Apple’s fitness service is coming to the Middle East region later in 2021, giving Apple Watch users their own home-based personalized fitness program at their own pace.
Staying fit is all the rage, even as devices have incorporated features and sensors. While people saw fitness places closed off last year, Apple launched their own Fitness service for Apple Watch users. Later in 2021, the service will expand to UAE and Saudi Arabia.
With so many workouts available, you can pick your workouts as more will be added. New ones that will be added include Meditation and Pilates.
Meditation will be one of the newest workouts available on Apple Fitness+
So you’re wondering if there will be Arabic trainers. This is being handled with the existing workouts, accompanied with subtitles in addtional languages including Arabic. Maybe sometime down the road they’ll find suitable fitness talent to create bespoke videos for the Middle East region.
People who live in the UAE and Saudi Arabia can get it as part of the Apple One Premier tier. If you don’t want the other services, standalong price for is $9.99 (per month) or $79.99 (per year). You can also share it in the same household family via your Apple ID, all int eh same price whether it’s the standalone subscription or part of Apple One.
Fitness+ works with your Apple Watch Series 3 (or later)
If you want to train as a group, Group Workouts will roll out sometime later in the year with support for up to 32 people.
To start using it, you need to have the following minimum requirements: Apple Watch Series 3 or later with watchOS 7.2, and is available when paired with iPhone 6s or later with iOS 14.3. If you’re buying one or any of the newer models, you’ll get three months for free. Existing users can availa a one month trial.
Months since QNB rolled out Apple Pay support to merchants, the time has come for consumers to enjoy it. If you have a bank card from either QNB or Dukham Bank, you can now sign up to Apple Pay.
It’s been more than six months since QNB group brought Apple Pay to Qatar. The catch? It was only available to merchants for accepting payments.
Fast forward to the present, individual customers can now sign up to use Apple Pay. The first requirement is you’ve got to have a bank account either with QNB or Dukhan Bank.
Just make sure you have the prerequisite device(s) to start using it. Make sure it’s running the latest OS.
iPhone 6 or newer,
iPad Air 2 or newer,
and any supported Apple Watch
Both banks have instructions you need to follow, requiring you to use their respective mobile app for the initial authentication. The one main distinction between both banks – you can only add QNB’s credit cards, while Dukhan Bank allows you add both debit and credit cards. You can click on the respective bank’s link:
Once you’re up and running, then it’s a matter of using either Apple device at merchants that accept Apple Pay. Bear in mind that the central bank has put limits on per transaction basis. If you have SMS notifications setup, you’ll be notified just like when you use your debit/credit card.
While it’s been years since its launch, Qatar now joins UAE and Saudi Arabia as the third country in the Middle East with the consumer availability of Apple Pay.
Image credit: Twitter accounts of QNB and Dukhan Bank
Want to wirelessly share something to a bigger screen but don’t have an AirPlay nor Chromecast compatible device? The UGREEN Digital AV Adapter is your device-agnostic solution.
Overall: it’s quite a nifty accessory to have if you don’t have a new TV nor don’t want to be tethered to one wireless standard.
While new and upcoming TVs have been adding native support for either Apple AirPlay or Google Chromecast, what about those who don’t have a new TV? How else can you wirelessly mirror your mobile device or laptop’s display? That’s where UGREEN tackles this problem with their Digital AV Adapter (a.k.a Wireless Display Dongle).
Does that mean I decided to put it through its paces
Easy setup out of the box
The dongle/adapter is quite small that it fits into the palm of your hand. It’s also quite portable and you can easily hide it away from view to declutter your work area.
Packaging comes with the essentials: the actual dongle w/ HDMI output cable (0.5m), micro USB power cable (1m), and the brief manual. Initial setup requires you to connect to the dongle via Wi-Fi to configure it (it even shows you the instructions on TV when connecting it via HDMI). The process is meant to have it connect to your home’s Wi-Fi network (also lets you upgrade its firmware).
As with any product, you would definitely want to know the specs of this accessory.
However, the instructions could use better wording to explain the steps (English may not be the strongest point for a Chinese company, but things can be lost in translation). Any average person who’s familiar with doing software/hardware setups should easily be up and running.
