My gamertag is more useful than a business card. I write about the tech industry, hardware, software, games, and motoring.
This month, Apple called back to its early, more rebellious years with the announcement of its upcoming M1-powered iMacs. The new range of desktop machines come in an array of funky bright colours, including yellow, orange, blue, green and boring ol’ silver. Gold at the end of the iMac rainbow Apple’s Spring Loaded event detailed its first desktop machine running on the company’s own silicon. The M1 SoC (system-on-chip) has allowed Apple to trim the size of the machine, bringing it down by 50%. Using a processing unit generally used in mobile devices obviously helps cut down heat caused by…
At one point in the Huawei vs the US debacle, it became clear that the Chinese telecoms company should hold a significant market share in China — a country where users aren’t used to Google. Following an ever-more challenging few years for Huawei, it’s now the fourth-most sold smartphone brand in China, behind Vivo and Oppo. Apple’s iPhone comes in fifth, according to market research firm Canalys. China importing almost 1 billion smartphones Of the 92.4 million smartphones shipped in China during the first quarter of 2021, Vivo claims 23% share, Oppo’s close behind with a 22% share, while Huawei…
Returnal is Sony’s latest PlayStation 5 exclusive made by Housemarque, a dev studio that may just become a ping on the industry’s radar right about now. Many previews of this particular game hail it as being the first ‘true’ PS5 title. Why’s that? It’s just an ultra-addictive sci-fi/horror, 3D bullet-hell third-person shooter roguelike, right? While that sounds like a mouthful, that’s strangely exactly what Returnal sets out to be, and the strategic gamers, as well as those who are just here for the story, will have a helluva time with this title. It combines all the technical considerations expected from…
It may not sound like much, but immersing yourself in any tech ecosystem really ups the game. That’s particularly true with Sonos’ premium audio kit, which we’ve grown so fond of, and we’re exceptionally happy to see a truly portable BT speaker that we can just throw in a backpack and go. Go where? Well, that’s up to you, really. The Sonos Roam is the US company’s first proper portable speaker, even though we know the Sonos Move would like that title. Of course, its size shifts it out of the running for anything ‘portable’, so the Roam’s stepping in…
Software updates have become synonymous with the pocket computers we carry around in our palms. Without them, we would lose access to important security patches and fancy new features. That is the case with Apple’s latest iOS 14.5 software update for the iPhone, which comes alongside iPadOS 14.5 and WatchOS 7.4. This update is significant, simply because it’s home to two of our favourite features ever: Apple Watch unlock and App Tracking Transparency. Both tailored for the pandemic-stricken world as well as the ultra-paranoid about the online data world. Let us explain. Apple Watch Unlock First and foremost, we all…
As we move into a world that increasingly focuses on content creator monetisation, Twitter is staying relevant by experimenting with two direct payment features. Apple just announced its podcast subscription service, creators are used to utilising platforms like Patreon to monetise their content, now Twitter wants to have its users making money on the service. Twitter’s ‘Super Follow’ and ‘Tip Jar’ features were teased at the social platform’s Analyst Day in February, and now they are rolling it out to test on real users. This is according to trusted Twitter researcher and analyst Jane Manchun Wong, who tweeted what the…
Apple’s recent Spring Loaded event produced some totally expected M1-powered tabs, some unexpected M1-powered desktop slabs, and some tracking tags. One of the more interesting announcements, however, came from the mouth of Apple’s Tim Cook. He mentioned the introduction of subscription options for podcasters on Apple Podcasts. Podcasts users will be able to pay their favourite creators directly in support of their content. Subscription amounts aren’t set, so users can decide how much they want to drop on subs every month. While this sounds like a win for content creators focusing on audio right now, Apple’s gonna Apple. The company…
Nedbank has partnered with Mastercard and local fintech company Ukeshe to launch a WhatsApp payment feature for businesses in South Africa. Users will be able to pay merchants for goods and services directly through Facebook’s messaging app. “The need for a diverse range of contactless payment methods is more important today than we could have possibly imagined, as we seek to rebuild the economy by giving businesses the ability to transact in a safe and secure way,” says Chipo Mushwana, executive of emerging payments at Nedbank. It’s WhatsApp money The new feature is called Money Message, and allows small and…