Author: Trent Meikle

The current meta in the South African EV landscape is all about one-upping the competition with more and more affordable pricing. The title for the cheapest EV in the country currently goes to the Geely E2. But every once in a while, we see a return to the early days of the electric wasteland, like with Toyota SA’s first-ever EV, the bZ4X. It really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? While it does seem like the bZ4X is one competent EV, with approximately 480km of range on a single charge and a 0-100km/h sprint of 5.1 seconds, it’ll come at…

After Tecno’s Pova 7 Pro passed through our doors, we’re eager to see what the Chinese brand has in store on that front. Just about anyone could’ve guessed that would be the Pova 8 and Pova 8 Pro, but now the future seems more certain. Both the Pova 8 and its Pro sibling have turned up early, all but confirming an imminent launch. Pova and out They may take their sweet time getting to South Africa, though. The Pova 7 family launched in July of last year, but only made its way to our shores in September. We’d bet that…

WhatsApp’s disappearing messages are a bit of a mixed bag in the feature’s current form. They are toggled on or off on a per-chat basis or globally, with the options being 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days. According to WABetaInfo (who else?), the Meta-owned messenger is hard at work on an update that’ll make it a bit more palatable. WhatsApp’s disappearing act As spotted within the WhatsApp beta for iOS 26.19.10.72 update, WhatsApp will allow users to auto-delete messages right after they’ve been read. This is similar to the app’s ‘View-Once’ format, which only allows select images and videos to…

Apple’s revamped Siri is no alpha Despite spending the last few years in the cooker, Apple’s major Siri overhaul may not even be (technically) ready by the time iOS 27 ships. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said as much in his weekly Power On newsletter, alongside the earth-shattering news that Genmoji was due an upgrade. Screw Siri and focus on the big stuff, Apple. Gurman reckons that the revamped Siri experience, which Apple first began punting back in 2024, will launch alongside iOS 27 but, notably, with a big ‘beta’ label attached. “Given that we’re only a month out from WWDC, there is a strong…

The Venn diagram of Discovery Bank clients who also have DStv in SA probably looks like two circles that don’t understand social distancing that well, but that hasn’t stopped ’em from teaming up. If you’re one of those rare customers, you already know how to earn up to 25% back in Discovery Miles via DStv. What you (probably) didn’t know is that, until the end of June, that figure will double, allowing clients to earn up to 50% back in Miles. DStv’s going the extra mile(s) “DStv customers who bank with Discovery can earn up to 50% of their DStv…

For years, Google has offered its billion-plus users 15GB of free storage, no strings attached. Other than holding an account with the search company, of course. Not only is that free storage a godsend for storing emails and just about anything else in Google Drive, but it’s also handy for keeping track of your WhatsApp storage. Now, it’s going away for new accounts, replaced with only 5GB of free storage. But there’s a way to bump it back to 15GB. On Cloud 5 You’ll need to give up something rather personal, though. Your phone number. Link and verify it, and…

We’re closer than ever to the launch of the hotly anticipated Honor 600 and 600 Pro. Honor hasn’t actually said as much and has, in fact, remained quiet on the situation. That is simply how time works. But we’ve also got a rough idea of when to expect the devices, the specs they sport, all thanks to not one, but several leaks appearing in the Honor vessel. Those are Cell C, Vodacom, and Cellucity, the latter of which has given the whole game away. No honour in leaks First, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: pricing. The Honor 600 and…

After the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) sent diesel prices surging past R31/l, motorists are desperate for any means to soften the blow. FNB customers weren’t left hanging for long, unlocking a temporary eBucks fuel boost. Now, Standard Bank has followed suit for its UCount Rewards members. UCounting Crows They, of course, must follow Standard Bank’s rules to feel the benefits, which could potentially be substantial if they’re in good standing with the bank. First, customers need to visit either a Caltex or an Astron garage. From there, they must whip out an eligible Standard Bank credit card to…

If you were under the impression that all those messages sent to WhatsApp’s Meta AI chatbot in the last two years weren’t being read by some underpaid intern, think again. The Meta-owned messenger said as much when it first rolled out the chatbot, confirming it was being trained on everything it received. Now, it’s going incognito. “Meta, what’s the name of the cat in Garfield?” “Chatting with AI has quickly become a critical part of how people get information and ask important questions. And many of these questions can be deeply sensitive, or include situations where people are including private…

Another day, another Chinese vehicle heading to South Africa. This time, it’s Jetour’s new F700 — the company’s first-ever bakkie — that’ll grace our roads sometime in 2027. The Citizen got a good look at the double-cab plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) at the Beijing Auto Show in April, though only from the outside. Jetour de force Some of the more important details, like what it’ll cost locally, are still under wraps. Jetour confirmed it would have more details for Saffas over the coming year. In the meantime, we’ve got a rough idea of what to expect from the F700,…