Author: Brett Venter

If you buy a smart ring from Samsung, expect to pay R8,000. The Oura Gen 4 isn’t much better, except that you’re resorting to Amazon for your purchase. Chinese brand Colmi has a local distributor for its far more affordable lineup, which includes the Colmi R10 Smart Ring. At less than a quarter of Samsung’s Galaxy Ring price, what’s the catch? Enter the Ring On the surface, there’s little to be concerned about. It’s… well, it’s a smart ring, a plasti-resin circlet for your finger packed with sensors and terminals for charging it up from the lightweight case. It’s light…

Xiaomi has joined the likes Apple and Samsung in the ranks of tech companies that make their own processors. During an event in Beijing last week, the Chinese firm unveiled its new XRing 01 mobile processor, an advanced chipset that will debut in a couple of Xiaomi’s higher-end devices. The news of the processor’s announcement leaked a few days before the official announcement. Even so, Xiaomi still managed to impress. It might match Samsung, Apple, and others for in-house capability, but it’s the only company besides Apple making 3nm processors internally. Grasping the brass XRing 01 Exactly how the XRing…

Amazon continues to develop its internal usage of AI services it eventually hopes to sell to other businesses. Instead of an AI that tries to read your mind based on past behaviour (we used to call those ‘marketing emails’) or simply shop for products on your behalf, this one will attempt to talk you into submission. The online retail giant is testing new AI-generated audio summaries that shoppers can listen to instead of reading all that boring old text — a feature that’s certainly worth building a new data center over a protected wetland for. Sounds of the Amazon Rajiv…

UPDATE: 23/05/2025 — Fuji South Africa has informed us that the Fujifilm X Half will arrive in South Africa in June this year, priced at R15,000. That undercuts the previously announced American pricing by a few hundred bucks, which is a pleasant surprise. Fujifilm has released some of the best cameras we’ve seen at Stuff in recent years, but the newly-announced X Half is something quite unexpected. The compact camera features a so-called “half-frame” sensor, though it’s smaller than the ones offered by other manufacturers. The X Half was designed to evoke older film camera models but with a decidedly…

You needn’t go full-bore into the Ford Territory Titanium. If it’s just the drive-train you’re after, you can opt for the Ambiente trim and lop about R130k off the asking price (before options). Stuff had the fully loaded R725,500 Titanium on test, and this is the one to own if you’re more about the in-car tech. Either way, you’ll find yourself in an excellent family car, with loads of space for siblings to do battle in the rear while you threaten to turn this car around. Which is no hardship because the Ford Territory Titanium is as fun to drive…

There’s no denying the utility of smartphones, but giving one to a kid? Yeah… no. You could slap the Funkyfing JR 1 on their wrist, though. It’s essentially an Android smartphone in (very) miniature, with Android 8.1 at its heart and a very familiar interface. It’s been customised to suit a wearable device, with a focus on tracking – both health and positional – and the ability to video call with your little one. A chunk off the old block The Funkyfing JR 1 is as chunky as you’d expect a smartwatch to be, though it’s as light as anything.…

Google’s IO conference took place last night. The company showcased all sorts of things that South Africans won’t ever receive, but the joy of AI is that it can be accessed from anywhere. As with most things, the search company reckons it’ll get better if you pay for it. Gemini 2.5, the upgraded version of the company’s newest AI service, is leaving Preview and heading to general availability. It must be good, because Google is punting a monthly subscription for the AI assistant. $250/m isn’t too much to ask, right? What the hell, Google? Two versions of the model, Gemini…

The trend in modern motor vehicles is towards more screens and touch interfaces, with physical buttons taking a backseat. LG’s newest innovation, set to be on display at SID Display Week 2025 in California next week, wonders why we can’t have both. The South Korean company has a selection of screen tech heading to the event, but it’s the Stretchable display (the capital ‘S’ is LG’s conceit) that looks the most remarkable. It leverages the screen-stretching capabilities we’ve seen in its Rollable TVs and almost saw in its wackiest phone to reach the concept stage to turn screens into… well,…

If you’re rocking a fairly decent 3D printer (and a substantial bank account) it’s relatively simple to create your own humanoid robot at home. Boffins at the University of Berkeley have just released the open-source plans for a robot called the Berkeley Humanoid Lite. The major drawcard is that you’re able to make the most expensive parts of the ‘bot on your 3D printer. The downside is that the remainder of the components are only cheap(ish) if you’re an American. The ancillary parts will set you back $5,000, or a mighty R92,000. A Humanoid of my very own https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIdJGkMDFl4 Nobody…

If you were going to resurrect a creature from the Jurassic period in the modern day, what would folks use it for? If your answer is ‘leather’, you’re just the sort of person VML, The Organoid Company, and Lab-Grown Leather would like to speak to. What would they say? They’ll probably open by offering you a pair of shoes made from Tyrannosaurus Rex leather, the stated aim of the new partnership between the creative agency, the genomics company, and the biotech firm. This might sound somewhat familiar, since it mirrors the plot of Steven Spielberg/Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. Except for…