Author: Trent Meikle

If you missed out on that surprise Samsung Unpacked announcement today, we’ve got you covered. The South Korean outfit today unveiled the Galaxy S25 FE (Fan Edition), with the promise of delivering all of the S25 family’s best features into a package that’s slimmer, lighter, and most importantly, more affordable. The big gimmick with Samsung’s Fan Edition last year was the device’s ability to comprehend Galaxy AI without first dropping flagship prices, and the company hasn’t ditched that notion here. Arriving today, 4 September, in “select markets” (local pricing and availability are still under wraps), the S25 FE starts at…

Travellers, listen up. Or should we say, travellers using FNB Connect? It’s only been a couple of months since FNB Connect, one of South Africa’s many MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), launched eSIM support, and it’s already bolstering the offering with a new travel eSIM, valid across more than 240 networks worldwide. FNB Connects the dots In the months since FNB Connect added eSIMs, the bank reports that more than 91% of its retail customers have made the switch — with 61% of those customers opting for top-up plans, with the rest using prepaid solutions. While FNB only announced the launch…

Apple still hasn’t laid its AI ambitions to rest as it aims to establish itself as a serious player in what has proved to be a heated competition. Next up in Apple’s playbook, according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, is the development of an AI-powered web search tool meant to rival OpenAI and Perplexity AI. A bite of the AI Apple Known as World Knowledge Answers, Apple’s eventual plan is to integrate the tool into Siri before expanding it to the company’s web browser, Safari, and later, Spotlight search. Described as an “answer engine” by some execs, the…

It’s taken a couple of weeks, but TymeBank has finally partnered up with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) as the latter seeks to use local bank branches to make smart ID and passport services readily available to everyone, regardless of bank, province, or branch. This makes it the eighth bank to join the DHA’s ranks, following the likes of Capitec, FNB, Absa, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Discovery Bank, and African Bank. It’s about Tyme “Through this partnership millions of South Africans will for the first time ever have access to a Smart ID and passport, many of whom live in…

It’s not often you hear about a new social media platform storming the app stores — especially not one that’s been grown and nurtured right here in South Africa. Discover Sport is that platform, unveiled at the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), aiming to “give every athlete, everywhere, a voice.” If the name wasn’t a dead giveaway, Discover Sport is a free, mobile-first, dedicated sports social network, weaving together content from professional athletes to their fans. There’s even enough room for ‘federations and media partners’ to promote their own advertisments content in the form of documentaries and…

Emirates, one of the world’s largest airlines, is hiring. But it’s not just looking for pilots or hosts to serve coffee. The airline confirmed today that it was looking for more than 200 folks to fill IT-related roles around the company. And the best bit? Emirates has cast its gaze over to South Africa to begin the hunt. To help facilitate what we’re expecting to be a rather large crowd of applications, the company said that it would be hosting two separate events around SA to better engage with all those interested. The first of those is scheduled for 18…

Running a business? Tired of constantly replenishing supplies? Takealot announced today that it was resurrecting the Takealot for Business platform, a B2B procurement service aiming to make restocking your office that much simpler, regardless of your stature as a startup, SMME, or well-known mega corporation. Getting down to Takealot for Business That’s the plan, anyway. Whether Takealot’s new B2B strategy will survive this second coming remains to be seen. With the division offering everything from office supplies, tech, furniture, and even catering supplies — on top of the 30-day interest-free payments, business-specific coupons, and rebates on offer — it’ll be…

Your YouTube Premium mooching days are over. Unless, of course, you happen to live with whichever champion invited you into the R150/m ‘Premium Family’ plan. Google, like Netflix, has reportedly begun flagging accounts that don’t reside alongside the primary account holder, forcing them to get with the programme, or get their own account. Making like Netflix That’s not new. Since at least 2023, Google has required all Family members to reside at the primary account holder’s location, but until now, it’s never really enforced the rule. Some moochers have reported receiving emails from Google warning them of the change. As…

When we half-jokingly said “it seems like just about everyone has an MVNO these days,” when Spar Mobile launched, we didn’t expect to cover the launch of Nedbank’s own mobile virtual network operator, Nedbank Connect, quite this soon. Nevertheless, it will arrive locally sometime this September. As you’ve probably guessed by this point, Nedbank Connect isn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. It’s piggybacking off MTN just like nearly every other MVNO on the market, and the prices don’t appear particularly enticing. There is a level of flexibility, however, that might appeal to certain customers. Can you feel the Connection?…

Pivot! Pivot! You can always count on tech shows like next week’s IFA to supply the world with some of the oddest gadgets known to man, even if they’re technically just glorified concept art. Lenovo appears to be keeping that tradition alive, this time delivering a new concept laptop with a rotating display, switching between horizontal and portrait orientations on the fly. It’s known internally as Project Pivo. At least, that’s according to reliable leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks), who even shared an image of the device ahead of IFA in a post on X. Unfortunately, there’s not much more to…