Put your foolish ambitions to rest

We should note that PlayStation has yet to confirm any such event taking place. This news comes from industry insider, Jeff Grubb, who reported earlier this month that PlayStation had some sort of event planned, before doubling down on the rumour with an official date – “almost certainly” on Tuesday, 24 September – in a recent episode of Game Mess Mornings.

We’re hoping for news of an Astro Bot DLC that we know is penned for sometime later this year, but keep those expectations low. The potential Game of the Year contender is still riding the high from its massively successful launch earlier this month, meaning PlayStation might hold onto that content for a rainy day.

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As much as we’d love to see new titles or IPs that can fully put the PS5 Pro’s power to good use, that’s not PlayStation’s MO. Remakes and remasters are all the rave in recent years, and that trend is set to continue after news of a Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered receiving an ESRB rating (via Wario64) for a PS5 port, and a jump to PC. Why Sony continues to rely on the Horizon franchise when Bloodborne is right there, we’ll never know.

To make matters worse, Grubb mentioned that we’d likely see yet another remaster that’s, somehow, “even less exciting” than the one coming from Guerilla Games. Many have theorised that to be a Days Gone PS5 port. Yeah, that would fit the bill. Here’s hoping the theories are wrong.

Source

The post There’s a PlayStation State of Play on the horizon, apparently appeared first on Stuff South Africa.

Gimme. Now. Please?

No-one seems to have noticed the Nintendo assembler- Hosiden is spending ¥2bn on production equipment and ¥1bn on automation in FY3/25 for its major customer in amusement (Nintendo). I still expect Sept news and March 2025 release for next device. pic.twitter.com/APGEGGSyS8

— David Gibson (@gibbogame) September 4, 2024

That’s following the train of thought proposed by David Gibson of MST Financial on X, who reckons that Nintendo’s assembler spending ¥2 billion on “production equipment” and a further ¥1 billion on automation “for its major customer in amusement (Nintendo)” is more than a little suspicious. It hints at the fact that the Switch 2 has entered mass production.

Gibson was replying to his initial tweet where he claimed “it might be Sept 18-26 or in early Oct (avoid Tokyo Game Show)” when Nintendo might make the announcement. He then does that annoying thing by not providing any proof, so we’re going to go ahead and leave that one in the dust. If it does happen, bully for us.

Read More: We might have just gotten our first look at the PS5 Pro (kinda)

We believe that Nintendo wouldn’t sully the release of the impending The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, which will be released on 26 September with such a big announcement to detract from the game’s success. Judging by the Switch 1’s life cycle, we could see an early October announcement working out, and mimicking its older sibling with a March 2025 release.

In other news, reliable leaker Nate the Hate responded to Gibson’s “mass production” claims with a simple “It has backwards compatibility” comment on Reddit, though refusing to elaborate further. That, too, has been touted for months, as has the news that Nintendo will stick with the same general handheld-in-dock look that made the first Switch one of the most popular consoles of all time.

Source

The post The Switch 2 has reportedly entered mass production, with a September reveal on the cards appeared first on Stuff South Africa.

Perhaps “expected” is a strong word. It’s an open secret that Apple likes to reserve the unveiling of new iPhones for one special evening in September alongside a slew of new peripherals to play with. That’ll be the revamped line-up of AirPods and the Apple Watch Series 10, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

The main event

It won’t just be the iPhone 16 appearing on Monday night if Apple’s past showings are any indication. We’re willing to bet good money its siblings are along for the ride – namely the iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and finally, the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

This year, according to MacRumours, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will stick with their 6.1/6.7in display sizes from the iPhone 15, while the Pro and Pro Max models will see their first size upgrade in years. The regular Pro is being bumped to 6.3in, with the Pro Max going as high as 6.9in. Nice.

Remember when Apple introduced an Action Button on the iPhone 15 Pro and above? Neither can we, but it’s reportedly trickled down to the baseline iPhone 16, joining the (actually) new ‘Capture Button’ on the device’s right-hand side. Three guesses as to what that button will do.

