Author: Trent Meikle

It took a hot minute, but the Google-fied Xreal Aura Android AR glasses are around the corner. First teased in December 2025 ahead of its announcement in May, the Xreal Aura glasses are up for pre-order — in the US. Xreal’s efforts have a habit of coming to South Africa, and we have no reason to suspect it won’t do so again. The problem isn’t getting it here. The problem — as with everything these days — is the price. Xreal is punting these as a more affordable alternative to Apple’s Vision Pro headset, just without the bulk and six-figure…

Once in a blue moon, Tom Cruise comes along to remind everyone that yes, he is, in fact, a great actor. Not that Cruise’s performances in Mission: Impossible 19 or thereabouts have been bad. But they’ve got nothing on Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger — where Cruise lives and breathes the titular Digger Rockwell for two manic hours. We’re slightly late to the Digger party, which meant we were aware of the poor word of mouth the Birdman auteur received, and the even poorer box office returns. We’ll say this for Digger — it’s a cult classic in the making that we revelled in, start to finish.…

If you didn’t see this one coming, you’re probably not very familiar with the handheld gaming landscape. Announcing an OLED-ified follow-up to your gaming device is almost a rite of passage. Nintendo did it; Valve did it, and now it looks like PlayStation is doing it. It’s nowhere near as cool, though, seeing as it’s for the PS Portal. The cake is a lie? Sony Interactive Entertainment registers CFI-Y2000 and CFI-Y2105 certificates on Wi-Fi Alliance on September 21, 2026. This could be PlayStation Portal OLED Model! https://t.co/fBfyebQPzD — @Zuby_Tech (@Zuby_Tech) October 6, 2026 You know, that glorified excuse for a…

Many South Africans probably have something of Xiaomi’s tucked away in their homes. But we don’t often see something from the Chinese brand meant to accompany its owner everywhere. That describes the Xiaomi Watch 2 — or any smartwatch, really — to a T. We strapped this holy union of glass and plastic to our wrist to test whether the now two-year-old hardware is truly worthy of the R3,900 price Xiaomi has assigned it. The wrist test Xiaomi hasn’t gone to great lengths to help the Watch 2 stand out. The overall look and feel is overtly minimal, with the…

At this year’s Festival of Motoring, iCaur gave attendees a peek at its upcoming V27 SUV. Fresh off its launch in China, the timing seems ripe for a South African follow-up. Fate has deemed us unworthy for now. In the meantime, iCaur has divulged some specs to hold us over. Until it launches, that is. iCaur is still keeping some secrets close to its chest, such as the starting price for this hybrid SUV. A launch date is still unknown, though the big “pre-order” button on the automaker’s website somewhat dilutes the mystery. It’s safe to assume it’ll be along sooner rather…

Nobody in South Africa could say we’re strapped for choice when it comes to EVs. BYD is a big part of the reason why, having embraced South Africa’s electric ambitions. In June, BYD unveiled the Atto 2 — a plug-in hybrid that was also on the more affordable side. Then last week, BYD quietly confirmed a fully electric Atto 2 derivative. It’s understandably a tad more expensive than its plug-in hybrid counterpart, but not by much. BYD’s website puts the fully electric Atto 2 at R530,000, making it the automaker’s second-cheapest EV in SA. It’s only beaten out by the…

You might’ve heard about the endless controversy surrounding Meta’s growing array of smart glasses. You’ve certainly seen what the Meta specs are capable of, even if you’ve never used one yourself. Next, you’ll actually get to see the glasses in action. Last week, Meta and EssilorLuxottica confirmed South Africa is on the guest list. The retail expansion isn’t exclusive to South Africa. It’s one of many new countries unlocking official access to the glasses, joining Poland, Portugal, Israel, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Thus far, Meta has only confirmed the “already loved portfolio of AI…

Flick the ‘Restricted Chat’ switch – the subject of the latest WhatsApp beta for Android – and your linked devices will no longer be able to read that chat. Only the primary device will retain access, adding another level of privacy to Meta’s messenger. WAbetaInfo spotted the feature in the 2.26.39.11 beta version, available to some testers. Keeping certain chats under your thumb (and only yours) That’s the biggest selling point of Restricted Chats, but it’s not all they’re capable of. Restricted Chats, judging by the beta test, is only available for individual conversations, and not group or community chats. The setting is off by default…

South Africa’s roads are already brimming with bakkies, and now Chery is adding another. Its first-ever, in fact. The Chinese automaker has assimilated South Africa’s culture without suspicion for years, and a big bakkie can only help. Chery left it up to Saffas to decide this bakkie’s name before democracy labelled it ‘Grootman’. Big. Man. It beat out the other shortlisted names: Nduna, Orca, Brahman, Chief, and Bakkie, to name a few. All these names tell us that Chery (probably) heavily censored the real list of suggestions, and only went with the first name that wasn’t utterly silly or crass.…

If the onslaught of puny e-readers hasn’t enticed you yet, Amazon’s hoping one of its new Kindle e-readers might do the trick. After the entry-level Kindle leaked earlier this week, the retail giant confirmed its existence today alongside two other readers. Those would be the Kindle Paperwhite (2026) and Kindle Colorsoft (2026). These are, unsurprisingly, the most competent e-readers Amazon has released in their respective categories. All three of ’em feature flush displays, ditching the recessed look of old. Amazon reckons the basic Kindle is the most “pocket-sized” reader it’s released yet at 6in, though it doesn’t really differ from…