September is new iPhone month, with four new handsets on the line-up, featuring the highly anticipated USB-C charging port that was a long time coming. Trending readers would love the new base level iPhone 15, thanks to its new camera and an updated design in new pale shades of pink, yellow, blue and green.
The iPhone 15 has a 6.1-inch display that now supports Dynamic Island notifications on its new pill-shaped cut-out, which replaces the notch. It lets you view calls, paired accessories, music notifications, alarms and other useful info through supported apps, without interrupting you via a neat pop-up.
READ: Apple launches iPhone 15 with USB-C, dynamic island and a new action button
However, the most exciting update is the 48MP camera, up from a previous 12MP, for higher resolution images and portrait photos.
It is powered by the A16 chip found on last year’s 14 Pro and promises an all-day battery life. The new USB-C charging port will also reverse-charge the updated AirPods Pro 2 with a USB-C port. The new iPhone 15 will be available in South Africa on Friday, September 29.
WhatsApp is launching its new Channels feature in South Africa, which lets users follow news and important updates from their favourite brands, media houses or organisations, directly from WhatsApp.
Channels can be found under the Updates tab once the feature is enabled for you and serves as a “one-to-many” broadcast feature. This means only the admin of the Channel can post; no two-way conversation takes place, in the same way as Instagram’s Broadcast channels work.
Channels can share updates such as photos, text, videos, stickers or polls. Interesting use cases could be following sports teams, recipe pages or content creators.
But what sets it apart from similar services is an automatic deletion of content after 30 days, which is good for your smartphone storage.
MTN’s new SuperFlex DIY mobile plan for customers aims to simplify the mobile process by offering a flexible customisable solution. The network operator refers to the plan as having no paperwork, no contract lock-in and no credit check, but with unlimited calls and SMSes.
The SIM-only plan starts at R299 for the month-to-month plan that comes with 10GB of data, unlimited calls to all local networks and unlimited text messages. The MTN app facilitates the process, which can be paid with either a debit or credit card, plus the option to cancel or upgrade the data plan. In addition to the 10GB at R299 plan, there is a 15GB bundle that costs R399 per month and the 20GB costs R479 per month.
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MTN has also thrown in a six-month subscription to the Disney+ streaming platform, available through its online channels. Users can switch the data options each month as needed.
Under its terms and conditions, the company says there is no fair usage threshold for unlimited voice minutes and SMSes, but that it was meant for consumer use only.