Apple has launched its latest Hearing Aid and Hearing Test services in Saudi Arabia, giving people in the kingdom free access to the health technologies, a leader of the company's clinical team has said.
The move comes as Apple increases its efforts to push the latest tech features in the Gulf region.
The iPhone maker has received approval from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority for the features specific to the AirPods Pro 2 to be rolled out in the Arab world's biggest economy and rising tech hub, California-based Apple said on Tuesday.
The service will be available on the AirPods Pro through a free software update, which is delivered automatically when the device is charging and within Bluetooth range of an iPhone, iPad or Mac, that is connected to Wi-Fi.
The Hearing Aid feature supports those with mild to moderate hearing loss. As with Apple's other health services, the company states that seeking professional medical attention is the best course of action for anything amiss with one's health.
With the addition of Saudi Arabia, Apple's hearing health services are now available in six countries in the Middle East – the others being the UAE, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. Apple said it received permission from authorities in the Emirates to market these in December.
Apple has been able to develop an increasing and evolving number of health products and features in 18 different areas, which, over time, are “starting to link more and more together”, offering scope to expand into more markets, said Dr Rajiv Kumar, a clinician on Apple's health team.
The company is looking to roll out its health services into more Middle East countries as part of its strategy to work with health ministries around the world, he said.
“Each ministry has different requirements to assure that the products and features are safe and effective for their populations,” Dr Kumar told The National.
Dr Kumar, who worked at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University, is best known for creating a diabetes monitoring system for teenagers, using Apple's HealthKit developer tool.
He did not provide details on which countries in the Gulf and the wider Middle East are being considered for the introduction of the hearing features and the timeline.
“We work hand in hand … and spend a lot of time looking through all the guidelines and working together in collaboration to make them accessible to as many consumers as possible,” Dr Kumar said.
Apple unveiled its Hearing Aid and Hearing Test features in September, alongside the iPhone 16 series and new generation of AirPods. It is available as a software update on the second-generation AirPods Pro.
Shipments of personal audio devices – including true wireless stereo, wireless headphones and wireless earphones – grew 11.2 per cent annually to about 455 million units in 2024, according to Canalys market analysts.
Apple had the biggest market share last year with 18 per cent, more than double that of second-placed Samsung Electronics' 8.3 per cent, data from the Singapore-based research firm shows.
Hearing Test uses acoustic science and provides users information on their hearing levels. The results, which also include an audiogram – containing information on the type, degree and configuration of any hearing loss – can be shared with a healthcare provider.
Hearing Aid, meanwhile, enables personalised adjustments to boost the sound heard by users. This is key for aiding in conversations and being aware of surroundings. It can also be set up with a medical professional with Hearing Test's audiogram.
Hearing loss is a problem worldwide: more than 1.5 billion individuals, or about 20 per cent of the global population live with hearing loss, according to the World Health Organisation. Around 430 million of those have disabling hearing loss, and it is expected that by 2050, there could be more than 700 million with the condition, the Geneva-based body said.
Apple's AirPods, considered by some to be over-the-counter hearing aids, can help to improve the lives of people with hearing loss, said Devin McCaslin, director of the University of Michigan's audiology programme.
"It can be difficult to spend $6,000 on a pair of hearing aids and insurance, in many instances, doesn't cover them, which is mind-boggling. What's great is people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss can now get into a set of hearing aids for approximately $300 instead," he had told Michigan Medicine, referring to the price of AirPods.
Apple works with opinion leaders, patients, advocacy bodies and accessibility groups to develop its health services, Dr Kumar said. From the prototype and feasibility studies phases, the company works to “get to that clinical validation [which] sets the bar very high”.
“Whether it be through clinical health records or researchers who are conducting studies about long-term hearing health or changes, just making [Apple health data] accessible within the UAE and everywhere else in the world to, to really advance the field,” Dr Kumar said.
The Apple Watch, the world's top-selling smartwatch, already has services for key health metrics including ECG, atrial fibrillation, blood oxygen and heart rate. Apple received approval from UAE authorities to begin offering the sleep apnoea service in October.
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
RIDE%20ON
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
England squad
Joe Root (captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (vice-captain), Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Toby Roland-Jones, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
FINAL RESULT
Sharjah Wanderers 20 Dubai Tigers 25 (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries: Gormley, Penalty
cons: Flaherty
Pens: Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons: Caldwell 2
Pens: Caldwell, Cross
Rocketman
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Scores
Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield Town
Burnley 1-0 Brighton
Manchester United 4-1 Fulham
West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace
Saturday fixtures:
Chelsea v Manchester City, 9.30pm (UAE)
Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur, 11.45pm (UAE)
What's%20in%20my%20pazhamkootan%3F
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAdd%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EParippu%20%E2%80%93%20moong%20dal%20and%20coconut%20curry%3Cbr%3ESambar%20%E2%80%93%20vegetable-infused%20toor%20dal%20curry%3Cbr%3EAviyal%20%E2%80%93%20mixed%20vegetables%20in%20thick%20coconut%20paste%3Cbr%3EThoran%20%E2%80%93%20beans%20and%20other%20dry%20veggies%20with%20spiced%20coconut%3Cbr%3EKhichdi%20%E2%80%93%20lentil%20and%20rice%20porridge%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOptional%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EKootukari%20%E2%80%93%20stew%20of%20black%20chickpeas%2C%20raw%20banana%2C%20yam%20and%20coconut%20paste%3Cbr%3EOlan%20%E2%80%93%20ash%20gourd%20curry%20with%20coconut%20milk%3Cbr%3EPulissery%20%E2%80%93%20spiced%20buttermilk%20curry%3Cbr%3ERasam%20%E2%80%93%20spice-infused%20soup%20with%20a%20tamarind%20base%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvoid%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EPayasam%20%E2%80%93%20sweet%20vermicelli%20kheer%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