Setup instructions shown when connecting the dongle
Both AirPlay and Chromecast
Most TVs in the market integrate either AirPlay or Chromecast exclusively, which means you’d need either an Apple or Android-powered device to use it.
What about someone who visits your home and wants to mirror something but uses a standard that’s not compatible (e.g. you use iOS for AirPlay but the guest has an Android device that works using Chromecast)? The UGREEN Digital AV Adapter helps to solve that issue.
Note that it does require using one of your HDMI ports, so that’s a minor trade-off if you don’t have plenty of HDMI ports on your TV. Also, it needs power via the micro USB port; accompanying long cable should help you connect it either using a USB power adapter, or even to your console (which would require you to keep it powered).
Putting the UGREEN Digital AV Adapter in action
Since I had linked the UGREEN Digital AV Adapter to my home Wi-Fi network, it immediately showed up across my devices. I decided to put it to use on the following: iPad Pro (2020), iPhone 11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, and 15-inch MacBook Pro.
Connecting either my iPhone 11 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S20 FE devices proved to be easy. The UGREEN dongle showed up within seconds and then a tap to select it. Within few seconds, my smartphone display was mirrored onto the TV.
Watching videos from streaming apps and even playing music worked without issues. When it comes to gaming, it can be a mixed bag cause it depends on the amount of visual fidelity of the game itself.
Playing Need For Speed: No Limits worked like a charm but there was random lag/frame skips on the TV (not on the smartphone itself).
Playing Angry Birds had no issues.
Music playback via Spotify was clear with no interruptions.
YouTube playback was smooth
Best part is that your mobile device’s orientation easily mirrors itself on the TV, so it’s best you use your smartphone/tablet in landscape mode to fill up the entire TV display area.
If you have any MacBook, it connects in the same way just like the iPhone/iPad. You can choose to mirror or have your TV serve as an extended display.
Verdict
After putting it through its paces (playing videos, games, and even mirroring the display), a dongle like this definitely helps to eliminate cable clutter regardless of your setup. Whether it’s at a business meeting or even at home, you can rest assured that
Pros
Small and portable
Easy to plugin and setup
Works with multitude of devices using either AirPlay or Chromecast
Easily switch between wireless bands with a simple button press based on your device
Cons
Instructions could use better wording in English, especially for first-time users
Display unit needs to have extra HDMI port
Verdict: Recommended
The UGREEN Digital AV Adapter is officially available at Store974 (Qatar) and Sharaf DG (UAE).
PlayStation 5 console owners in the Middle East and India can enjoy six months of Apple TV+ for free, with the redemption offer valid until July 2022.
While Sony can easily claim sales success on the PlayStation 5, it’s still facing supply constraints with ever-growing demand since its release in November 2020. Looking to help smoothen things out, PlayStation is now offering a six months free trial of Apple TV+.
As Sony likes to say it: “The best of gaming. The best of entertainment. Together like never before.”
Claim on your PlayStation 5
Redeeming this offer is quite easy but you need to bear in mind the following: redemption can only be done via all PlayStation 5 models (Standard and Digital Edition). You have to download and open the Apple TV app from the Media tab on your console and sign in with your Apple ID.
The offer is only available to new and existing subscribers. This offer will not work if you already have an Apple One subscription. Offer is only valid in the following countries:
Qatar
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Oman
Lebanon
India
Best part is that you have until 22nd July 2022 to enjoy this offer, which gives Sony ample time to ramp up production of PlayStation 5 units.
With the release of the latest update to iOS/iPadOS/macOS, Apple has rolled out Apple Music playlists showcasing Top 25 songs by city and Top 100 songs by country.
It’s been a few days since Apple released the latest iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and macOS Big Sur 11.3. While most of the attention has been on the privacy-tacking features, there’s been some additions for Apple Music as they look to ramp up their feature set to compete against Spotify.
Known as “City Charts”, the new playlists lets Apple Music listeners see the top 25 most played songs in over 100 cities around the world. This also includes a few cities from the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent region, and the playlists are updated daily:
The feature is now live on the Apple Music app on the iPhone, iPad, as well as the Mac (as long as you are running the latest version of the respective OS). Non-subscribers to Apple Music can visit the website and browse the selection of popular songs across available cities. Expect more cities to be added in the future.
