That direction could, if the trademarks for Huawei Energy and Huawei Digital Energy are awarded (and probably even if they’re not), involve power solutions in addition to the company’s heavy enterprise presence. According to a report, the company’s new trademarks “are awaiting substantive examination.”

Big Huawei Energy

If we do see new Huawei spin-offs, they could involve battery storage, green energy, and even vehicle batteries, if the report from CNMO is accurate. A Huawei-powered EV isn’t out of the question. The Chinese heavyweight fields enough outdoor tech that battery storage and even solar panels would be a sensible course to pursue. After all, it all translates into revenue streams, even as it makes the company’s supply chain cheaper.

The company seems to be using the Digital Energy term internally, as a blanket descriptor for whatever that division is up to. It’s still murky for now, but rumours that CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.) was looking to buy out that division suggest that Huawei is heavily focused on battery tech.

China-based CATL is the largest producer of energy storage in the world, so if they’re eying what Huawei is up to, it’s probably linked. As it happens, rumour also claims that a complete buyout isn’t happening. Instead, CATL is looking to acquire about 20% of whatever Huawei is doing in this sector.

Huawei-branded power stations and more self-sufficient network gear from the company probably aren’t far off. Maybe. We’ll see.

Source

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Sony and TCL have announced, via a joint statement, that the Japanese company is turning the reins of its TV business over to the Chinese company. This doesn’t mean the PlayStation maker is stepping back from its television business altogether, however.

Sony, and yet so far

Under the terms of the new partnership, TCL will assume control of 51% of the business, with Sony hanging onto the remaining 49%. The statement holds some hope of better Bravia distribution, with the team-up “operat[ing] globally, handling the full process from product development and design to manufacturing, sales, logistics, and customer service for products including televisions and home audio equipment.”

Since there’s remarkably little of any of that present in South Africa for Bravia (and other) products, putting TCL in charge of getting the hardware here could open up more options for folks who spent all their time looking at larger screens. You know, instead of the one in your pocket that’s giving you depression.

The partnership is expected to be fully ironed out by March this year, with the new order of business kicking off in April 2027. Long story short, you probably won’t get that Sony-branded TV under your tree this Christmas unless somebody really loves you.

The statement continues: “The new company plans to advance its business by leveraging Sony’s high-quality picture and audio technology cultivated over the years, brand value and operational expertise including supply chain management, while utilizing TCL’s advanced display technology, global scale advantages, industrial footprint, end-to-end cost efficiency, and vertical supply chain strength.”

So yes, we expect to see Bravia sets on shelves here eventually. Pity it’s not right away, but you can’t have everything.

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The platform said in a release that one of CD Projekt’s founders, Michał Kiciński, has “acquired 100% of the shares in GOG, formerly part of the CD PROJEKT Group.” Given the current state of the gaming industry, this move to make the platform more like Valve’s Steam could be a very good thing.

GG GoG

It’s unlikely that the platform will suddenly start releasing games that look suspiciously like Half-Life 3. Still, a central owner and a promise to “continue to operate independently, supporting gamers and developers through its DRM-free philosophy” are in keeping with what Valve has promised (and delivered) throughout its lifespan. When there’s only a single person to answer to, it’s a lot easier to execute a specific vision. When you involve committees and focus groups, though…

Our crack about the platform not releasing anything impressive of its own may not be totally accurate, though. Kiciński said of his acquisition, “When it comes to pure playability, timeless games often prove to be really the safe choice, especially in a market flooded with gazillions of low-quality smaller games. Beyond preserving classics, GOG has always sought out new games with a retro spirit. I am personally involved in the development of a few games like that and they will certainly make their strong appearance on GOG in 2026.”

As for what will actually change for the platform and its users: practically nothing, at least for now. The purchase includes an agreement that upcoming CD Projekt titles will continue to appear for sale. All this really means that business on the retro games platform will continue as it has been until Michał Kiciński personally decides otherwise. If the Polish developer and publisher behind The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 opts to go in a vastly different direction in the meantime, it won’t drag Good Old Games along with it.

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mUther

The store is called the mUther Xperience Hub (someone better get Chris Claremont on the line for uniform designs). The store, the creation of company head Alex Staniland, opened its doors on 17 November and aims to “really shake up the EV space locally.”

