Author: Trent Meikle

There was a time when seeing an EV traversing South Africa’s roads meant something. It meant they had a little more money to throw around, a little more faith in Eskom, and a little more time to devote to the maybe one charger in the area. Nowadays, they’re on nearly every corner in the bigger cities, courtesy of GridCars, which foresaw the EV hype years ago. After more than a decade of service, it’s time to put some chargers to bed. The company confirmed as much in a recent blog post, with EngineeringNews reporting a R40 million dump into the…

The worst-kept secret of the year is Apple’s incoming foldable: the iPhone Ultra. Earlier this year, the Fruit Company reportedly ordered ten million of the things, hoping to have them ready by September. That, for the uninitiated, is usually when Apple likes to debut its new flagship phones, and this year will be no different. Okay, maybe a little different. The company is reportedly withholding the base iPhone 18 ’til next year, set to release alongside the iPhone 18e. That leaves the iPhone Ultra clear to take its place alongside the more expensive iPhone 18 Pro models. Whether you’ll actually…

Back in April, Checkers unveiled Pixie, an AI-powered assistant built to make the already-easy process of ordering and delivering food from Sixty60 even easier. You might’ve missed that one, though. See, the catch was that Pixie was reserved for a select few Xtra Savings Plus members. Now it’s coming to everyone. Stuff’s own was one of those with access to Pixie since its inception in April and mostly found the feature a hindrance. Shoprite obviously feels differently. The company reckons 98% of members already use Pixie — though it doesn’t really mention whether those are one-time testers or loyal fans of…

If you missed the good news, the new owners of MultiChoice, Canal+, have secured the rights to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. It’s unclear whether the French broadcaster was having trouble acquiring the rights, seeing as it only confirmed that it’d broadcast the tournament mere hours before it kicked off last night, 23 July. Share the Commonwealth Typically, coverage headed for SuperSport is announced weeks or even months ahead of time. SuperSport has long been a backer of this tournament, broadcasting it for more than fifteen years straight. But after MultiChoice failed to secure the rights to the 2026 Winter…

First, there was toothbrush. A couple hundred years later, there was electric toothbrush, and the world has lived comfortably for a long time. What’s next, you ask? AI electric toothbrush, of course. Spearheaded by the folks at Philips, which, incidentally, makes one of our favourite (but notably AI-free) face shavers in the OneBlade. Earlier this month, the company showed off the Philips Sonicare Next-Generation DiamondClean 9900 Prestige (our rank in Call of Duty). It’s the company’s first-ever toothbrush to include on-device artificial intelligence, built to provide real-time feedback on your brushing game. (Pssst: it (probably) sucks.) Broad strokes just won’t cut…

Lego is getting experimental. The brick company proved that with the Pinball Machine set that actually lets you play with it after assembly. It was a pretty generic machine, though, and didn’t tie into any specific intellectual property. Lego isn’t letting that opportunity pass up, having just unveiled a new playable Donkey Kong Arcade machine set. It’s on like Donkey Kong Arcade Mario: Video for 72051 Donkey Kong Arcade Game (via argos.co.uk) by u/General_Durian_1013 in Legoleak It’ll go on sale overseas on 1 August, according to the official landing page. There’s no word from South Africa’s Lego Certified Store, Great…

Not all WhatsApp updates are equal. Occasionally, something major like the recent username update will hit the app store. At other times, the Meta-owned messenger will get to work on something so inconsequential — looking at you, custom emoji reactions — it’s not worth even discussing. ‘Til WhatsApp drops a whole bunch at once. In a new blog post, WhatsApp today confirmed four new features are heading to the messenger. Technically three — since we’ve already covered being able to sign up a new WhatsApp account right from your iPad. That feature was quietly shipped out at the beginning of…

It’s officially Samsung Galaxy Unpacked day, which gave us our first real look at the South Korean company’s line-up of foldables for 2026. As expected, the Fold 8 Ultra was the standout of the show. But for those without any inclination to be flippin’ or foldin’, perhaps one of Samsung’s newest wrist-huggers can be of some interest? Those would be the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, accompanied by the Galaxy Watch 9. Once again, Samsung has got our blood boiling owing to the lack of a ‘Classic’ model with a rotating bezel. We’re sure one will turn up next…

Last week, we learned that Absa had taken its first steps in fulfilling the prophecy set out by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). The bank officially added twelve more Smart ID-capable branches to the ever-growing list and, at the same time, confirmed the country’s first-ever ‘bank-based Home Affairs mobile unit’. The DHA and Absa came together in Tembisa to officially launch the mobile units today, which travel around on small trucks. Smart IDs, anywhere “Absa becomes the fourth banking partner to join the Department’s Digital Partnership, with the new mobile unit set to bring secure Smart ID services directly…

Chery South Africa first teased us with the fully electric ‘Q’ back in May, hinting it would dethrone Geely’s E2 as the most affordable EV in SA. That was always going to be a tough ask, considering Geely’s R340,000 price tag. Chery hasn’t quite delivered on that front, confirming the Q’s starting price of R350,000. Eh, close enough. For what you’re getting — a five-door electric hatchback that looks somewhat stylish — R350,000 isn’t so bad. It’s one of only four EVs in the country to be offered under the R400,000 mark, firmly placing Chery in the EV conversation. The…