News
Robots Are Coming To Dubai Airport For Speedier Check-Ins
Emirates will deploy over 200 robots to help with everything from check-ins to hotel bookings.
As part of an extensive investment in the latest groundbreaking technologies, Emirates will employ a team of multilingual robots to assist with passenger check-ins at Dubai’s International Airport. The new additions to the Emirates workforce will reduce wait times and help to funnel more travelers through the world’s busiest international airport hub.
Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ chief operations officer, confirmed that the airline would roll out the domestically-designed check-in robots in two months, with more than 200 units eventually planned for service.
“We are the first airline globally that has introduced — or plans to introduce — portable check-in robotics. A robot that can complete all your check-in processes, including issuing a boarding card that will be sent to your registered number or email, and facial recognition by scanning your passport,” said Al Redha.
Also Read: Digital Content Creation Hub Blinx Launches In Dubai
Al Redha noted that the robot employees wouldn’t force passengers to present their documentation for a second time after passing through passport control. Instead, they would be used in transfer and transit halls in cases of disruption or flight changes.
Taking things a step further, the robots will also be able to connect with immigration authorities to determine whether travelers are authorized to enter the country, and using biometric identification at the airport, the digital assistants will also be able to complete speedy check-in and booking services, and even accept baggage.
News
Samsung And Spotify Offer Free Premium Deal In MENA
Nearly seven in ten streams in the region come from 18-to-34-year-olds — the audience Samsung is hoping to entice into its ecosystem.
Samsung has announced a partnership with Spotify spanning the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye, bundling Spotify Premium with select devices across its ecosystem. The headline offer — up to four months of Premium for free — is a first for the region.
Customers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Türkiye who buy any OLED or 98-inch television, or any Galaxy S or Z series mobile device, get four months of Spotify Premium. The offer, tiered by market and device, is available at retail and on Samsung.com, and redeemed through the Samsung Promotion and Samsung Members apps.
For Samsung, the strategy is less about free music than about lock-in. The Korean tech giant’s pitch is continuity: a track starts on a Galaxy smartphone through Galaxy Buds on the commute, moves to a Samsung TV and soundbar in the living room, and stays controllable from a Galaxy Watch. The more seamlessly music travels between those devices, the harder it becomes to swap any one of them for a rival’s.
“Technology should bring people closer to the things they love, and few things connect people the way music does,” said Omar Saheb, Regional VP of Marketing and Online Business at Samsung Electronics MENA. The partnership, he added, gives customers “a genuine reason to choose Samsung for the experience, not only the product”.
Also Read: Shokz OpenFit Pro Review: Open-Ear Audio Finally Grows Up
For subscribers, Premium brings the usual package: ad-free listening, offline downloads, richer audio quality on Galaxy Buds and Samsung sound devices, and Jam, which lets friends build a shared queue.
“At Spotify, we are always working to make every listening moment feel more personal, meaningful, and worth it,” said Rami Jamal, Head of Partnerships at Spotify for South Asia, Middle East, and Africa.
The demographics go a long way to explaining the strategy. Across MENA, Türkiye, and Pakistan, nearly seven in ten Spotify streams come from listeners aged 18 to 34, according to the company — precisely the audience Samsung wants inside its hardware ecosystem before buying habits harden.
-
News4 weeks agoGulf AI Job Vacancies Nearly Triple, But Hiring Stays Lopsided
-
News3 weeks agoDubai Police Finishes 65 Projects, Says AI Is The Next Priority
-
News3 weeks agoBeirut Wins US Flight Access, But Carriers Aren’t Sold Yet
-
News3 weeks agoSamsung’s Fold Goes Wide, And The Whole Galaxy Range Gets Pricier