How? By eventually offering other EVs from the company that makes the Box, Dongfeng. These models are not yet listed, but could include the Vigo, the Mage EV, or the 007, although we’d expect the former two before the latter. It’s almost a pity that mUther seems so focused on EVs. Where else would we see vehicles like the Huge, Rich 6, or a whole bunch of Captains (and Tractors, which, oddly, aren’t)?

Back to the supremely Chinese EV, the Dongfeng Box. The little compact boasts a range of 430km per charge of its 42.3kWh battery pack, and a top speed of 140km/h in its upgraded form. A less-capable model, featuring a 30.6kWh battery and a range of up to 330km, is also available. Both seem to feature the same 160Nm 70kW motors doing all of the roadwork.

The cabin, at least in the left-hand drive Chinese version, seems like an interesting place to spend your time. There’s a minimalist design there, while the quilted trim offers something different in terms of design. We’d expect this sort of thing from a car that drives itself, but it’ll also be interesting to get behind the wheel ourselves.

Pricing for the new EV isn’t yet available. The official website’s countdown suggests those details will emerge sometime around 29 or 30 December this year.

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Before you get too excited, though, the language of the announcement is murky enough that we can’t tell if South Africa, which has had problems getting the satellite internet service licensed in the country, is on the guest list. We’ve asked for clarification, but at this time, it’s unknown whether South Africans get to participate.

Starlink for me?

Vodacom operates in 47 different African countries, meaning that every instance of “across Africa” used in the announcement could be technically correct while leaving SA customers out of the loop. Still, adding Starlink’s satellite coverage to Vodacom’s network — the main aim of the partnership — could well “accelerate network coverage expansion while increasing network performance in rural areas” around the continent. That’s a good thing, but we’d still be rather bitter if we didn’t get to play.

Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub said, “We are delighted to collaborate with Starlink, a move that accelerates our mission to connect every African to the internet. Low Earth orbit satellite technology will help bridge the digital divide where traditional infrastructure is not feasible, and this partnership will unlock new possibilities for the unconnected.”

Starlink’s Chad Gibbs added, “Starlink is already serving people, businesses, and organizations in 25 African countries. By collaborating with Vodacom, Starlink can deliver reliable, high-speed connectivity to even more customers, transforming lives and communities across the continent.”

Notice how South Africa hasn’t been mentioned in either statement at all? Stuff is awaiting confirmation, one way or the other, on whether the newly-inked deal will include this country or whether it’ll be reserved for the other 46 countries Vodacom services. It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s not like being picked last for a sports team or anything. Really.

UPDATE (12/1025, 09h47): A Vodacom spokesperson has told Stuff: “We cannot confirm this [Starlink’s arrival in SA]. However, we aim to launch these services across our footprint once individual regulatory approvals are completed. Individual market announcements will be made as and when the requisite approvals are obtained.”

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Learn more about what Teljoy brings to the table, whether it’s the ability to change or upgrade the items in a home at short notice or the ease of access that eventually leads to ownership, if that’s what the customer wants.
The conversation also covers Teljoy’s newest product line – rentals of essential baby equipment for new (and not-so-new) parents looking for the best their offspring deserve, but without the hefty price tag. Since baby gear is inherently a temporary purchase, pursuing Teljoy’s rental or rent-to-own offerings can make serious financial sense.

Shapshak and Hurvitz’s conversation covers Teljoy’s lesser-known benefits, like avoiding having the SABC on your back by simply renting a screen (Teljoy takes care of that pesky license requirement), but there wasn’t time, or space, to cover everything.

Of particular note, in terms of missed content, is the ongoing giveaway for a Suzuki Swift taking place in 2025. Any customer who makes any rental up until 31 December 2025 stands a chance to take a car home at the end of the year – free of charge. Existing renters need only refer a friend (or someone else who might be amenable) in order to get their entries in.

