Author: Trent Meikle

Would you rather buy a decent OLED TV, a brand-new games console, and a couple of games — or a few extra terabytes of storage? If you even have to ask, you’re probably not the target market for SanDisk’s new 8TB SSD for the PS5, which had our jaw on the floor once we caught sight of the egregious $3,000 (∼R50,000) price tag. We’re past April Fool’s, SanDisk The SanDisk Optimus GX Pro 850P NVMe SSD, as it’s known, is a rebrand of the WD_Black name that’s passed through Stuff’s doors in the past. That little accessory, built with the PS5 in…

We never expected that we’d make it all the way to June without Samsung’s budget Galaxy A27 launching. Last year’s Galaxy A26 hit shelves in March, leaving everyone to ponder what the hold-up could be. Several leaks already gave us a rough idea of what to expect from the device when it eventually launches, but now Samsung has gone ahead and confirmed them. Accidentally, of course, seeing how the device’s product page was quickly disappeared. A new Galaxy in the wings It was the Czech Republic’s Samsung that had the honour of dishing the dirt this time (via SamMobile). The…

South Africa has made many improvements to the Home Affairs experience in recent months, most notably allowing you to dodge them entirely as banks get themselves involved in the Smart ID and passport process. The government today announced yet another change — this time delivering an upgraded online booking system. Time to get your (home) affairs in order The new system is integrated with the MyHomeAffairsOnline platform, adding security to “prevent the abuse of booking slots and improve access to services.” According to the Department, the new system is designed to combat bad actors who gamed the system to block…

As we inch closer to July, it’s time for another look at the latest round of fuel price predictions, courtesy of the Central Energy Fund (CEF). If we’re lucky, South Africans could be in for a sizeable petrol and diesel price cut come the new month, even after the National Treasury reintroduces the deducted fuel levies back into the mix. Everything’s coming up fuel The government initially established the fuel tax levy relief scheme to provide some solace in the face of the astronomical fuel price hikes the country experienced in recent months. The scheme has proved effective, with the…

It’ll be a while before Lego can top the 12,000+ piece behemoth that is Gaudí’s Sagrada Família set, but its next creation is arguably just as impressive, though in a different way. That would be Lego’s new Arcade Pinball Machine that doesn’t take your nostalgia for granted by actually letting you play with the bloody thing. Playing with Lego? The Danish brick company announced the set this week, confirming a release date of 4 July in the US. South Africa’s Lego distributor has yet to confirm an official release date or price, but it shouldn’t be too long now. We…

WhatsApp’s disappearing messages trick is old news at this point. The feature, while handy, does have its issues. That’s especially true if the person on the other end tends only to check their phone at random intervals. Now, WABetaInfo reports that the app is addressing the flaws — with the help of view-once messages. What is this, Snapchat? View-once messages initially turned up on the messenger back in 2021, though oddly only supported images, videos, and voice notes. Messages were still forced to rely on ‘disappearing messages’, which automatically started a self-destruct countdown from the moment the message was sent,…

SABC Plus is already treating the country to 34 free FIFA World Cup matches, and now it’s partnered up with Vodacom to make it a little bit better. Viewers without a stable Wi-Fi connection can get their kicks using mobile data. Not the overpriced stuff you’re used to. This time, Vodacom is selling dedicated World Cup data bundles. In addition to all of SA’s matches, SABC Plus viewers will get access to a couple of other matches at no cost. Those include key knockout matches, including the final, taking place on Sunday, 19 July. Vodacom customers can “stream live the coverage…

If you’ve ever paid for WinRAR, then you’ll love WhatsApp’s new ‘Plus’ subscription, now officially live in South Africa. Before you get yourself in a tizz — no, the Meta-owned messenger isn’t charging you for messages. Yet, anyway. This is a completely optional subscription that’ll slightly (emphasis on slightly) enhance the app. For a monthly fee, of course. Meta’s new subscription may not sound like that bad of a deal at R29/m, but considering what you’re getting… well, let’s just say it could be more substantial. We expect that to change eventually, once WhatsApp makes good on its promise to…

You’ve gotta go outside sometime. And when you do, what better way to greet that old friend, vitamin D, with some tunes blasting out behind you? The effect is a little better with a couple of friends (and walls) surrounding you, beverage of choice clutched in their hands. Whipping out Sony’s ULT Field 5 at Parkrun is an easy way to catch some hands (they will catch you), even if you technically could get it there without first breaking your back. That’s not a knock against the ULT Field 5 we had in for review, either. It slots nicely into the ULT…

It took a while, but Standard Bank Connect is finally getting into the eSIM game. Embedded SIMs are old hat for many of South Africa’s more popular MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators), but now that the bank has reported strong growth via Connect since its relaunch in 2024, it certainly seems keen to propel it to new heights. “[eSIM] allows customers to activate mobile services digitally and store multiple profiles on a single device, making it easier to switch between numbers or plans,” the bank said. Connecting eSIMs According to the company, Connect has seen “solid” year-on-year growth, having recently…