News

RØDE’s New DS3 Studio Arm Is Built For Heavier Creator Setups

A weighted base, a near-silent ball head, and a 1.5kg payload: RØDE’s latest arm is aimed at desks that keep getting more crowded.

Published

3 days ago

August 26, 2026

Nour Nasir

rode's new ds3 studio arm is built for heavier content creator setups

RØDE

The desktop microphone arm has become one of the most crowded pieces of real estate in the home studio. As podcasters and streamers pile on broadcast microphones, cameras and lights, the humble boom has to hold more weight, move more quietly and take up less space. RØDE’s answer, announced yesterday in Sydney, is the DS3.

The Australian audio company positions the DS3 as the next generation of its professional desktop studio arm, succeeding the DS2. The headline feature is capacity: a 1.5kg payload rated for heavier equipment, from broadcast-grade XLR microphones such as RØDE’s own PodMic to other large-diaphragm microphones, cameras, lights and accessories.

The more interesting engineering is in the integrated ball head, which is designed to deliver smooth, controlled and virtually silent positioning. The result is that presenters can nudge a microphone mid-broadcast without the creak that betrays a cheaper arm. A central locking mechanism fixes the equipment at the chosen angle in a single motion.

RØDE has kept the design choice that distinguished the DS2: a weighted base rather than a desk clamp. That means the arm can sit anywhere on a flat surface rather than being tethered to an edge, and the company says the redesigned base delivers greater stability for heavier setups with no wobble or risk of tipping, while keeping a compact footprint.

Also Read: Anghami’s New Elite Program Starts With A Three-Decade Catalog

Each finish gets its own acoustic isolation pad, intended to dampen vibration as much as to look good. The Classic Black version uses a soft-touch silicone pad inlaid on and beneath the base; the Crisp White version uses natural cork on both sides. Cable clips route XLR and USB cables out of sight, and the box includes 3/8″, 1/4″ and 5/8″ thread adapters, so most microphones, cameras and lights should mount without an extra purchase.

The DS3 is available now in black for US$109 with shipping worldwide. The white finish, which retails at the same price, is coming soon.

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 day 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.