News

Tech Brand Nothing Enters Saudi Market At Jarir Bookstore

The award-winning Nothing Phone (1) sports a premium aluminum frame and a distinctive LED Glyph Interface.

Published

4 years ago

March 23, 2023

Jarir Bookstore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s leading consumer tech retailer, has announced an exclusive partnership with UK-based technology brand Nothing, bringing the company’s innovative Phone (1) to the Saudi Arabian market.

The Nothing Phone (1) goes on sale across all Jarir stores from the 1st of March 2023 and will also be available on the company’s website. Through the collaboration, Jarir Bookstore will also offer repair and warranty solutions for all Phone (1) purchases.

“Jarir is excited to partner with another quick-rising tech company offering something unique and different to the Saudi Arabian market. We look forward to bringing the iconic and highly regarded, Nothing tech products to Saudi Arabia,” says Nasser Abdulaziz Alaqeel, COO of Jarir Marketing Co.

The Nothing Phone (1) has received critical acclaim for its innovative design while also scooping a “Best Inventions of 2022” award from TIME magazine for its unique “Glyph Interface” notification system, which uses 900 LED lights to create light patterns for highly-personalized notification alerts.

Nothing Phone (1) Specs

The Nothing Phone (1) is powered by a custom Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processor and sports a 50 MP dual camera, 120Hz OLED display, plus Nothing’s custom version of Android.

There’s a strong and light 100% recycled aluminum frame on the outside, while over 50% of the device’s plastic components are made with recycled materials.

Adding Phone (1) to Jarir’s lineup will help the company stay at the forefront of consumer technology and shows a commitment to providing the latest solutions to Saudi customers. The Nothing Phone (1) is available now at all Jarir branches and online at Jarir.com.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.