Author: Brett Venter

Honor’s Magic 8 smartphone series is a given. Not only are there rumours concerning its specs, but the company released a Magic 7 range last year. Those don’t just stop, unless the company disappears from the landscape altogether. But what if there was a surprise coming? That surprise could well be an Honor Magic 8 Mini, assuming that’s what it ends up being called. Rumours from Chinese social media platform Weibo offer some insight into the still-unofficial smartphone, but it doesn’t sound especially ‘mini’ to us. Honor Magic 8 – Mini or Lite? According to a leak from Digital Chat…

Nokia might be gone, but its legacy lives on in HMD’s newest release. The company’s new Terra M channels the spirits of its Nokia 3310 forefathers by being a rugged feature phone. HMD calls it a “smart feature phone,” mostly for marketing reasons, but it’s certainly less doff than a dumbphone. Only, instead of everyone’s pockets, this one is destined for enterprise users. Probably those involved in construction or similarly physical endeavours. HMD announced its newest feature phone, backed by a suitably testosterone-flavoured range of backdrops, while pointing out that its “military-grade durability with instant communication tools” make it ideal…

Something like the Seergrills Perfecta could be a touch hit-and-miss for a South African meat junky. Sure, it’s supposed to use AI smarts to cook you the perfect steak (in as little as 90 seconds), but there’s none of the preparation, beer, or woodsmoke locals have come to expect from their seared flesh. (For the record, it’s not a real South African braai unless there’s thornwood involved.) Still, if all you want to do is kick back and uncap some liquid bread, the Perfecta reckons it’ll do all the other work for you. All you have to do is hand…

Flight games are ridiculously fun, but some folks always have to take things too far. Some create replica Boeing cockpits, others buy the Echo Aviation Controller. The gamepad, a product of Honeycomb Aeronautical and its suspiciously Channel Islands-like logo, is designed with rabid flyers in mind. Only not the sort of flight simulator nerd that has a full-scale 747 reproduction in their garage. We can’t all be as obsessive as Bruce Dickinson, and even the hardcore presumably like to relax with a spot of HAWX or something similarly lightweight. But when you’re used to controlling all the different aspects of…

What does it take to build a drone capable of scaring the pants off anyone who has previously reported an EBE experience? Somewhere above R500,000, if the folks from Drone Pro Hub are to be believed. And, since they have much of it on video, it’s fairly believable. It’s not about scaring folks who may have had an encounter, though seeing a home-made project zipping by in the skies at speeds of 600km/h could well do that. Like the early days of the steam engine, folks like Ben Biggs just want to see if they can do it. The drone…

You don’t have a semi-budget smartphone these days unless there’s also a branded limited edition. Oppo’s Reno 14 F is just the latest example of this adage, spicing up an otherwise standard package with loads of Sith-based imagery. Hold onto your wallet for just a little longer, though, because the device hasn’t been officially announced. It appears on the company’s Mexican website, so broader availability isn’t certain either. But, based on the visuals and what’s known from the America-adjacent territory, we’d rather like to see it here. Oppo Reno 14 F-rikken awesome The standard Reno 14 F sports a 6.57in…

Facebook knows just how hard it can be to meticulously craft original content for the internet. Its newest feature for users of the social media platform (and Instagram) lets those creators, the folks who are aware that their “original work is your voice,” keep control over what they’ve made. The new feature “automatically protects your original reels, alerts you when matches to those reels are detected on Facebook or Instagram, and helps you take action if your work is used without permission.” Sounds like a handy way to bang your head against a wall, but at least you get to…

Archer Aviation is one of several companies developing flying taxis (try not to think about what that would look like in South Africa). One indication of how well the outfit’s tech is doing is that it’s now destined for military applications. The eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) maker has announced that it has entered into a partnership with Anduril Industries — the folks who make the US military’s coolest battlefield helmet — and Edge. The deal sees “its proprietary, dual use advanced powertrain technology, currently in use on its Midnight eVTOL aircraft” being used for something a touch more……

Huawei is nothing if not regular. The company has announced the official reveal date for its new Mate X7 and Mate 80 series handsets via China’s Weibo social media platform. The 25 November unveiling is for the Chinese market, of course, but that doesn’t mean the announcement is irrelevant. It’ll be almost exactly a year since the company first detailed its Mate 70 devices, but we’ll be looking at all-new tech. You can tell because the model number is higher. The Mate 80 will likely be the star of the show, but Huawei’s new Mate X7 foldable is also taking…

Most humanoid robots (most) look very impressive while in motion. Ubtech’s Walker S2 robot, which couldn’t be more aptly named right now, is certainly one of those. The Chinese company that makes these guys has released a video showing a batch of the ‘bots moving from their warehouse home to… somewhere else. As a group, no less. Seeing them all move from a standing start to their eventual destination is a disconcerting spectacle. Of course, that’s exactly what it’s supposed to be. Knowing that the human-sized (and human-equivalent weight) artificial construct can swap its own batteries is cause for even…