If you’ve ever wanted to know how to get the best tech at sane prices, you’ll want to hear what Teljoy CEO Jonathan Hurvitz has to say in this podcast.​

Teljoy pioneered the subscription model

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

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Like most regular earbuds these days, the Dell Pro Plus earbuds offer active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and adaptive audio. But they have a trick up their sleeve — these are the world’s first earbuds to ship with a Microsoft Teams Open Office certification. It’s mostly the same thing as a regular Microsoft Teams certification, only with more stringent testing involved. They’re also certified for Zoom.

Dell Pro Plus Earbuds for work

The Dell Pro Plus Earbuds support multipoint connectivity for up to eight devices, although you’re still limited to two simultaneous connections. For a wireless connection, you have the option of Bluetooth 5.3 or the compact USB-C dongle included in the case.

Dell says you should get up to eight hours of audio playback from the Dell Pro Plus Earbuds with ANC enabled before they’ll need a charge. The case holds a further 25 hours. If you’re the one doing all the talking in your meetings, their claimed battery life is reduced to five hours from the ‘buds and 16.5 hours from the case.

Wireless charging is supported, and plugging them in for 5 minutes will net you one hour of listening.

The ‘world’s first’ bragging rights aren’t the only thing that sets these ‘buds apart, although the other thing will probably only appeal to you if you’re the one in charge of buying dozens of these for your office. The Dell Pro Plus Earbuds should integrate seamlessly with the company’s cloud-based Dell Device Management Console. It allows admins to do fun things, like remote configuration and updating the entire fleet’s firmware.

There isn’t a concrete timeline for when these will be available to South African IT admins (or you, if you want them for your home office), and we don’t have a local price just yet. They sell for $230 over the pond, or just under R4,000. We’ll update this article when more info is available.

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That would be the small motor inside that provides adjustable haptic feedback where your thumb will sit when you scroll, navigate, and select something in Windows or macOS environments.

MX Master 4 is all about work

Elsewhere, its switch clicks are supposed to be 90% quieter than the MX Master 3, while the Darkfield sensor and MagSpeed wheel remain mostly unchanged.

That’s not entirely a bad thing; the sensor still supports between 200 – 8,000 DPI (dots per inch) with 50 DPI increments, and the scroll wheel can fly through up to 1,000 lines of text in a minute — perfect for diligently reading terms and conditions sheets.

In addition to the horizontal scroll wheel, the left indentation houses the usual forward and backward buttons, a third programmable button, and Logi’s new ‘Action Ring’ button that is said to save you up to 30% of your time.

Read More: Logitech’s G Play showcase introduces new gaming gear

As far as the battery goes, you should get around 70 days between charges from the 650mAh cell inside. Wireless connections are done via Bluetooth LE 5.1 or with the included USB-C (finally) Logi Bolt receiver over the 2.4GHz band. There’s a new antenna design that should make those connections more stable.

The Logitech MX Master 4 is available in four colourways: Pale Grey, Graphite, Space Black, and White Silver, with the latter exclusive to the MX Master 4 for Mac model.

Having only just launched elsewhere in the world, it’ll probably be a while before the Master 4 reaches SA. It sells for $120 in the US (~R2,060), so we’re expecting it to be in the R2,300 – R2,500 ballpark when it eventually arrives here, based entirely on shrewd guesswork.

Update 07/10: We’ve just received confirmation on Logitech’s Master MX4, and would you look at that, we were right on the money. It will be available from 10 October at the usual places where computer mice are sold for R2,400.

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Microsoft feels the vibes

Agent Mode is designed as a slightly more powerful, better optimised version of Microsoft’s Copilot, which is also integrated into its Office suite. The AI agent can break down complex tasks and then uses OpenAI’s GPT-5 to turn the breakdown into steps that it executes. All a user has to do is sit and watch, after providing the initial prompt.

In Excel, Microsoft says that Office Agent has an accuracy rate of 57.2% in an AI spreadsheet editing benchmark called SpreadsheetBench. This score puts it ahead of other AI programs like Shortcut.ai, ChatGPT agent with .xlsx support, and Claude Files Opus 4.1, though it still lags behind a human accuracy of 71.3%. In Word, it can direct Copilot to draft content, suggest better edits, and lay out the steps needed to produce a certain document.

The new agent will also be available outside of what used to be called Microsoft Office through Copilot chat. Users can prompt the creation of a Word document or PowerPoint presentation without having to open the respective apps. Running on Anthropic models, Office Agent can create structured PowerPoint decks while doing web-based research, and it will even give live slide previews if you want them.

