Author: Trent Meikle

With the way things are going, it seems increasingly likely that South African diesel motorists will get a well-earned fuel price cut, while petrol drivers may still be on the hook come January 2026. The Central Energy Fund (CEF) predicts a major price cut — in the ballpark of 60c/l — for the country’s diesel drivers, while petrol drivers stare down the possibility of a minor 7c/l increase. It’s diesel’s time to shine in 2026 We should note that the CEF’s figures below are not final and are subject to change. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is officially…

It was only a matter of time before Google stuck artificial intelligence (AI) inside a pair of face-hugging smart glasses (again), and that time is now. During the Android Show (XR Edition), the search giant announced two pairs of glasses equipped with Gemini — one featuring a display and one without, bridging two price points. And then there’s Project Aura from Xreal, leveraging Google’s XR platform in a semi-lightweight form factor. Google took the opportunity to showcase some new features headed to its mixed reality OS, which is being released today for Samsung’s Galaxy XR headset. That includes a new…

The advent of ‘trifolds’ has sparked a new obsession for tech geeks who have more money than sense. Huawei was the first to stick the tech on shelves with the R50,000+ Mate XT, and Samsung wasn’t far behind, announcing its Galaxy Z TriFold only last week. And now it seems that Xiaomi’s first crack at the idea will be out to play soon. There’s a Xiaomi Trifold in the Mix A report from Xiaomi Time (via GSMArena) reckons that the rumoured trifold device — which has been on our radar since at least August 2024 — has arrived for certification at the GSMA…

It seems those ChatGPT “apps” the company announced back in October are finally turning up for regular folk inside the large language model, and they look suspiciously like ads. This one, which prompts some users (most of them American) — even those paying for a ChatGPT ‘Plus’ subscription — to “Connect Target” alongside the store’s logo, was shared by former xAI employee Benjamin de Kraker in a post on X. “There are no live tests for ads” After social media loudly pointed out that the integration looked a whole lot like in-app advertising, OpenAI’s head of data, Daniel McAuley, confirmed…

‘Monopoly? We’re buying that next’ ∼ Netflix, probably If Microsoft doesn’t regret its $68 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard yet, it certainly does now. On Friday, Netflix announced it would drop a cool $82.7 billion to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, and likely usher in the end of theatres as we know it, despite whatever Ted Sarandos says until the regulators are done poking around. Sure, a couple of Call of Duty games with waning public interest are all well and good, but Netflix just picked up the likes of Harry Potter, the entire DC universe, and the whole HBO catalogue for a little…

Instagram and Facebook will soon be closer than ever. In an announcement made yesterday, Meta confirmed that it was rolling out a centralised support hub for the two apps — recognising that its efforts have been rocky in the past, or rather, haven’t “always met expectations”. The best bit? Meta’s belief that throwing an AI assistant into the deep end of the pool will help it resolve matters, rather than increase them. We’ll see about that. How many times do we have to teach you this lesson? “Today, we’re rolling out new, easier ways to get account support and sharing updates we’ve made to keep your Facebook and Instagram accounts even more secure through advancements in AI.” Meta calls it “the future of always-on support.” We call it hiring…

It may not be quite as cool as a life-sized Mercedes-AMG F1, but Lego’s latest creation is one that you can actually own. It’s a 632-piece recreation of NASA’s new Artemis SLS rocket under the Technic banner — which is good, considering Lego’s made it so that the rocket will actually lift off. It’s not rocket science You might even be able to convince your parents to pick it up on account of its awesome educational nature. The set captures the first eight (and a half) minutes of an Artemis mission — with the help of NASA and the European…

It’s been a while since Amazon Prime’s gaming freebies grabbed our attention, but the December roundup is certainly worth looking into. If you didn’t know, Amazon Prime (and Prime Video) subscribers get automatic access to Luna standard, Amazon’s basic-tier of its cloud gaming service (formerly Prime Gaming). While not officially available in South Africa, the free PC titles it dishes out every month are still up for grabs locally. Ignore the backlog, embrace the Amazon Luna The PC games available on the service — which must be claimed via an Epic Games, GOG, or Amazon account — are yours to…

If you can’t quite stomach the thought of being utterly reliant on an electric vehicle (EV) in a place like South Africa, have you considered a plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV)? Of course you have. But what about BYD’s “Super” PHEV, the Sealion 5 SUV? Seeing as it only went on sale today at an event in Johannesburg, probably not. BYD’s brought with it two variants for the Sealion 5, including the cheaper ‘Comfort’ model for R500,000, while the ‘Dynamic’ packs in a electric sunroof and electric folding mirrors, bringing the cost up to R570,000. Whether a few extras are worth…

Many, ourselves included, are still reeling after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s (DMRE) official fuel price adjustments sent the price of diesel soaring roughly 80c/l. Petrol drivers didn’t go unscathed, either, with a smaller (but still unwelcome) 29c/l increase heaped onto their plates. According to the latest data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF), South African motorists may be in for yet another round of hikes. Petrol taking a hike in 2026 While the DMRE is responsible for adjusting South Africa’s petrol pumps every month, it enlists the help of the CEF to track those economic factors that…