s…

Right, so Microsoft is keen (for a given value of the word ‘keen’) and the likes of Oracle is interested in TikTok, a company that currently has Trump problems. What is the most unlikely company to throw into this unusual stew? How about… Walmart? That makes perfect sense for 2020, doesn’t it? Particularly since, as the New York Times reports, Walmart is hoping to partner up with Microsoft in order to take control of the service for most of the Western world. The sum being thrown around for acquisition? Anywhere from $20 to $50 billion.  Welcome to Walmart The question…

The guitar is an instrument that has proved rather hard to innovate. Most changes have to do with its bodily composition — whether it’s cardboard or carbon fiber — or by changing the way that it transmits sounds. It’s rare to find a new way to play something that has been around for hundreds of years — but that’s what the Circle Guitar has gone and done. Going full Circle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dtrvc6gOc4&feature=emb_logo And that’s because the Circle Guitar, the invention of Anthony Dickens (as well as engineers Jacob Boast, Luke Perkin and Marie Tricaud), offers players a whole new way to…

Usually when we’re talking about wearable tech, we mean wristbands, shoes, occasionally a jacket. It’s almost never a mask (okay, there was that one time) but today… today we’re talking about masks. Only this mask is made by LG and contains an air purifier for wearing on your phiz. Face. Whatever. A different kind of selfie filter LG’s PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier, to give it its full title, incorporates two H13 HEPA filters. That’s the same filter standard used in LG’s air purifiers. There’s a dual fan system in there, along with something LG cooked up for this product –…

Before you can run, you have to walk. It’s possible to jump straight behind the wheel of a supercar when you turn 16 but if you haven’t spent time in a VW Polo first, you’re probably just going to break it. That’s the idea behind Fitbit’s Inspire 2, which is designed to get first-time fitness fanatics moving without being overwhelming. Ordering a starter The Inspire 2 is the least elegant of Fitbit’s designs, making for a chunkier presence on the wrist. Which isn’t all that surprising, as it’s primarily a fitness tracker rather than a smartwatch. That thinner profile isn’t…

One thing that remains popular online is other people ripping apart new tech to see how it works. Sometimes it’s to see what internals there are, other times it’s a grab for clicks as the latest and greatest devices are chucked in a blender, off a roof or set on fire. This time, happily, we’re just taking a look inside Samsung’s Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. This one’s hot The folks over at iFixit have a tendency to take new smartphones, pull them apart and see what makes them tick. Understandable, since the company tried to make repairing your tech that…

Life has become a whole lot more stressful than it used to be — and life before 2020 wasn’t exactly a relaxed time. Fitbit’s newly-unveiled Sense smartwatch couldn’t have come at a better time — the company’s jammed everything it can into this wrist-borne tracker, including the ability to keep tabs on your stress levels. We might wind up going through a few of these in the coming months. In addition to being a smartwatch (yeah, it does all the usual smartwatch-y things), the Fitbit Sense is the most feature-laden wearable from the company. Stress-tracking, while the big new feature,…

So you’re not in the market for a wearable that’ll give you answers to the question: “How stressed are you?” That’s okay, sometimes the stress doesn’t like it when you shine a light on it. (You still should, though). For something a little less technologically-detailed but still pretty damned technical, Fitbit has also revealed the third full device in its Versa lineup. This is the Fitbit Versa 3. Versa versus Versa Which, as wearables go, doesn’t have a whole lot different going on compared to the Fitbit Versa 2. The look is generally similar and the major talking points are…