Author: Stuff writer

Huawei South Africa sent Stuff’s editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak one of its newly announced flagship devices, the Mate50 Pro. The previous device in the Chinese firm’s Mate series launched in the twilight months of 2020 and while the Mate 50 Pro launched in China last year, its local rollout is nevertheless an exciting event for fans of the brand. The Mate 50 Pro’s standout feature has to be the revamped camera system featuring what Huawei calls the Ultra Aperture XMAGE Camera. That’s housed in a symmetrical Space Ring design and wrapped in the company’s orange Vegan Leather. It’s all rather spiffy.…

This year, businesses will send more than 93 billion messages to their customers using platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat, according to Juniper Research. “These applications have revolutionised the messaging market, as it allows enterprises to send messages, images, graphics, links and advertisements over wireless networks,” said the market research firm in its whitepaper on how Over the Top (OTT) business messaging is evolving conversations between businesses and customers. Juniper notes that businesses have increased their use of OTT applications in the past five years. “Juniper Research has found that global OTT business messaging traffic will rise from…

As load shedding continues to dent South Africa’s economy and shut down most small businesses, the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) gave an update on what it has been doing and what it plans to do to lead the country out of the darkness. The “six-month progress update” published on The Presidency’s website this past weekend came after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s July 2022  promise to  “improve the performance of existing power stations and add new generation capacity as quickly as possible”. Read More: Load shedding won’t become permanent in SA (and that’s somehow the worse option) We don’t know what…

Now that Eskom has finally shed some light on its immediate plans for the country and load shedding, it’s time to talk business. As in, if you own a business, should gear up if you want to keep your business running (provided you haven’t done so already). During a press briefing on Sunday, one that many had hoped would be packed with solutions and faster ways to get the country out of load shedding, Eskom told South Africa to gear up for at least two more years of load shedding. So what can you do about it? Solar is expensive…

If you’re a business owner, 2023 may be a good time to mix some business with a lot of pleasure. Of course, that’s provided you aren’t already selling your products or services while you mingle with friends and strangers on social media. Professional services network Deloitte says that “the social media feed is the new storefront”. The company adds that users aren’t just window shopping, but spending money on plenty of products as they socialize online. Social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok all have space for businesses to operate by selling products and services on their platforms.…

Good old Telkom seems ready to play with any new kids on the block. The mobile operator is opening to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). Telkom is finally going to permit MVNOs to use its extensive network. It says this is to enhance “the much-needed competition in the telecoms space” and to “enable them to deliver their propositions to selected target markets effectively.” Read More: SA network operator plans for 2023 include 5G expansion and fighting off load shedding MVNO are network operators that use infrastructure belonging to bigger network operators (in this case Telkom). Though they don’t have their…

What’s taking so long for Apple to launch its augmented reality (AR) glasses? The blame apparently lies on technical challenges. The company isn’t the first to struggle with making AR glasses a reality. Google Glass shares a similar concept to Apple’s upcoming glasses. Glass, if you remember, didn’t stick around for very long. Apple is trying not to make the same mistakes. Picking the right Apple headset Ideally, AR headset users would view the world with an overlay of visuals and information via their glasses. It’s like walking around with an unobtrusive internet-connected screen feeding you important information. No bulkiness…

Now that the world is back at work and Microsoft knows we’ve become accustomed to working on Teams, it plans to make us pay for some of its features. We should have known it’d only be a matter of time before we start paying for some of the app’s perks. Microsoft will start charging for features including live translated captions and time markers in meeting recordings for when a user joins or leaves the meetings. The tech giant announced in its updated licensing agreement this week that it would be moving some features to Teams Premium. Features moving to Teams…

If you’re a globe trotter, or simply live in South Africa where the internet is unstable due to the endless misery that is load shedding, you’ll appreciate apps that continue to work offline. Google Translate has added 33 new languages to its offline functionality. The platform’s offline feature allows users to download a language that can also be translated when there’s no internet. Sparking a conversation (offline) The additional languages include languages spoken in different parts of the world, including Zulu, Sesotho, and Xhosa which are widely spoken in South Africa. Other African languages include Shona, Igbo, and Yoruba. Users…

Getting blue-ticked is probably one of the most awkward feelings you can feel on WhatsApp. How do you deal with that? Do you call them? Send another message? And how do you avoid blue-ticking others without the horror of having to eventually explain yourself at some point or another? No matter the context, it’s something both sides of the conversation (or non-conversation) would rather avoid. So, just block them instead WhatsApp users for Android will soon be able to block a contact as soon as their message pops up. The new feature also requires fewer steps when trying to block…