News
POCO Unveils New X5 Pro And X5 5G Smartphones
The company claims the handsets will offer amazing value and the most satisfying user experience of a smartphone under AED 1000.
To celebrate its 5th anniversary, POCO has launched two new smartphones in the United Arab Emirates, the POCO X5 Pro and POCO X5 5G.
The handsets boast several upgrades over previous models and promise to delight tech enthusiasts looking for flagship features at a lower price point. While the Pro model packs in more advanced tech, the mid-range X5 5G also looks well-specced for its modest outlay.
Here are the specifications of both new devices:
POCO X5 Pro
The POCO X5 Pro comes with a 6.67″ Flow AMOLED display with a 120HZ refresh rate, similar to most modern flagship devices. The screen is said to be lighter and thinner than previous devices thanks to “flexible display technology” and promises ultra-smooth scrolling and stunning color reproduction.
The X5 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset, which should make day-to-day operation extremely snappy, though POCO is keen to point out that camera processing will also be much more efficient. The tech firm claims that the 108MP camera has seen processing speeds and responsiveness jump by 69% for general photography and 38% for night mode shooting.
Finally, the X5 Pro will come in black, blue, or yellow colorways. There’s only one storage and RAM variant on offer, shipping with 256GB and 8GB, respectively.
POCO X5 5G
The POCO X5 5G is said to “redefine ideas about mid-range smartphones with everything Gen Z users need.” To that end, there’s a super light 6.67-inch AMOLED Dot display which helps the handset to achieve a weight of 189g.

The display gets the same smooth 120HZ refresh rate as the Pro model, though it sees a slight processor downgrade, utilizing the Snapdragon 695 chipset.
The POCO X5 5G will ship in green, blue, and black, with two RAM and storage variants: 6GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB.
Price & Availability
The X5 Pro will cost 1549 AED, while the X5 5G will set smartphone shoppers back between 799 AED and 999 AED, depending on spec.
Both handsets are available as of February 7th.
News
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
Google brings its latest image model to Gemini and Search, adding 4K output and tighter text control for regional users.
Google has opened access to Nano Banana 2 across the Middle East and North Africa, pushing its newest image model into everyday tools rather than keeping it inside the exclusive (and expensive) Pro tier.
The rollout spans the Google Gemini desktop and mobile apps, and extends to Google Search through Lens and AI Mode. Developers can also test it in preview via AI Studio and the Gemini API.
Nano Banana 2 runs on Gemini Flash, Google’s fast inference layer. The focus is speed, but also control. Users can export visuals from 512px up to 4K, adjusting aspect ratios for everything from vertical social posts to widescreen displays.
The model maintains character likeness across up to five figures and preserves fidelity for as many as 14 objects within a single workflow. This enables visual continuity across scenes, iterations, or edits — supporting projects like short films, storyboards, and multi-scene narratives. Text rendering has also been improved, delivering legible typography in mockups and greeting cards, with built-in translation and localization directly within images.
Also Read: RØDE Adds Direct iPhone Pairing To Wireless GO And Pro Mics
Under the hood, the system taps Gemini’s broader knowledge base and pulls in real-time information and imagery from web search to render specific subjects more accurately. Lighting and fine detail have been upgraded, without slowing output.
By embedding the model inside Gemini and Search, Google is normalizing advanced image generation for a mass audience. In MENA, where startups and marketing teams are leaning heavily on AI to scale content across languages and borders, that shift lands at a practical moment.
The move also folds creative tooling deeper into search itself, so that image generation is no longer a separate workflow. It now sits right next to the query box.
