Author: Trent Meikle

Apple’s ‘Surprise and shine’ event left us feeling neither surprised nor radiant, but it did deliver a fresh crop of iPhones, AirPods, and watches to play with. Right on cue, we might add. The big boy this year wasn’t the iPhone 18 Pro Max — though it’s certainly a close second — but rather the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first swing at a foldable. If you’re not all that keen on beta-testing the form factor, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max offer something reliable. This year, Apple’s upped the prices of its former flagship line, though the hit wasn’t as…

There’s no shortage of mid-range phones in the world, and now Oppo has just added another to the pile. Unveiled today in China, Oppo’s A7 Pro is officially up for pre-order, with the star of the show being the 8,000mAh battery. It’s got all the hallmarks of being a decent mid-ranger. If it can nail the price locally, that is. Full of Oppo History tells us… that might not be the case. Last year’s Oppo A6 Pro felt a tad overpriced at R11,000, while the base Oppo A6 started at R9,000. With the direction the world is currently headed, we…

Nintendo, once again proving itself completely unafraid of Grand Theft Auto VI, has confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2 lands on 5 November. The highly anticipated “reimagining” of the highest-rated game of all time was shown off in a dedicated Direct yesterday. The Direct, while thoroughly focused on the remake, was also a celebration of all things Zelda. The series did turn forty this year, after all. Ninty gave us a brief look at all the “initiatives” the company has planned — like new amiibos, action figures, playable ocarinas, the live-action movie logo, the…

You might remember Jaecoo’s fully electric J5, which got its start in July of this year. You might also remember the R550,000 price tag, which likely turned a whole lot of potential customers off. If that’s the case, Jaecoo hopes to tempt you into spending a smaller chunk of that on its new J5 SHS, the only hybrid offering in the family. The Jaecoo J5 SHS (AKA J5 HEV) sits above three petrol variants in the J5 range (Core, Vortex, and Glacier). It’s still cheaper than the J5 Inferno and the aforementioned J5 BEV, which is the only model to…

Last we heard, Capitec was closing in on 100 Smart ID-enabled branches, massively expanding the Department of Home Affairs’ reach around the country. That was in April. Fast forward to now, September, and the bank has more than doubled that figure. As of this week, Capitec now offers Smart ID services at 242 branches nationwide. Capitec… retains the lead You’ll find at least six branches capable of replacing or ordering a brand-new Smart ID card in every province, though most are more prepared than that. KwaZulu-Natal is the most endowed of the lot, with 56 such branches on offer. Gauteng is in…

It took a while (or several long whiles), but Fujifilm has finally introduced the Instax Mini 13 to South Africa. Announced overseas back in March of this year, the Mini 13 unsurprisingly serves as a successor to one of our favourite Instax cameras — the Mini 12. The retro-lookin’ snapper is on shelves now, with a price of R1,750. Stacks on stacks on Instax The Mini 13 isn’t quite boasting a whole new look, but Instax has made some attempt at a visual refresh. Instax calls it “playful,” but we call it just different enough to warrant an upgrade. It’s…

If you’re running low on airtime, WhatsApp’s latest test feature might be able to lend a hand. Building on the ‘guest chats’ feature that WhatsApp began testing for iOS in March, the messenger is now working on guest calls. Users without an account — a rare find in South Africa — can theoretically join a call initiated by a member. No WhatsApp, no problem It was WABetaInfo (who else?) that discovered the functionality, which is currently in the midst of development. It may still be a ways off from a public release, though. WABetaInfo mentions that the feature has yet to reach…

Stuff digs Beyerdynamic, so you can imagine how our ears pricked up at the news of a new set of cans. These are joining the company’s Aventho line as the Aventho Y. It’s a little on the nose, but whatever. Beyerdynamic typically doesn’t disappoint when it comes to audio, and we’re hoping it won’t start now. All about that battery life Battery, at the very least, looks solid. Keep ANC (active noise cancellation) turned off, and the Aventho Y will reward you with 90 hours of its company. If you need to block the outside world, you’ll have to sacrifice 30 of those…

Yeah, smartwatches are great, but there’s just something special about a low-key version that’ll hit a lot of the same notes. Xiaomi’s Smart Bands have managed just fine for years, asking very little in return. The same goes for Xiaomi’s new Smart Band 11 — not to be confused with the Band 11 Active — that it just unveiled in China. Xiaomi what you got Announced on Weibo, Xiaomi confirmed the Smart Band 11, which doesn’t add all that much over its predecessor. It’s still downright impressive, however, offering a 1.72in AMOLED with what appears to be a decent selection…

It’s been a busy week for Anker at IFA in Berlin. Yesterday, we saw the company’s new Soundcore sleep earbuds debut, but the announcement we were keenest on was the Soundcore Space 2 Pro headphones. The line-up has always gone all out despite its relatively affordable price, and that sentiment holds here with a $200 price. The highlight — according to Anker, anyway — is the inclusion of the company’s ‘Thus’ chip. After debuting in April, Anker has done anything and everything to stick it in its products, and now it’s the Space 2 Pro’s turn. The idea is for…