“Productivity is our DNA, we’re Office,” says Sumit Chauhan, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Office Product Group. “While others will try to replicate us, there is no substitute for the real thing.”

Source

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If you thought Electronic Arts (EA), makers of annual sports games like FC, Madden, NHL, and plenty of other non-sporty titles, couldn’t get any worse, think again. Bloomberg reports that the company is nearing a deal that would see it go private, valuing it at roughly $50 billion.

The deal, which involves Silver Lake Management — an American private equity firm — as well as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, would make it one of the largest buyouts in 2025. According to people familiar with the matter, the deal could be closed as soon as this week.

EA has been a publicly traded company since 1990, although Saudi Arabia’s PIF already owns nearly 10% of the company. As Reuters reports, Saudi Arabia is interested in taking the company private to reap the rewards of EA’s yearly sports-title releases, which offer steady and reliable returns.

This would be just another infinity stone in Saudi’s gaming gauntlet, having already procured heavy investments into companies like Take-Two Interactive, Activision Blizzard, Nintendo, and Embracer Group. That’s not to mention the PIF already owning the entirety of Niantic’s gaming division, including Pokémon Go.

Source

Instagram and Facebook are getting rid of the ads, for a price

Anybody who’s used Instagram or Facebook before (so… everyone) knows just how horrific the onslaught of ads has become in recent years, regardless of how you use the platforms. On Friday, Meta unveiled its plans to allow users over the age of 18 in the UK to pay a monthly fee to rid the platforms of ads — all done to comply with regulatory changes coming down from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Users will be able to pay £3/m (∼R70/m) for the privilege of no ads if they go through the web, while going through Android or iOS platforms will bring that price up to £4/m. The subscription will automatically apply to any Facebook and Instagram accounts added to the Meta Accounts Centre, though these accounts will still be forced to pay an extra £2/m (per account), on top of the initial £3/m fee.

Should the subscription prove popular, or if other countries apply similar pressure to Meta’s jugular, the subscriptions might eventually make it out of the UK. We’re willing to bet there’s plenty of folk willing to pay an even heftier fee for ad-free doomscrolling.

Meta just killed the vibe, announces Vibes

In what is arguably Meta’s most foolish move in quite some time (and we’re talking about a company that renamed itself to better align with the future of the metaverse), the company has announced Vibes, “a new feed in the Meta AI app” that is solely dedicated to delivering low-quality, AI-generated slop. No, seriously.

“As you browse, you’ll see a range of AI-generated videos from creators and communities. The feed will become more personalized over time, and if something catches your eye, you can create your own video, remix what you see, and share it with friends and followers,” Meta said.

The complete lack of effort shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with artificial intelligence, especially Meta AI. Not only does creating a post only take a few seconds, but Meta is even encouraging users to simply “remix what you see,” which further promotes low-effort content. We should be glad, really. Vibes might just become Meta’s home of AI slop, and attract kids and older folk like a moth to a flame.

Unfortunately, there’s also the chance we won’t end up so lucky. While confined to Vibes, the content cannot find us. Unless its users (of which most are likely bots) begin to share their “content” to both Facebook and Instagram, doubling down on an issue that has plagued Meta’s platforms for years.

YouTube’s AI Laboratory is here

YouTube is long past the time for experimenting with AI, but the launch of what it’s calling YouTube Labs contradicts that idea. YouTube Labs will be the home of all of Google’s AI experiments on YouTube going forward, where users can “test drive” in-development AI features.

And the first experiment? AI-powered music hosts that sound mightily similar to Spotify’s own AI DI, X. The hosts are designed to “deepen your listening experience by sharing relevant stories, fan trivia, and fun commentary about your favorite music on the YouTube Music app.” We’ll take its word for the time being.

If that sounds like something you’d be interested in trying, too bad. Only a “limited number of US-based participants can test early prototypes and experiments and influence the future of YouTube.’ For now, anyway. YouTube Premium members are already privy to early-access features, not necessarily related to AI, in the YouTube app. YouTube Labs may expand elsewhere, eventually.

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