Author: Trent Meikle

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…

We’ve never known Vivo South Africa to forego theatrics when dropping a new smartphone. We’d usually encounter some showy event that spared no expense on glitz and glamour for whatever it’s announcing to a cheering crowd. It hasn’t done that this time around. Vivo South Africa has just launched the latest entry of its mid-range Y Series without any preamble. Meet the Vivo Y100. Unlike the company’s flagship V30 5G which demands attention and R20,000, the Y100 won’t be too harsh on your wallets. It’s looking to oppose the tyranny set out by Apple and Samsung by offering some fairly…

Shoprite Holdings is officially stepping into the e-commerce ring. Specifically, it’s bolstering its Shoprite Cash & Carry brand by introducing a new online shopping system which allows “bulk-buying” customers to browse and purchase a “wide range of goods at highly competitive prices,” through the new automated system. A first for Cash & Carry The venture, which marks Cash & Carry’s first appearance in the world of e-commerce, targets spaza shops and small retail businesses alike. To prove its commitment to that statement, the store includes free same-day delivery to those within a 50km radius in the hopes of helping those…

Remember Amazon? Bezos’ e-retail empire that officially showed up in SA back in May? Of course you don’t. Amazon wasted its talents locally, barely managing to compete with its largest competitor – Takealot – despite a far larger budget. No matter. Even if South Africa won’t be privy to the company’s massive Prime Day sale later this month, we can still join in on the fun. You’ll need an R80/m Prime Video subscription first, though. Subscribing to Prime Video gets you access to Prime Gaming – a side of Amazon many have forgotten exists. You’ll need to dust off the…

It’s that time of the month again, folks. Time for the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to either uplift our spirits or absolutely shatter them into pieces. Normally, this is when we’d tell you to run for cover (and the nearest garage) but after June’s official update knocked R1+ off the prices across all grades of fuel, we feel a little more optimistic. Thankfully, our optimism has paid off. The Department has maintained that same energy for July, bringing yet another month of cheaper petrol, diesel and paraffin with it. It marks the third petrol price decrease of 2024,…