Author: Brett Venter

One way to vent frustrations in traffic is to sing. If you’ve got a car full of people, then passing one of Samsung-owned Harmon’s microphones around for a spot of karaoke might keep everyone’s temper down. It could also result in a duet-inspired collision, so maybe the driver shouldn’t be participating. Seriously, though. Harman has announced Sing Drive, a “new in-vehicle karaoke and sing-along platform designed to transform the car into a private, shared space for musical expression.” It’s better than simply singing along to whatever’s on your sound system because… um… AI? Samsung’s Sing Drive And it might well…

If you’re going to buy a robot lawnmower, it might as well look cool. The Goko M6 certainly fits that bill, featuring stylish tyres and a body shape reminiscent of the Cybertruck. You know, the EV that some Americans love (or love to hate)? Occasionally, the military shoots at them (on purpose). Hopefully nobody will drop missiles on Goko’s robo-mower, though. That would leave some very large divots in your perfectly-maintained lawn. The company behind it, Robot++, has made allowances for holes that size, at least. Assuming an AGM-65 Maverick hasn’t pulverised it. Damn you, Goko! The M6 uses AI,…

Apple does it every year, so there’s no reason why Huawei can’t. We’re referring, of course, to an annual developer conference. The Chinese brand has just locked down the dates for its own outing, referred to as HDC. There’s a slight crossover with 2026’s WWDC, but Huawei, being on the other side of the world, can probably pull it off. Huawei’s newest developments HDC will run from 12 to 14 June this year, slightly encroaching on Apple’s spotlight. As with most software conferences, we’re not expecting much in the way of product reveals. If anything is lurking, Huawei is keeping…

Ereader company Boox has been on a roll lately, but its newest outing might be a little special. The company has released Tappy, a little remote control device for its readers. We’ve seen Kobo’s remote control, which is a fairly premium take, but Boox’s effort is a shade more impressive. Perhaps ‘satisfying’ would be a better descriptor. The Tappy “wireless page turner” is based on a typewriter, with two keys that bring to mind the older, clacky tech. Based on the company’s images, you’ll want to keep pressing it, whether it’s to turn pages back or forward. Boox club That’s…

Earlier this week, rumours suggested that OpenAI is targeting its own smartphone hardware built around ChatGPT. The move makes sense for the company. Having a device where it controls all the variables is an attractive proposition (just ask Apple). It makes less sense for end-users, who will require something novel to jump ship from Apple, Samsung, and friends to something OpenAI has made. But, while the initial report was light on technical details, more of those have since surfaced. OpenAI the gates 【產業調查更新】OpenAI 可能正加速首款 AI agent 手機開發，目標最快於 1H27 量產，考量原因或包括有利年底 IPO 敘事、AI agent 手機競爭加速等。目前聯發科更有可能獨家取得處理器訂單，該機預計採用基於天璣 9600 的客製版本，並於 2H26 由台積電 N2P 生產。ISP… https://t.co/EYEtbWf16X…

One of these days, different fields of robotics will merge and give humans something to be really scared of. Genesis AI’s newest demonstration of its robot hands paired with, say, Honor’s Lightning robot would be legitimately terrifying. Imagine an artificial humanoid with the ability to outrun you and then make scrambled eggs directly afterwards. Scary, right? Sure, people can already do that, but it’s much more freaky when a machine does it. Thankfully, Genesis AI’s robotic hands are an isolated contraption. They’re not attached to an overly mobile torso or anything just yet. Genesis 1x https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWVLDTvH1Hk That doesn’t mean that…

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch range does an excellent job of tracking what’s going on inside your body, but it could be doing more. The South Korean company recently published a study showing that its Galaxy Watch 6 can predict, with about five minutes’ notice, when a wearer is about to faint. Galaxy Watch’s faint echoes That’s a handy feature to have, since it gives people a chance to get a) help, b) a softer place to land, or c) the car pulled over, so there’s no additional traffic complication. The catch is that getting your “prediction of vasovagal syncope” on your…

Huawei has launched a raft of new products, right on time. As expected, one of these is the Watch Kids X1, plus a Pro variant. Both devices have an interesting take on the standard smartwatch face by making it (somewhat) modular. The standard X1 features a flippable, twistable face, while the Watch X1 Pro’s body detaches altogether. In the latter case, the device can be converted into a little portable camera. There’s an extra accessory for that bit, allowing kiddoes to snap shots without, you know, having access to a whole smartphone. Always Watch Kids X1 Both devices have quite…

It’s time for another dose of retro-futurism, this time in the form of the TypeFrame PS-85 CyberDeck. The folks at Raspberry Pi spotted this one initially. The reason for that is obvious — this custom-built computer uses the company’s own Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W board as its main component. It’s the creation of one Jeff Merrick, who originally set out to build something different from this Alien-inspired slab of hardware. The distraction resulted in him making the TypeFrame PS-88.  It also resulted in the PS-85. It may be slightly less convenient to work on, but it looks infinitely cooler.…

Electric scooters are more common overseas, but with current petrol prices, it might be time to switch. Pure Electric has entered the country via distributor Core, but you’ll have to visit the company’s own website to nab one. Or drop by an unspecified retailer. It beats walking or burning dead dinosaurs to go to the corner shop, sure, but you’ll need at least R9,000 to avoid wearing out your soles. If you opt for Pure Electric’s most expensive model, it’s considerably higher. Pure fun? That would be either the collapsible Pure Flex or the X McLaren model, both of which…