In a bit of departure from recent tradition, all four iPhone 16 models are expected to feature the A18 Bionic chipset – though Apple’s saving the good stuff such as more GPU cores and a vastly improved Neural Engine to convince potential buyers that Apple Intelligence is worth all the hype.

All the rest

Then there’s still the Apple Watch Series 10 and revamped catalogue of AirPods to worry about.

Expect the Watch Series 10 to feature a slightly larger display and a new standard for body positivity, with the line-up of wearables apparently getting a whole lot slimmer. It’ll be sold in 45mm and 49mm sizes, up from the 41/45mm sizes we saw on last year’s release. Gurman reported earlier this year in his ‘Power On’ newsletter that a new magnetic clasp was in the works, allowing Apple to get creative when it came to internals.

Whether that’ll be reserved for the incoming Watch Ultra 3 remains to be seen. The Ultra and regular Series 10 will use updated OLED technology to boost battery life, though no specifics have been mentioned. Hardware updates for the Ultra 3 are thin on the ground, with most of the innovation headed toward the tracker’s new blood pressure and sleep apnea detection features.

Did you know we’re already on the fourth generation of AirPods? That awaits us in the back end of the ‘It’s Glowtime’ event, where we’ll see two new sets of redesigned AirPods, complete with two different price points to cover all bases. The more expensive model could include ANC (Active Noise Cancelling), and a speaker in the charging case (for Find My functionality) while the cheaper model… won’t.

Oh, and the H2 chip is expected to be carried over from the second-gen Pro buds in both sets of new AirPods.

As for the AirPods Max, which are next in line for an upgrade, we’ll finally see the appearance of a USB-C port, with Apple ditching Lightning tech for good. Bluetooth 5.3 is also expected to feature and bring the headset up to scratch with the rest of Apple’s audio efforts. There’s no word on the updated H2 chipset for the Max, though we see no reason Apple wouldn’t include it to raise that price just a smidgen higher.

How and where to tune in

There are several ways you can get your annual iPhone 16 news on Monday, 9 September at 19h00 SAST. Firstly, you can return here to watch the video above or visit the Big Fruit Company’s YouTube channel on the night in question. Apple’s site is also an option, though we’re not sure why you’d subject yourself to that pain. Or, perhaps the easiest option is to wait for Stuff’s coverage of the event.

Source 1, 2, 3

The post It’s Glowtime on Monday night – what to expect from Apple’s iPhone 16 unveiling (and how to tune in) appeared first on Stuff South Africa.

The news comes after Stuff spent the month of August following the Central Energy Fund’s (CEF) promising predictions, which foresaw relief for both petrol and diesel drivers and even those buyers of illuminating paraffin across South Africa.

Fortunately, Stuff can confirm that the Department’s official adjustments are an even prettier sight than the one the CEF predicted just a few short days ago. Yup, diesel drivers will be paying up to R1+ less per litre at the pumps, while petrol drivers will be more than happy with the 90C+ drop awaiting them.

Good news, everyone!

Hold your horses, readers. There’s no use in rushing off to the nearest garage just yet. You’ll need to wait until the morning of Wednesday, 4 September before you can make use of the Department of Mineral Resource and Energy’s official fuel prices. Why? Because that’s just how it is. Is this your first time here?

If that’s the case, it’s worth knowing how the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy arrives at its decision at the end of any given month. The country’s petrol and fuel price is determined through several economic factors, such as the price of refined oil globally, and the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate throughout the month.

Thanks to a strengthening Rand throughout August and a mostly stable price of Brent Crude Oil internationally, the Department has seen fit to offer the country yet another fuel price drop – the fifth such consecutive drop for South African motorists.

The CEF, a state-owned energy company reporting to the Department, keeps an eye on these factors throughout the month, directly informing the Department’s decision before the first Wednesday of a new month. However, it cannot offer predictions for the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, which “will remain at 0.00 c/l with effect from 04 September 2024.” That’s good news if it wasn’t already obvious.

