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.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
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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.”
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