Author: Brett Venter

China has probably abandoned the idea of military conquest and empire building, instead settling on what Civilization players know as an ‘economic victory’. Its sudden surge of motor vehicles entering the South African market, a pattern that closely mirrors the country’s rise in smartphone dominance from 2012 onwards, indicates that it is well on its way. The country’s motoring brands and sub-brands have increased their presence on South African roads in recent years, helped along by highly competitive pricing and improved quality in the models that turn up on our shores. The expansion of China’s motoring industry isn’t confined to…

The wackiest Apple accessory since its R470 polishing cloth is here. The American tech maker has announced the iPhone Pocket, an interesting way to notify every pickpocket in the area that you’re carrying an iPhone on your person. Apple says the wearable fashion statement was “[b]orn from the idea of creating an additional pocket,” something that could easily be solved with a backpack, handbag, or the much-maligned cargo pants instead of handing large sums of money to Apple for a fancy rugby sock. Still, folk’ll pay for this one. iPhone Pocket sand The oddball accessory is the product of a…

A new version of Apple’s newest smartphone, the iPhone Air, could take a little longer than expected to arrive. The handset, announced this year, was supposed to get a sequel in 2026, but according to a report by The Information (via Reuters), it’ll miss that date. iPhone Air up in the air The report is largely unsurprising, given that Apple has supposedly changed production priorities for its 2025 smartphone lineup. The Air’s numbers, according to Asian sources, have been scaled back, with more traditional devices taking their place. This suggests that the iPhone Air isn’t selling as well as expected,…

Negotiating with a car salesman is a bit like chess. Avoid traps (those ‘optional’ extras), strengthen your position (be prepared to walk away), and, hopefully, knock a few bucks off that tag price. Omoda might offer you less leverage, since you’d be buying its new C7 SUV brand new, but it can’t hurt to try, can it? Salesmen are human, after all. The Chinese brand has launched three trim levels of its C7 SUV in South Africa, which will be in showrooms from today. These are priced between R540,000 (provided you pay cash) and R690,000 (ditto), depending on which option…

Realme loves its limited edition partnerships, with the best being reserved for its GT series phones. The company’s GT 8 Pro is the latest to get the limited treatment, even if we saw something very much like it not so long ago. Like the GT 7 Dream Edition, the Realme GT 8 Pro Aston Martin Limited Edition is taking the Aston Martin Formula One team’s branding and making it its own. More or less. The same green hues, the same branded badges on the back, but it’s a completely different set of hardware. Racing to get a GT 8 Pro…

If you’ve been paying attention, you’d know that Australia is banning young people — under the age of sixteen — from accessing social media. The idea, right or wrong, is that such a ban would prove beneficial to their mental health. That idea seems to have caught on. Denmark is next in line to prevent kids aged fifteen and under from getting onto social media platforms, though it has left a little space for younger teenagers to get onto TikTok and the rest. With their parents’ permission, of course. Social media sucks (for kids) The Danish government said late last…

If you’ve ever wondered where Samsung goes after building folding smartphones and developing the K9 Thunder 155mm self-propelled howitzer (look it up), the answer is obviously: humanoid robots. After all, everyone else is doing it, and the South Korean company isn’t one to let a trend slip by. How soon we’ll see something that looks and walks in a vaguely human manner is uncertain. Still, the head of the company’s Future Robotics Division, Oh Jun-ho, speaking at this year’s International Robot Symposium, reckons we’ll “be able to see it soon.” Please don’t name it Bixby, Samsung There are several challenges…

You can’t really call yourself a South African unless you can identify a Toyota Hilux by its silhouette, but you may soon have trouble spotting one as it zips by on that dirt road. Not because the Japanese company has altered its iconic shape (much), but because it’ll be moving too fast. Toyota has whipped the shrouds off its newest range of workhorse bakkies and, along with the usual upgrades to its petrol and diesel models, there are two unusual flavours set to arrive. These are the Toyota Hilux BEV and the upgraded Hybrid 48V, a fully-electric and a plug-in…

Reality has caught up to rumour, with Chinese company Huawei (you know who they are) announcing its Mate 70 Air smartphone for its home country. As expected, both from the name and prior leaks, it’s a skinny little critter. The handset measures just 6.6mm through its middle — it has a way to go to beat the Galaxy S25 Edge’s 5.8mm or the iPhone Air’s 5.6mm — but Huawei has chosen to keep as many features as possible intact. Performing a 70 Air The Mate 70 Air uses a frankly massive-for-a-smartphone 7in display, a 2,760 x 1,320 AMOLED effort with…

Star Trek fans who are also Lego fans (there are a few of you out there) will want to keep their eyes peeled for this Black Friday. Not because of any particular special, though there are bound to be a few of those, but because that’s when their pre-ordered U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D set will arrive at the local Lego store. Yes, even South Africa’s official outlet. The space-themed 3,600-piece set launches on the same day in SA as the rest of the world, on 28 November. You could wander in and get it, but Trekkies will know that there’s often…