News
Spotify Premium Users Can Stream Lossless Music At Last
The feature supports up to 24-bit FLAC quality and is rolling out in over 50 countries. However, Middle East users may have to wait until October.
Spotify has switched on lossless music streaming after years of delays, bringing premium users up to 24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC quality across most of its 100-million-track library. First teased in 2021 as a “HiFi” tier, the feature is now rolling out in more than 50 countries — but unfortunately, the Middle East isn’t on the initial list.
Lossless audio delivers uncompressed sound, retaining full quality for playback on capable headphones and speakers. Premium subscribers in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia and Sweden are among the first to get access. Users will see a notification when the option lands on their account, and it must be enabled manually under Settings > Media Quality > Lossless for both streaming and downloads.
The company has confirmed that regular Bluetooth can’t carry lossless audio, so playback requires Spotify Connect over Wi-Fi with compatible gear from brands like Bose, Yamaha and Bluesound. This keeps fidelity intact without relying on Bluetooth compression.
Also Read: Best Music Streaming Services In The Middle East
Spotify is late to a race rivals started years ago — Apple Music added lossless in 2021, while Amazon bundled its HD tier at no extra cost in 2020. For Middle Eastern subscribers, the wait continues: Spotify says October will bring clarity on whether the feature rolls out in the region.
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.
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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.
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
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