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

3 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

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.

Published

6 days ago

August 7, 2026

Nour Nasir

Samsung

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”.

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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.