News

Samsung Unpacked 2024: Key Product Announcements

The hotly anticipated Galaxy Unpacked event showed off the company’s premium new smartphones for the first time, and revealed an unexpected new wearable.

Published

8 months ago

January 18, 2024

Nour Nasir

Samsung

South Korean tech giant Samsung has started 2024 by unveiling the Galaxy S24 series at the highly anticipated Galaxy Unpacked event. The new smartphones come equipped with on-device generative AI, enhanced specifications, and upgraded camera capabilities.

As customary for Samsung’s early-year events, the S24 flagship phones took center stage. This year, the spotlight was on generative AI, a technology that has gained prominence with the arrival of ChatGPT, Google Bard and more. The Galaxy S24 series is among the first phones to launch with Qualcomm’s cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which features on-device generative AI capabilities.

The S24 series combines on-device and cloud-based generative AI, referred to as Galaxy AI, to deliver a range of innovative features. Some of these features, like live translation and text message tone suggestions, may sound familiar, while others, such as converting regular-speed videos into slow-motion by generating extra frames, are entirely new.

The top-tier model in the S24 series, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, has received substantial upgrades. It now boasts a titanium body, a 50-megapixel 5x optical camera for sharper distance photography (replacing the 10-megapixel 10x optical zoom camera), and comes with 12GB of RAM.

The standard S24 and S24+ models have fewer upgrades, with slightly larger screens and improved resolutions compared to their predecessors. The S24+ now shares the same Quad HD Plus resolution display as the S24 Ultra. Battery capacities have also increased slightly.

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Samsung has also stepped up efforts to incorporate more recycled materials in the devices, including using cobalt in batteries and rare earth elements in speakers. Notably, Galaxy S24 phones will now receive seven years of Android and security updates, extending their lifespan into 2031.

Towards the end of the event, Samsung unveiled upcoming enhancements to Samsung Health, particularly in the realm of sleep tracking and other health metrics. The event’s climax was the surprise announcement of the Galaxy Ring, a device expected to be equipped with various sensors for continuous health monitoring throughout the day.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Pricing

Pricing for the Samsung Galaxy S24 starts at $800, the S24+ begins at $1,000, and the S24 Ultra will set enthusiasts back $1,300. Prices are in line with last year’s models, with the increase in the S24 Ultra attributed to the use of more durable materials.

News

Paymob Extends Series B Funding To $72M Amid Continued Growth

The financial services provider has secured an extra $22 million after strong performance in its core market of Egypt.

Published

20 hours ago

September 12, 2024

Nour Nasir

paymob extends series b funding to $72 million amid continued growth

Leading financial services provider Paymob has secured an additional $22 million in a funding extension, bringing its Series B total to $72 million.

The funding was spearheaded by EBRD Venture Capital, with support from Endeavor Catalyst. Existing backers such as PayPal Ventures, BII, FMO, A15, Nclude, and Helios Digital Ventures also participated, reaffirming their confidence in Paymob’s business model and potential in the regional fintech industry.

This extension comes on the back of Paymob’s strong performance in its core market of Egypt, where it has experienced 6x revenue growth since the initial Series B in Q2 2022. With the Series B extension and continued profitability in Egypt, Paymob is well-positioned to further its expansion strategy across the MENA region.

Islam Shawky, Co-founder and CEO of Paymob, commented: “We are very excited by our strong prospects in Egypt – where we hold a market-leading position – and the significant traction experienced in the UAE since launching operations there. This funding will help Paymob fully capitalize on the momentum in our established markets, as we accelerate our GCC roll-out. We remain committed to creating cutting-edge infrastructure enabling SMEs across the region to thrive in the digital economy and are proud of our continued impact”.

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The expansion into GCC markets has been driven by Paymob’s initial Series B funding of $50 million, raised in 2022 and led by Kora Capital, PayPal Ventures, and Clay Point. The investment fueled Paymob’s growth, allowing it to launch its mobile app in 2023 and grow its merchant base by 3.5 times, now serving nearly 350,000 merchants across MENA.

Paymob has also expanded its payment acceptance suite to offer 50 payment methods through its gateway, POS terminals, and the Paymob app, providing the region’s most comprehensive fintech solution. The company recently introduced embedded checkout services for Shopify and WooCommerce, further demonstrating its commitment to empowering small and medium businesses across the region.