Author: Brett Venter

Days after the official announcement of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 8 Ultra, the Fold 9 Ultra speculation has begun. Much about the upcoming device remains mysterious, but Korean tech forum users claim to know what changes are coming to the 9 Ultra’s camera setup. If they’re correct, this might be a new record for product leaks. The information comes via a South Korean poster who reckons that Samsung has at least a few camera changes coming. These might be speculation or expectation. This early in the production cycle, it’s impossible to tell whether it’s accurate. But, given how Samsung has been…

Say what you like about the old Nokia Lumia lineup (and there’s plenty to criticise, most of it Microsoft’s fault), the phones were distinctive. Something was lost the day Microsoft sold Nokia back to… well, Nokia and ditched the Windows Phone interface. The current owner of Nokia’s brand, HMD, is reaching back to the days when the brightly-coloured Lumia range was immediately identifiable. It’s doing so with the launch of its HMD Touch AI, a Chinese-market phone that resembles a similar release in India last year. Longing for Lumia? According to a news report from China, HMD announced the Touch…

Google has yet another sign-in method out for folks who can’t remember a password or figure out how to make a passkey. The function uses what the company calls a selfie video to permit login. It’s a bit like facial recognition, except that you’re… moving, we suppose? Exactly how this is better than a password, passkey, or any other login method isn’t explained. It’s just sort of assumed that users will find this to be a decent option. Google does punt it as part of its “ongoing work to provide secure and flexible sign-in options.” To us, it just sounds…

E-ink screens are turning up everywhere, from custom computers to smartphones. It was just a matter of time before Xteink’s X4 Pro turned up. This little gadget, as the numbering suggests, isn’t the first of its type. It is, however, awfully cool. The X4 Pro is a very small e-reader with a magnetic back. Compact enough to stick to the rear of a smartphone, it’s one way to keep yourself from staring at the screen that makes you depressed all the time. It’s much healthier to stare at a screen that mimics a paper book. Reading with the X4 Pro…

A company called BrainCo (guess what they do) demonstrated a human-robot interface at last week’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference hosted in Shanghai. The tech allows a human being to control various robotic platforms — a robot hand and an entire humanoid — using the power of their mind. ‘Mind’ isn’t exactly accurate, though. It’s more about brain power, thanks to the company’s EEG headset. The headset reads brain patterns, sends them through an AI-powered software platform, and translates thoughts into commands. Use your BrainCo Introducing BrainCo’s Brain-Controlled Robot AI Platform — the world’s first integrated AI R&D platform for brain-to-robot…

Samsung was long rumoured to be bringing a wider device to its Galaxy Fold 8 lineup. That has happened, but the South Korean company didn’t muck around with the titles much. This is despite much speculation that a ‘Wide’ would be appended… somewhere. Instead, the Galaxy Fold 8 is the new form-factor, wider device. There’s a Fold 8 Ultra heading to market (which is techncially the Fold 7’s direct successor), as well as a Galaxy Flip 8. Samsung revealed everything at its latest Unpacked event, which unfolded more or less as expected. Ultra obvious Basically every recent rumour about Samsung’s…

Rain announced its newest mobile offering two weeks ago. Shortly afterwards, Stuff poked and prodded at the LoopPhone device that comes with it — on paper, at least. At the time, there wasn’t much information on the device, so we went hunting for the closest direct comparison on the market. Shortly afterwards, we got to chat with one of the LoopPhone’s creators — Brandon Leigh from Loop Design Lab. The device itself turned up in Stuff’s offices shortly afterwards. Stay tuned for the full review later this week, but the LoopPhone isn’t made by Vivo or one of the usual…

There’s this new technology from Meta, called StoryKit, that’ll give you the ability to entertain small children. It’s not like anything like it has ever existed before. Right?* The app generates stories for kids, using the magic of artificial intelligence. Seriously, though, Meta is testing its new AI-powered app in a small number of locations right now. One of those locations is Mexico, with the storytelling app available for iPhones only. You could, conceivably, connect to the local App Store and try it out yourself. Or you could save a few steps and just tell your kids that you hate…

Netflix has further plans in place for its kids offering, only this one isn’t quite so dystopian as the company’s Playground launch. The company, according to a report from IndieWire, has signed a new deal to bring American Sign Language (ASL) to a large chunk of content in its Kids & Family category. The chunk, so far, covers 200 hours across 73 different presentations. That may not sound like a lot, given that the service hosts an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 hours of content. But when you’re starting from zero, ramping up to 200 hours of ASL is a decent…

Several African countries, including South Africa, are set to take part in the upcoming Africa2Moon mission that will send several balls to the lunar surface. Technically, those balls are BALLS, or Bounced African Low Lunar Spheres. Several universities in South Africa (plus other partners) are responsible for their creation. The first mission will see three BALLS deployed, in preparation for a much larger mission that will “deploy 55 antennas on the far side of the Moon, one for each nation in Africa, in a future mission to the lunar farside.” South Africa has balls The Africa2Moon expedition is being undertaken…