News

Spotify Desktop Gets A New Look And Upgraded Features

The update includes a “now playing” view plus access to tour dates and artist merchandise.

Published

3 years ago

June 21, 2023

Nour Nasir

Spotify

In recent years, the Spotify desktop app has fallen by the wayside as the music streaming giant focused its attention on mobile devices and podcast content. Now, however, the original desktop version of the service has received a welcome overhaul, which the company claims is “one of the biggest revamps yet”.

The main content and music-playback panels remain unchanged, with the same browsing functionality and recommended songs. However, the app window now features a “Your Library” panel on the left side, which Spotify began testing a few months ago. The library gives immediate access to saved music and podcast collections and helps to save time when changing between playlists. If you’re not using the panel, it can also be collapsed by clicking on the Library icon.

On the right side of the screen, a new “Now Playing” view displays the current track you are listening to, complete with artist information and access to merchandise, plus a look at upcoming tour dates. When listening to podcasts, a transcript will also be automatically generated and populated — though this feature won’t yet work with all content.

Also Read: Best Music Streaming Services In The Middle East

The “Friend Activity” feed has been moved to make room for the new features but can be moved back easily by dragging and dropping the “friends” icon next to your profile picture in the top-right corner of the main window. On the other hand, users preferring a more minimalist look can remove both the “Friends Activity” and “Now Playing” panels entirely.

The latest changes to the Spotify desktop app come with an eye-catching color upgrade to make everything feel more cohesive and polished.

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.

Published

1 week ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

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.