Author: Brett Venter

Several companies are looking at making wider folding smartphones. Huawei is one of them, but it’s not alone. But the Chinese company might be leaping right to the next logical step — wider smartphones that don’t fold. At least, that’s what rumours from that country suggest. Unlike the Pura X Max pictured above, Huawei is supposed to have a wider standard smartphone waiting in the wings. Reports of the device have been kicking around for weeks. Now, Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station claims to have some details of what users can expect. Huawei gonna make this wider? The reports don’t…

BMW piloted the use of humanoid robots in its vehicle production earlier this year. A new BBC report reckons that the automaker has seen enough to make putting them into action — on a still-limited scale — later this year. It’s not the first company to explore humanoid robots in various roles. BMW test-drove robotic workers at the company’s Leipzig plant earlier in 2026. Now two of the robots are set to work more closely in the company’s production setup. Enter the BMW bot The robots in question are both Hexagon Robotics’ Aeon humanoids. The Swiss robots should get along…

MTN One TV is a new on-demand video service available in Africa. Initially, this will cover MTN’s markets in South Africa and Zambia, with other countries serviced by the mobile service provider following later. It doesn’t seem like a one-size-fits-all package. MTN describes the service as “local storytelling, live channels, international programming, and market-specific viewing options tailored to how customers across the continent access and pay for digital entertainment.” MTN One TV for everyone The company reckons that its new service will “support greater content discovery, broader audience reach, and sustainable growth” in Africa in general. It’ll be starting in…

Smartphones modelled on e-readers aren’t new. We’ve seen a few in recent months, but Hisense’s rumoured A10 could well add to their number. The Chinese company launched the Hisense A9 several years ago. It was exactly what you might expect — a smartphone with an e-reader screen. Now there’s supposedly a successor coming to play. The Hisense A10 is only a rumour for now, but a teaser (and some leaks) point towards it having an E-Ink display in addition to its other smartphone functions. The biggest change here is an improved display, since the tech has moved on since 2022.…

The Xbox is turning 25 soon, in case you weren’t aware. The console brand has been around longer than many of its players. For those who were there at launch, Microsoft has announced a new X25 Xbox Series X console, along with a similarly styled controller. It’s a much bigger deal if you recall playing games on the original translucent green Xbox, back before it started picking up suffixes like PhDs. The limited-edition hardware will be presented in what Microsoft calls OG Green. Back in 2001, that was just called… green. X25 to life South Africa will hopefully have a…

NASA astronauts will soon be wearing Prada underwear NASA’s Artemis program is an extensive collaboration, with folks like SpaceX and Blue Origin standing alongside… well, Prada. Technically, the luxury brand isn’t working on its own, having partnered with Axiom Space to help create the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit. Both have now unveiled the underwear that astronauts will wear while out in the vast coldness of space. It’s called the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment, because humans need life support while on the lunar surface. The ‘Prada’ part of the partnership is mostly so regular people will pay attention to…

Acer has had gaming handhelds before, but its upcoming Predator Atlas 8 is the first to fall under the company’s ‘serious’ gaming banner. The previous outings were filed under ‘Nitro’, the more affordable range from Acer. So what’s the big deal about this upcoming gaming hardware? Well, it’s supposedly the first hardware to use Intel’s dedicated handheld gaming chipset, the Arc G3 Extreme. Acer does point out (sort of) that this is an “up to” situation and not the default. Expect to pay more for Intel’s newest hardware and the performance it supplies. Predator Atlas 8 *shrug*?  Acer’s Predator Atlas…

Stuff has long been fascinated with the products Vertu comes out with, and the company’s new AlphaFold is no different. The luxury brand tends to include premium features that have nothing to do with hardware and everything to do with the size of your bank account. And its foldable really lives up to that pattern. The thing is, unlike the Louis Vuitton earbuds (and much like the Xor Titanium), this is a completely customised device. It’s not simply a repainted phone, like the Steve Jobs Edition iPhone. If you want one of Vertu’s foldables, the starting price is R112,000. It…

There’s a reason why anything complicated is compared to rocket science. One of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets — the same type used for manned launches — exploded on the launchpad last night. Nobody was hurt, as far as is known, since it wasn’t actually supposed to lift off. Instead, the New Glenn rocket was undergoing a hot-fire test on the pad. The test was being recorded and streamed, with the subsequent spectacular explosion being caught on camera. We’re not using ‘spectacular’ lightly, either. Blue Origin blew up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O90WZJALYc Blue Origin’s rocket was supposed to launch at a later stage.…

The existence of WhatsApp Plus hasn’t really been a secret, but it’s officially here. Worse, it’ll be going global. Even worse than that? The subscription offering will also encompass Facebook and Instagram. But at least it can’t get any worse, right? Actually… the company says that it’s also developing other subscriptions, for Meta creators, businesses, and folks who use Meta AI. That’s a problem for the future, though. In the meantime, you’ll wind up paying at least R65/m for Facebook Plus or Instagram Plus. WhatsApp Plus is set to be cheaper, at around R50 a month. WhatsApp with all these…