Author: Trent Meikle

Typically, when you hear about some new-fangled JBL speaker, it’s a portable offering focused on being the life of the party. Today, the company unveiled the JBL Cove line-up, a whole-home Wi‑Fi audio system, taking aim at Sonos. There are three speakers included — the JBL Cove M1, Cove P1, and Cove X1 — all with different skill sets. Despite their differences, the whole setup is built to work seamlessly “throughout the house,” without any interruptions via Wi-Fi and the JBL One app. All of ’em promise automatic room calibration, AI Sound Boost, and ‘Constant Sound Field’. They’ll also work…

It may not be the most interesting bit of gadgetry we’ve seen, but LG’s new 38L SolarDom is certainly worth talking about. Mainly because it combines a microwave, oven, grill, air fryer, steamer, and defroster into a single appliance. It may not look like it from afar, but catch a glimpse of the price and you’ll have no trouble believing it. As long as the SolarDom doesn’t become the primary topic of conversation ’round the dinner table — mixed with anecdotes about getting up to pee in the middle of the night — we’re happy. We get it. LG’s cooked something…

Nearly every paying Spotify customer knows the value of hosting a ‘Jam’. It allows other users to join a large collaborative playlist and add songs to the queue or adjust the volume, accessible in-person and virtually. It’s long been a paywalled feature, meant to entice the non-paying users into subscribing. Not for much longer, it seems. We’re jammin’ Android Authority spotted some strings of code inside the 9.1.82.19 version of the Spotify app for Android. These hint at the streamer expanding the feature to free users sometime down the line. It’s worth noting that the change would allow non-paying users to…

There’s no need to wait for Apple to unveil the next iPad Mini It’s been a minute since Apple has had anything to show off in the iPad Mini line. The last we saw of the adorable little tablet was in 2024, packing the A17 Pro chipset. Now, the Fruit Company is just about ready to give it a good kick up the USB-C port and get it up to speed with the rest of the family. Sooner rather than later, it seems. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reckons the 8th-gen iPad Mini “should go on sale by the end of October.” That…

While many AI companies are still scrambling to get their first take on AI hardware out the door, Plaud’s already at the AI-powered earbuds stage of the cycle. While the Plaud Note (and subsequent Plaud Note Pro) was pitched as a note-taking and minute-keeping tool, the Plaud One Explorer Edition earbuds pack a full-time assistant. Another round of Plaud These may look like any other earbuds you could get from the store; they’re anything but. The buds themselves look slick enough, though the charging case looks a little too boxy for our tastes. Same goes for the off-white colour these…

Geely’s back at it again. After launching the Geely E2 at a starting price of R340,000, it earned itself the title of South Africa’s cheapest EV. Now, the company’s got what looks to be another winner on its hands in the form of the Riddara RD6, the country’s most affordable fully electric double-cab bakkie. It’s… still not cheap. Especially if you’re gunning for the most competent RD6. The range headed for South Africa offers three trim levels, the cheapest of which — the RD6 Aspire Econ 2WD — is priced at R612,000. Aim for the middle of the road, and…

One could say that Lego fans are eating real good of late. But how could they be, when the brick company keeps finding new ways to drain their bank accounts? Last month, it was a Hubble Space Telescope set, shortly followed by a functional Donkey Kong arcade machine. Then it was the Batman Returns Batmobile only last week. Now, Lego has announced yet another Star Wars set — the Executor Super Star Destroyer, its largest yet. Kinda. You know what? We’d rather have somewhere to live in October With only 6,130 pieces to its name, it’s edged out by a few other Lego sets, even…

If you thought the Vivo V80 Lite had an impressive battery, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Realme South Africa just confirmed the P4 Power 5G, initially bound for India, has come to South Africa. Apart from looking like a solid mid-ranger, the P4 Power defies the norms typical of this price range with an impressive 10,001mAh battery. Keeping it Realme Realme’s P4 Power doesn’t have the most fabulous display we’ve ever seen, but it’s far from poor. A 6.8in AMOLED sits up front, under a coating of Gorilla Glass 7i. It’s a FHD+ affair, promising a 144Hz refresh rate and 600…

It’ll be the first time in a long time we’ll see an Apple event without Tim Cook standing awkwardly inside Apple Park. That honour will go to the Fruit Company’s new CEO, John Ternus, at this year’s iPhone event. Apple today confirmed that we’ll get a look at what’s on the iPhone horizon at its ‘Surprise and shine’ event on 9 September. Surprise, surprise The show, which is expected to focus on Apple’s latest batch of iPhones, will get underway at 19h00 on the night of Wednesday, 9 September. You’ll be able to tune in directly on Apple’s website or on the…

Not much has changed since we reviewed the ROG Xbox Ally X in 2025. You could say the same for the ROG Xbox Ally X20, a refresh of Asus’ handheld gaming PC that doesn’t fiddle with the innards. If it ain’t broke, and all that. It has at least tacked on an OLED screen, in addition to a fresh look to celebrate Xbox’s 20th anniversary. Still the same Xbox Ally you remember It’s not the most intriguing redesign we’ve ever seen, but it’ll do something for somebody. It’s got a new chassis, featuring a translucent black shell with a smattering…