News
WhatsApp Now Allows Account Authentication Via Email
The update will provide an alternative to using a phone number for times when cellular connectivity is poor or unavailable.
WhatsApp has begun allowing users to authenticate accounts using an email address as an alternative to a phone number when cellular connectivity is poor.
The new option does not replace SMS verification via a six-digit PIN, and opening a new WhatsApp account still requires users to provide a number. However, with email verification, existing users now have the means to authenticate their account on a new device using an internet connection if a cellular connection is unavailable.
The new feature has already been rolled out for iPhone users as part of version 23.24.70. Meanwhile, the latest Android beta version also features an AI chatbot shortcut button.
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WhatsApp is also working on a feature to add an additional layer of privacy when communicating with other users, and will eventually allow people to reach out to one another by entering a username, just like Telegram.
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.
