Author: Trent Meikle

We all knew this day was coming. Some have been waiting for this day for months, while others have only recently cottoned on to the effects of rising RAM and storage prices. It wasn’t all that long ago that PlayStation fired the first price hike in the gaming world, and now Nintendo is following suit. Nintendo does the thinkable… Today, Nintendo announced a global price hike for the Switch 2, which launched in June last year at R12,500 (about $450). Ninty cites “changes in market conditions” for the hike, which go into effect on 25 May in Japan — hitting…

There was next to no chance that Samsung wouldn’t release a follow-up to last year’s Galaxy A26, but now the company has seemingly confirmed the device by accident. The Galaxy A27 is yet to be announced in an official capacity, or perhaps it was always meant to be unceremoniously unveiled in a random Samsung Brazil article stating which of its devices are compatible with the Samsung Wallet app. Somehow, we don’t think so. Calling up the A27-Team It was GalaxyClub (via SamMobile) that first noticed the device’s inclusion. Samsung, apparently, also took notice, because it’s no longer mentioned when visiting the Brazilian…

Google really wants you to use artificial intelligence. Preferably its own, judging by the countless AI ‘tools’ that have cropped up across the search company’s suite of apps in recent years. Google, it seems, will automatically download a 4GB file including the details necessary to run Gemini Nano on your device. Without asking. Chrome being sneaky? Say it ain’t so! It was Alexander Hanff who spotted the dodgy tactic by Google and discussed it on his website, That Privacy Guy. Not only is it a bit of a legal nightmare, with Hanff citing legal articles left and right, but he…

Fuel prices are on the rise in South Africa, with no indication that they’ll reverse course anytime soon. As of yesterday, diesel prices surged past R31/l, creating a sense of panic amongst motorists. To help combat the rise, FNB has announced a temporary boost to its eBucks fuel rewards scheme, running ’til the end of June. More bang for your eBucks The Fuel Boost campaign is designed to ease the rising costs of fuel, while simultaneously making everyone who isn’t an FNB customer that much more jealous. In addition to customers’ usual fuel spend rewards, FNB will guarantee that they will…

We weren’t all that thrilled when Oppo first unveiled the A6 in South Africa — mainly owing to its too-high, R9,000 price — but now the company has corrected course somewhat with the new Oppo A6k. It shares much with its R9,000 sibling, but trades in a few key aspects to help it stick the landing with a R7,000 price. Weird flex, but Oppo A6k You’ll be happy to hear (perhaps you won’t) that Oppo’s kept the same 6.75in HD+, 120Hz display, despite the price cut. It certainly felt out of place on the R9,000 A6. Its placement here, however,…

When it comes to South African banks that offer Smart ID services at their branches, there’s no question that Capitec is leading the pack with 86 such branches as of April. But there’s no shame in playing for second, is there? Standard Bank today confirmed it had hit a milestone of 50 new bank-assisted Smart ID processing branches. If the bank is to be believed, it actually reached that milestone a little over a week ago, before April drew to a close. It only told people about ’em today. That’s what we’d say too if we’d missed an internal deadline. It…

For years, WhatsApp has been the definitive messaging app for much of the world. That’s partly because it only requires Android 5.0 and iOS 15.1 or higher to properly function. That’ll be changing later this year, at least for Android users. Starting 8 September 2026, Meta will drop support for Android 5.1 and below. Darn. It’s time for an upgrade From then on, WhatsApp will require Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) and later to run. The Meta-owned messenger confirmed the change on its FAQ support page, explaining its decision on which devices it chooses to support: “Devices and software change often, so…

You know Chery, but do you know the brand’s line of electric vehicles? Unless you spend a lot of time outside of South Africa, we’re guessing the answer is ‘no’. That’ll change later this year when Chery brings the ‘Q’ into the country, looking to compete with the ever-growing local market of affordable electric vehicles. An official price and launch date are still up in the air, but barring any big surprises, the company hopes to make this South Africa’s most affordable EV yet. That title is currently held by the Geely E2, which turned up on our streets only a…

After Samsung did some actual innovating for the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s new Privacy Display, we thought the creative juices might be running a bit dry. How wrong we were. At Display Week 2026, the South Korean company’s display-focused arm unveiled its latest ‘Sensor OLED Display’, which promises exciting health upgrades on the horizon. Your move, Apple Rather than rely on some built-in sensors to get a rough idea of your health, Samsung Display’s 6.8in panel sticks the sensors into the screen, requiring only a finger to get a reading. Better yet, it’s doing all that at a bearable resolution, in addition…

You might know Xiaomi for its, well, everything. It wasn’t one of the Chinese company’s vacs, TV boxes, or massage guns that caught our attention today, however. It was the Xiaomi 17T and 17T Pro phones that appeared to have leaked ahead of their official launch, thanks to the folks over at WinFuture (via GSMArena). Normally, we’d be discontent with watching these upper mid-rangers from afar, but after the Xiaomi 15T got its start in South Africa in October, we’re a little more optimistic about their future here. We’ll likely still have to wait a month or two, but we can…