3 Awesome Gadgets to Check out this Month

From a one-size-fits-all gaming laptop to a security-boosting camera, we’ve got our hands on some of South Africa’s most desired tech products to give you the lowdown on what’s worth your time (and money). Check out our thoughts on the gadgets and tech products below to get the skinny on the latest items hitting SA:

Ring Spotlight Cam Plus 

Price: R3,699

Ring has been delivering some fantastic home camera and security tech over the last few years, and the Amazon-owned company has introduced a new camera product into SA: the Ring Spotlight Cam Plus.

What makes this weather-resistant camera different, though, is that it bundles (as the name suggests) a lighting solution and camera into one package. Furthermore, it’s wireless, so installation is extremely easy and intuitive.

The device’s wide-angle 1080p camera provides quite the viewpoint for your garden, front door, or driveway, and the motion-detecting spotlights are great for those stretches of loadshedding, along with catching any movement on camera with clear lighting. You can also adjust the brightness, making it ideal for a security option or just some extra ambient light wherever you need.

On top of that, what’s great about Ring products is the versatility of the app, which allows you to customise the products features to your needs, such as using it as a siren, two-way talk point, or allocating the camera to only track movement in certain zones.

Playstation 5 Pulse 3D Audio Headset

Price: R1,699

It took a little while to get our hands on some, but we finally put the PS5’s 3D Audio Headset to the test, and to say we’re impressed would be an understatement.

Developed specifically for the PS5 (although they do work on PS4 and PC), Sony’s 3D audio headset leverages the hardware’s object-based system to place virtual objects in 3D space around the user, and accurately place the corresponding sound, rather than simply left/right (stereo).

Therefore, when using the Pulse 3D headset, you get a far more accurate ‘location’ of the sounds from games, both in frequency and velocity. For example, during our playthrough of the Dead Space remake using the headset, overhead noises from air vents ‘appeared’ to come from above, while the spatial audio made identifying how far and where enemies were far more precise and, therefore, immersive. On top of the great audio quality, the headset also features dual noise-cancelling microphones, a built-in rechargeable battery, and an array of easy-access controls.

It may seem like a small mention, but the comfort of the cups is worth noting, as they fit right over your ears, while the soft, rubberised headband strap shifts and moulds to your head without you having to constantly jiggle and realign the headset.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 Gaming Laptop

Price: R79,999

When it comes to Asus’ ROG Strix line-up there are a host of laptops to suit just about any budget and gaming needs, but the Strix ROG Scar 18 (G834J) is arguably the turbo-charged beast of the bunch, offering some serious specs and a matching appearance to give you a no-frills gaming rig packed into a laptop.

Under the hood, it’s housing a gorgeous 18-inch QHD+ display, a 13th Gen Intel i9-13980HX Processor, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, 32GBs of DDR5 RAM, and 1TB of storage.

Aesthetically, the Strix features an eye-catching design, with a semi-translucent body alongside the keyboard, giving you a look at the goodies inside the device, along with RGB lighting along the rim, keyboard, and soundbar area below the screen. If you wanted a laptop that would look right at home in a neon-lit street race, this is it.

Given the hardware packed into the admittedly sexy foldable package, it’s not the most portable device around and still carries a sizable charging brick with it. But, with that said, this is a suitable entry for those looking for something that can be moved around, and could easily be your primary gaming solution and workstation, given just how much flexibility and power it’s packing.