Author: Trent Meikle

July has proven to be an extremely odd month where petrol is concerned. Not only did the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy deliver yet another major petrol price decrease (the second in a row, in fact), but it was also the first time ever that South Africa’s fuel prices were adjusted on a Thursday, rather than the traditional first Wednesday of the new month. We expect things to return to normal for August, however. Unfortunately, we mean more than simply returning to adjusting prices on the first Wednesday of August.  According to a fresh batch of fuel price data…

If you’re a South African who owns an Xbox and frequents South Africa’s home-grown streamer Showmax, today just isn’t your day, is it? After Microsoft’s massive price hike heading for Game Pass in September, the last thing you’ll want to hear about is Showmax’s new prices. Oh, how we wish we had better news to tell you. Could be worse, we guess The new price hikes, which only affect two of the five subscriptions, only come into play from 1 August 2024. While Microsoft’s increase only serves the $3.42 trillion company’s bottom line, Showmax’s relatively small price hikes are simply…

South Africa has been getting away with, not what we’d exactly call ‘cheap’ Game Pass subscription prices, but certainly paying a whole lot less than, say, the US for years. Microsoft has finally caught on, and plans to make some big changes come September. That goes for PC Game Pass, Ultimate and Core nearly everywhere. Price hikes aren’t the only thing we have to look forward to. Microsoft will soon bring out a new ‘Standard’ tier, the release of which will likely coincide with the price hikes, and knocks day-one launch titles right off the menu. Fine. Be like that,…

When TV companies aren’t cheating and shoving Google TV on their machines, the best system is undoubtedly LG’s webOS. And for good reason. Every year, it throws a major Hackathon to find the best apps and developers to fill up its app store, sparing no expense to ensure it attracts only the best. 2024 is no different, developers can officially enter themselves and their applications up for judgement. This year, LG is after apps that focus on gaming and lifestyle services – with bonus points going to those who incorporate AI – because that’s how things are now. We’re no…

After Eskom pats itself on the back for securing 103 days of no load shedding “due to sufficient generation capacity”, the state-owned energy company announced that power cuts were returning at 07h00 this morning. But don’t worry. It isn’t load shedding. It’s technically resuming “load reduction”, which sounds an awful lot like parts of the country won’t have electricity access for extended periods. “Ackchyually, it’s load reduction.” – Eskom, probably #Eskom #MediaStatement Eskom resumes load reduction as loadshedding remains suspended to protect human life as a result of electricity theft pic.twitter.com/i7SKYWtMmW — Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) July 9, 2024…

Go big, or go Apple Watch Series 9 Want a Watch Ultra-sized display on a regular Apple Watch that won’t bankrupt you? You might just get your wish, if what Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his weekly ‘Power On’ newsletter is true (and it usually is). You’ll still need to fork over a small fortune to nab Apple’s next-generation Apple Watch Series 10 when it eventually releases – potentially this year. But it should, at least, carry a larger display than we’ve come to expect from Apple’s regular Watch line-up, one that’s “about as large as the one found on the…

Size-queen? Or size-king? Whatever the case, you’ll love TCL South Africa’s latest entry on the TV market – the absolutely mahoosive 115in QD-Mini LED X955 Max. That’s assuming you’ve got the necessary wall space, a large enough doorframe to fit it through, and the capital of a small nation’s GDP. Fortunately, TCL knows its market. At the company’s launch event last night in Sandton (after it found a venue large enough to host the X955 Max), it brought along the rest of its 2024 TV line-up, sporting price tags with far fewer digits than their flagship companion. Those include the…

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has relaunched its online streaming service, formerly known as SABC+, again. The most recent makeover – marking the company’s second such relaunch before it even celebrated its second birthday – rechristens the service ‘SABC Plus’, introducing an improved UI, more features, and a massively expanded app library. Don’t worry. SABC Plus is still as free as it was when it took the service off Telkom’s hands in November of 2022, and thankfully still devoid of any such leading questions such as “where’s your TV licence?”. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and daisies. Everyone’s favourite thing…

Not all that long ago, Oppo introduced us to the Reno 12 Pro – a R19,000 smartphone headlining the company’s slew of devices available in South Africa. At the time, Oppo briefly mentioned that two more smartphones were waiting in the wings – and now one has officially turned up, taking the shape of the Oppo Reno 12 FS 5G. Consider the Reno 12 FS (we’re omitting the 5G naming convention from here on out for the sake of our sanity) to be the younger brother of the Pro, carrying with it somewhat weaker specs, the same AI promises as…

Spoiler alert! If you’ve been counting down the days until Samsung’s Unpacked event in the hopes of seeing the unveiling of the expected Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 smartphones – and everything else – the right way, we’ve got some bad news. Both the Fold and Flip 6 have had what appears to be their entire spec sheets leaked online, courtesy of Evan Blass AKA evleaks, and his Substack newsletter (via The Verge). While Samsung has not yet confirmed the existence of either foldable, further leaks concerning the company’s marketing materials for the devices only compound the fact that…