Author: Tshepo Chauke

Since dodging the temporary US ban and other lawsuits, Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok is issuing some changes to its Family Pairing program, in a bid to make it easier for parents and guardians to keep track of minors’ activity on the app. TikTok adds trackers and timeouts for teens The Time Away feature allows guardians to set specific times that the app is available to their kids, and can also schedule the times like an alarm. Parents can now ensure the app is unusable during class, homework time, or any custom period. Parents can also customise screen time limits across…

Woolworths is launching a new ‘after dark’ delivery service, allowing customers to purchase deliveries from Woolies Foodstops via Uber Eats, all the way up till midnight. Partnering with Engen Quickshop, Woolworths has trialled the service in certain parts of the country to “exceptional demand,” claims Uber Eats general manager for grocery & retail, Cikida Gcali. So successful that it accounted for nearly 20% of participating stores’ profits, according to a press release. Woolworths goes Dark Mode Customers can access ‘Woolies after dark’ by searching for ‘Woolies’ on the Uber Eats app. It’s available at 24 Woolworths Foodstops in Gauteng, KZN,…

The king of Asus’s ROG series, the ROG Strix SCAR, is up for preorder in South Africa. The laptop has developed a reputation as one of the best gaming laptops around, and the 2025 version only increases that gap with modular functions, allowing buyers to swap out the RAM and SSD without needing any tools. ROG Strix SCAR 18 – moddable monster The new ROG Strix SCAR 18 is physically largely unchanged in comparison to its debut in 2019. The lid features a customisable AniMe Matrix black-and-white LED screen. Gaming-wise, this behemoth leaves no crumbs on the plate with the…

It must be Christmas somewhere on another planet because Google is finally rolling out some improvements to Android’s widget system. Widgets are a neat addition to the Android experience, giving users a glimpse into an app without having to enter it. The feature has been neglected over the past few years, much to our chagrin here at Stuff. That’s changing. Google eases the widge-hunt On its Android developers blog, Google announced three new updates to the widget user experience to make finding and interacting with the mini tools slightly easier. The first is a dedicated widgets search filter on Google…

Chinese electric vehicle producer Chery’s R&D robotics arm Aimoga, has partnered with DeepSeek, which continues its tear as more Chinese brands choose to align themselves with the AI platform over OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Though DeepSeek’s best models are comparable to ChatGPT 4o, its selling point is its affordability. DeepSeek takes a bite at the Chery DeepSeek’s models, compared to ChatGPT 40, were developed on fewer GPUs, and are more power-efficient to run. The resulting affordability matters in an AI age where industry leader OpenAI, is constantly clamouring that innovation is impossible without a constant supply of fresh billions in funding. DeepSeek…

Samsung has unveiled the newest additions to its A-series smartphones: the Galaxy A56, A36, and A26. The A-series is the Galaxy’s budget wing, and Samsung hopes to give itself an edge by bringing more effective AI features to budget markets. Samsung drives the A-series forward The new Galaxy A-series joins a long-but-still-growing list of devices stuffed with AI features, as Samsung announces Awesome Intelligence, its version of an AI-based operating system. Like many of its competitors, Samsung has essentially put a little spin on pre-existing AI technologies, tied them together on a UI, deemed it an AI-based OS, and called…

After a successful debut roughly a year ago, Chinese online retailer Temu is adding Zulu as the second language option on its South African app. The app quickly gained massive popularity in the country, becoming one of the most downloaded apps in the months following its launch. Now, more users can throw their pennies at the platform in exchange for goods they probably don’t need. Temu goes native Temu found itself a hit in the South African market and only took a few months to climb the ranks to become the most downloaded app in the country on the iOS…

Volvo SA is enticing more people to make the jump to electric vehicles with a new promotion, giving new buyers of their electric offerings a public charging voucher valid for two years, Vodacom data for three years, and a GridCars wallbox AC charger for their home. Volvo takes charge for two years In a country where access to energy is precarious, it’s no wonder that EV adoption seems relatively slow. A perceived lack of public charging infrastructure is often quoted as one of the biggest (but certainly not the only) hurdles for new buyers. Volvo aims to combat this by…

YouTube is making changes to its ad placement process. The platform intends to use data to improve where ads are automatically placed within videos, particularly mid-roll ads which commonly frustrate users with jarring pop-ups. From 12 May onwards, YouTube will be more deliberate with its process, taking more care to place ads at less disruptive points. Fewer ad jumpscares on YouTube It’s a known trope that there’s no rhyme or reason to the way the algorithm places ads within a video. You can expect one or two at the beginning, and from then on you’re at its mercy. Oftentimes the…

YouTube’s long-rumoured Premium Lite tier may be coming (for real this time). For those who find YouTube too similar to a digital Times Square, the video-sharing platform already features a Premium tier devoid of ads, and tacks on YouTube Music as a bonus. But if the rumours of a new ‘Lite’ tier (courtesy of Bloomberg) are true, it may signal the company’s commitment to more cost-effective tiers for users. YouTube Premium Lite years ahead Suggestions of the Premium Lite tier’s arrival have been circling since last year when it began experimenting (again) with the idea of new tiers to draw more…