What’s Trending on Country-level on Apple Music?
If you can’t see your city in the City Charts, you can get a more macro view of the most popular songs with the Daily Top 100 by country.
Within the MENA and Indian Subcontinent region, these are the countries which you can see the playlists (clicking on each link will take you to the respective one):
Apple is celebrating this year’s Ramadan with unique content and special offerings, extending it beyond the App Store to their other services including Music and Podcasts.
Last year, Apple embraced Ramadan with a curated selection of activities for the Middle East region. This year’s Ramadan activities looks to be goign even further – Apple is extending it to more of their services including Music and Podcasts.
App Store Ramadan highlights
Like last year, the App Store is featuring original stories and collections on the Today tab during the month of Ramadan highlighting unique content including apps and games with special offers.
Ramadan favourites– Essential apps for self-care, prayer tracking, cooking, and more.
Share your Ramadan story – A how-to story featuring InShot to help readers create a homemade Ramadan video.
Follow the moon with Night Sky – Highlighting some of Night Sky’s features through which users can interact with the Moon.
Apps featured on the Today tab have shown a spike in new downloads or in-app activity, which also benefits in terms of app discoverability.
Apps spanning different categories will be offering exclusive in-app Ramadan offers and themed elements.
Food & Drink:
Sayidaty Kitchen: Your go-to guide for delicious recipes and cooking methods.
My Fitness Pal: The app that will help you lose weight, tone up, get healthy, change your habits, or start a new diet.
Entertainment:
Shahid: Gain access to more than 20,000 hours of original productions, premieres, movies all in one place.
Storytel Audiobooks and EBooks: Sit back, relax and step into a world of stories. Enjoyunlimited listening and reading of audio books and e-books in English and other languages.
Colorful: Art Colouring Game: Have fun coloring mandalas, patterns, or animals with this therapeutic adults coloring book app.
Gaming:
Garena Free Fire – The Cobra: The ultimate survival shooter game available on mobile. Each 10-minute game places you on a remote island where you are pit against 49 other players, all seeking survival.
To help you reconnect with nostalgia and legacy content, Apple Music is featuring “Fawazir Ramadan”, the Pan Arab daily hit show with famous celebrities Sharihan and Nelly, exclusively on the platform. The live recordings of the show are now digitized and released as albums for the first time to celebrate the golden age in Egypt.
The Islamic Music Category is hosting a selection of new dynamic playlists with the overarching theme “Inspired by Faith”, including Qawwali, Anasheed, Dastgah, Na’at.
Qawwali: All-time great qawwals meet a new generation of Sufi singers in this world-class selection of qawwali.
Anasheed: In this collection of anasheed classics, prominent monsheden and singers from around the world join their voices in songs of praise that awaken the spirit and uplift the soul.
Dastgah: Mesmerising santur- and violin-driven instrumentals power this monthly updated tribute to Persian traditional music.
Inspired by Faith: Modern faith-based songs come from a rich global palette of genres and styles.
Qasidah: This rolling selection, featuring widely respected reciters and budding artists, merges recent a cappella interpretations of the classic Qasida Burda alongside uplifting, key-laden contemporary melodies.
Ramadan on Apple Podcasts
On Apple Podcasts this Ramadan, there is a super-room dedicated to helping you find the perfect podcast.
Al Silah (Finyal Media): Two estranged brothers are forced to go on a road trip cross country as part of their father’s dying wish. This trip brings them closer together.
Abu Abdo AlHakawati (Rising Giants Network): Carrying the tradition of storytelling in Ramadan, Abu Abdo will tell true stories from around the world in a rhythmic and immersive way.
Dom Tak (Sowt): In this special Ramadan edition of the Dom Tak podcast, we dive into oceans of spiritual and festive music across the region, from Umayyad Mosque prayer circles in Syria, to Islamic pop!
Lo’ma w Lamma (Kerning Cultures): A Ramadan foodie show focus on interviewing notable chefs as they walk listeners through their favourite dishes, their journey to become a chef and the heritage of our food.
Everything from apps to podcasts and music are being highlighted by Apple, wherever you are based in the Middle East. You’ll be able to experience them on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. Make sure to keep an eye out for special offers and promotions throughout the month.
