Author: Trent Meikle

Nintendo just dropped a big update for Switch 2 owners out of nowhere: Handheld Boost Mode. Arriving as part of the 22.0.0 update, the feature allows Switch (1) games to act as though they were running at their docked potential in handheld mode. The original Switch uses a 720p display, while the Switch 2 uses a 1080p one. “When enabled, Handheld Mode Boost causes the performance of Nintendo Switch software while undocked to run as if it were being played in TV mode,” reads Nintendo’s support page for the feature. Toggle that Switch The feature is so obvious that we…

Right when we thought the hubbub around Apple Park had died out, the Fruit Company quietly unveils yet another product — the AirPods Max 2. Sure, owners of the current iteration might call it a nothingburger update (the same battery life, really?), but for Apple’s newbies, it’s well worth taking a look for the ANC upgrades alone. Apple’s gone and stuck the H2 chipset in this here headset, supposedly delivering a swathe of smart features. Those are worth a look, but it’s the promise of “1.5x more effective ANC” that interests us. The Max 2 comes in midnight, starlight, orange,…

It’s not often that Sony finds itself competing in the consumer headphone space. Its WH-1000 series is still considered world-class, even all these years later. But when it’s the newbie of a new market — say the open-ear, clip-on segment — it tends to try a little harder. Nowhere is that clearer than in the company’s new LinkBuds Clip. We’ve spent the past few weeks in the Clip’s company and came away not altogether surprised by what we heard. If you aren’t familiar, open-ear clip-on buds ditch the tight seal that manufacturers have cultivated for so many years. These sacrifice…

Now that Showmax is officially headed for the bins, new MultiChoice owners, Canal+, can’t afford any more missteps. Especially not one relating to its most valuable asset — sports broadcasting. SuperSport has long been one of the few providers of sports content in SA, available through DStv. Today, Canal+ confirmed that it held “fruitful and productive engagements” with Rugby SA this week, and that it would stick around on SuperSport. Canal+ doubles down on rugby The two entities came together in Randburg to host several “information-sharing sessions” to help each other understand their goals better. The end goal is to…

Soundcore Space 2, Electric Boogaloo When it comes to affordable headphones, nobody gets a reception quite like Anker’s Soundcore spinoff — especially at Stuff. It pulled off a near miracle with the Soundcore Space One, before doing it again when the ‘Pro’ came along. We’ve eagerly awaited a sequel, and according to AnkerInsider, our time has nearly come. That would be the Anker Soundcore Space 2 (Space Two?). Known as Model D1402 until Anker gets around to an official announcement, the Space 2 packs 40mm double-layer diaphragm drivers, three microphones, and four-stage low-frequency noise cancellation. Battery life has also been…

If you were hoping to find good news here, you haven’t been paying attention. Oil prices around the globe are spiking — and it’s all thanks to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. The strain put on oil reserves has had what you might call an adverse effect on South Africa’s fuel prices, with the Central Energy Fund predicting a massive R6/l diesel price hike this April. It’s not looking much better for petrol, which faces a nearly R4/l increase. A terrible April Fool’s joke There’s nothing to worry about yet. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE),…

Back in January, it became clear that WhatsApp was working on parent-controlled accounts for under 13s, and now the Meta-owned messenger has made it a reality. It hopes to limit a child’s ability to chat to anyone outside a controlled list of contacts and groups, with changes to settings and requests going through the parent first. WhatsApp goes PG The strict protections rely on a six-digit PIN generated by the parent. The kid, obviously, shouldn’t know the PIN. Certain features — like Meta AI, status updates, location sharing, view-once messages, and disappearing messages — will be walled off on protected…

South Africa has mostly left load shedding behind, but now Eskom has threatened to bring back rolling blackouts for fourteen municipalities falling behind on their electric bills. 702’s Mandy Weiner spoke to Eskom’s acting group executive for distribution, Agnes Mlambo, about the impending “interruptions” headed for residents. Load shedding is so two years ago “We obviously have to look into the submissions that have been made and the severity of us cutting off and the impact to those customers that are the municipalities’ customers,” Mlambo said. “This is very important to emphasise that the cut-off is not a total switch-off. It will come…

When Capitec said that even more branches would soon be fitted with its new Smart ID self-help terminals, we didn’t think it meant this quickly. Less than a week after its initial announcement, Capitec has equipped 23 more of its branches with the terminals — including two in the North West and Free State. The move is just another step taken toward achieving the larger goal set by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). In August last year, several of South Africa’s banks committed to ‘upgrading’ their branches with Smart ID and passport application services, no visit to the DHA required.…

When Acer first made its intent to build several of its monitors in South Africa known, we’d hoped to see lower prices compared to those arriving through the company’s standard shipping corridor. We’re seeing the effects now, with Acer offering its 27in Nitro VG270 monitor on sale, with a free TV box thrown in. The free TV box in question is Acer’s own AiTV Box, which we called a “serious challenger with gaming ambitions” when compared to the likes of Xiaomi’s own TV box. Once the king of the market in South Africa, Acer’s AiTV Box toppled it off its…