Author: Trent Meikle

Because artificial intelligence won’t rest until it’s invaded every last area of your personal lives, Checkers Sixty60 — a grocery delivery app, mind you — now has AI powers. That’s not news. Xtra Savings Plus customers have had access to Pixie for months, before the Shoprite-owned store gave it away for free in July. Now, it’s getting an upgrade. Customers can actually talk to Pixie using text, voice, and even images. For some reason. Shoprite Group’s Neil Schreuder went as far as calling it a “24/7 personal shopping butler.” We wouldn’t go that far. Not ’til we’ve tested it thoroughly…

While Saffas are still trying to wrap their heads around the Vivo X300 family, China marches on. Vivo is reportedly gearing up to reveal the Vivo X500 series over there as soon as September. FYI, the Chinese are notoriously suspicious of the number four. It may have skipped a generation, but it’ll pack the usual upgrades. Beyond just knowing the family exists — the X500, X500 Pro, and X500 Pro Max — we’ve got a rough idea of what they’ll bring to the table. It’s doubtful that South Africa will get to see the entire lineup when it inevitably comes…

It seems AI slop is here to stay on Spotify. Until now, users have had to put their detective caps on to discern whether that new artist topping the charts was real or an artificial construct looking for a quick buck. Spotify is working to take the guesswork out of the entire process by introducing an ‘AI Persona’ label for AI artists on the platform. Don’t defy the Spotify It’s not quite the slam dunk we’d hoped for. Spotify’s announcement notes that “artists” can apply the ‘AI Persona’ tag themselves, and hopes that “artists will be transparent” by giving ’em…

You won’t find many complaining about YouTube Premium ’round these parts. It’s an incredibly good deal — ad-free viewing, video downloads, and even a music subscription — for R82/m. Sure, that’ll go up eventually, but in the meantime, we’re eating well. We’ve heard whispers of a cheaper Premium Lite for months, and ignored it. The Lite at the end of the tunnel That might have something to do with YouTube Premium Lite being reserved for a select few countries. That’s no longer the case, after YouTube officially brought the new plan to South Africa. The plan is decidedly affordable at…

It’s been more than 19 years since Steve Jobs blew the world’s mind with the reveal of the iPhone™. The Fruit Company has chased that high ever since, with it supposedly prepping for the upcoming 20th anniversary. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reckons a ‘glass-centric’ model is in the works, rather than anything with substance. Apple’s having an iPhone party In other words, you’re going to get a new design with the same ol’ [insert A chipset here] upgrade that you’re currently used to. Maybe Apple throws us a bone and makes the battery a little stronger. Maybe. It’s unlikely, seeing how the…

It’s not often we Android owners get to lord something over the iPhone drones, but when we do… it’s usually entirely inconsequential. That trend hasn’t broken. Today, WABetaInfo reported that WhatsApp is working to bring a dedicated search shortcut directly to chats. Before, digging through old messages was, well, a hassle. Combing through the ancient texts The process involved opening a specific chat or group chat, pushing through to their profile, and then clicking the search button. It’s slightly easier on iPadOS, where a user can remain inside the chat before engaging search mode. Even after you’d completed those steps, the…

We already guessed the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE would be a bit of a wet plum when leaks began circulating in July. Now, it’s pretty much confirmed. WinFuture obtained a complete spec sheet that shows just how limited Samsung’s effort has been here. Despite the supposed incremental upgrade, Samsung’s also gettin’ a bit cheeky. One hell of a mid-ranger The South Korean outfit has mostly left the Galaxy S26 FE alone this year. That makes its decision to hike the price of a phone where its sole selling point is its affordability an even bigger slap in the face. Dealabs is reporting…

Reddit moderators might be some of the most unpleasant people to walk this Earth (no, seriously), but even then, they’re a better fit for the platform than some form of artificial intelligence. Reddit evidently thinks differently, seeing as it now lets AI determine whether your post is good enough to stick around or if it breaks the “rules”. Reddit and weep On Wednesday, Reddit announced a whole host of changes headed for the platform, including the AI-powered moderator. It wasn’t all bad news, though. The company made it clear that it plans to ditch its over-reliance on ‘karma’ and account…

Stuff never passes up an opportunity to engage with whatever Motorola’s got cooking up. Especially when it dangles a R4,000 smartphone in front of South Africa. The company confirmed the Moto G37 5G landed today, 7 August, for the mightily attractive price we mentioned above. It helps that the innards aren’t half bad, either. We’re specifically talking about MediaTek’s Dimensity 6300 SoC that’s powering the device. On paper, it’s not all that competent, but when it’s stuck in a phone this cheap, you won’t hear us complaining. Just compare it to Oppo’s R11k A6 Pro, which houses the same chipset –…

It’s been a minute since Google introduced Wallet for all ages, and now it’s making some meaningful updates. Yesterday, Google announced that parents can now set their kids and teens up with a secure balance inside Wallet and top it up as they see fit. The kids can then use NFC-enabled devices to make payments on the go. “It’s a practical way to teach children smart money habits and give them independence, all without needing to open a bank account,” said Google in the announcement. Google holds all the (debit) cards The feature is currently reserved for users in the…