News
4 Smartphones Coming To The Middle East This Spring
These are some of the best smartphones making their way to the Middle East over the next few weeks.
The recently introduced iPhone SE 3 is just one of many new smartphones that you should consider if you’re in store for a new device this spring. Let’s take a look at four Android smartphones coming to the Middle East as early as next week.
Samsung Galaxy S22/S22+/S22 Ultra
Since the end of February, buyers in the Middle East have been able to pre-order Samsung’s latest generation of its flagship devices. While not a whole lot has changed over the S21, the end products still represent the very best that Samsung and the Android ecosystem have to offer. The three models differ not only in size but also in terms of features, with the S22 Ultra being the only model that comes with the S Pen.
The Galaxy S22 will be available starting March 20 at $890 USD for the standard model, $1,050 USD for the S22 model, and $1,300 USD for the beefed up Ultra model.
Nokia G11 & G21
Even though the Nokia G11 costs almost ten times less than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra ($136 USD versus $1,300 USD for the top model), they both have a similar 5,000 mAh battery, enabling them to run for approximately three days on a single charge. The G21 also has a large battery, but it costs $174 because of its slightly better specifications.
The G11 will be available in the Middle East at the end of March, while the G21 has just recently been made available.
Huawei P50 Pro & P50 Pocket
The Huawei P50 Pro and P50 Pocket are the latest and greatest Android smartphones from the Chinese smartphone maker, and they’re both available for pre-order in the Middle East at the time of writing this article. Just like all other Huawei Android smartphones, they don’t come with Google apps pre-installed, but there are many online tutorials that explain how to install them manually.
You can expect to pay $1,100 USD for the P50 Pro, and $1,400 USD for the P50 Pocket.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11/11S/11 Pro/11 Pro 5G
The entire Redmi Note 11 series of Xiaomi smartphones will be available in the Middle East by the early April, offering many attractive mid-range models with above-average specifications. The two top models even have a super-fast 120 Hz screen refresh rate, a feature that is highly sought-after by mobile gamers.
The Note 11 and Note 11S have a refresh rate of 90 Hz, which is decent but not super-impressive these days. The Redmi Note 11 base model will start at $200 USD.
News
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget
The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
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