From 00:01 on the morning of Wednesday, 4 September, petroleum-based fuels will see the following changes:

• Petrol 93: decrease of 92 cents per litre (R0.92)
• Petrol 95: decrease of 92 cents per litre (R0.92)
• Diesel 0.05%: decrease of 79 cents per litre (R0.79)
• Diesel 0.005%: decrease of 105 cents per litre (R1.05)
• Illuminating Paraffin: decrease of 103 cents per litre (R1.03)
• LPGAS: decrease of 10 cents per kilogram (R0.10)

The post September’s official fuel prices are in: R1+ price drop for diesel drivers confirmed appeared first on Stuff South Africa.

Behold, the PlayStation 5 Pro. Kinda.

Going Pro

Dealabs mentions that while it does currently have an image of the PS5 Pro’s official packaging, it was unable to share it due to copyright reasons, which is how we ended up with a simple sketch in the first place.

Considering Dealabs or more specifically, Billbil-kun’s history in the leaking community – including successfully alerting the world of that Until Dawn remaster or Astro Bot reveal ahead of Sony itself – we’re inclined to believe the image is about as accurate as can be.

Then there’s the fact that the supposed PS5 Pro looks like an accurate representation of the effort Sony would implement in one of its highest-grossing products. In other words, “not much.” It’s stuck with the same general shape the console maker introduced on the PS5 Slim, though with two extra fins running down the middle, two USB-C ports and the return of the general-use USB-A port on the front.

Read More: You can pick up a PS5 for a whole lot less thanks to Sony’s Winter Sale

You’ve got to be able to distinguish them somehow, right?

Whether Sony will once again mimic the PS5 Slim by selling a separate disc drive on the side remains to be seen. Dealabs confirms that, like earlier iterations of the PS5, the side panels will be detachable to enable the selling of custom panels. As for the controller included with the console, we had hoped Sony might finally unveil the leaked V2 controller we saw a while back, though it appears as if it’s stuck with the standard DualSense 5.

As for a release window, the leaker briefly hints that the PS5 Pro will be announced to the public during the first half of September, though we’d advise taking that with a pinch of salt. it does, however, tie into what Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb had to say on the subject of Sony hosting a State of Play (“not a Showcase”) sometime near the back end of September.

Source

The post We might have just gotten our first look at the PS5 Pro (kinda) appeared first on Stuff South Africa.

As usual, we’ll need to wait until the first Wednesday of the new month to see those prices actually take effect. In this case, that’ll be next Wednesday, 4 September, after which – barring any major economic waves, both locally and internationally, we could see prices knocked down by as much as 91c for petrol drivers.

One hell of a week ahead

It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t a done deal yet. The CEF, a state-owned energy company responsible for reporting directly to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, offers the most complete information regarding the country’s fuel price, but the final decision rests in the Department’s hands at the end of the month.

The CEF keeps its eye on the two biggest factors that influence South Africa’s monthly fuel prices; the Rand/US Dollar exchange, and the price of refined oil globally. It offers daily insights using this data, after which the Department reviews all the information before coming to an official decision before the first Wednesday of the new month.

Thanks to the Rand’s growing strength throughout August, the CEF has predicted an “over-recovery” of prices – meaning a drop in prices for residents. Also contributing to the expected “over-recovery” is the so-far stable price of oil globally, with prices regularly sitting under the $80/barrel price throughout most of August. Should the Dollar spike or the price of oil rise massively over the coming week, it could leave the CEF’s predictions in an awkward position.

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Here are the petrol and diesel price predictions (so far) for September 2024:

• Petrol 93: decrease of 84 cents per litre (R0.84)
• Petrol 95: decrease of 91 cents per litre (R0.91)
• Diesel 0.05%: decrease of 73 cents per litre (R0.73)
• Diesel 0.005%: decrease of 99 cents per litre (R0.99)
• Illuminating Paraffin: decrease of 98 cents per litre (R0.98)

The post Great news for petrol and diesel prices in September appeared first on Stuff South Africa.