News
HMD Global is One of MEA Region’s Most Loved Brands: Talkwalker Report

HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has been named one of the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region’s most loved brands in a new report from Talkwalker, a global social listening and analytics company. The results of Talkwalker’s latest report on ‘The Brand Love Story 2020’ were generated from a quarter of a billion conversations around 781 brands over the latter half of 2019. Using their proprietary AI-powered sentiment analysis, and industry-first image and video analytics, Talkwalker was able to identify the signals that predict brand love – even when a brand is not directly mentioned.
In a challenging business environment, brands are always looking for innovative ways to continuously engage with consumers and retain them. HMD Global has been successful in delivering the reliability and durability expected of Nokia phones through purposeful Nordic design and engineering, while providing consumers with a wealth of choices at all price points.
Stephen Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer, HMD Global, said, “We are so thrilled that HMD Global has been recognized as one of the MEA’s most loved brands, joining regional favourites such as Etihad Airways, Four Seasons and Hyatt Hotels. At the core of our business is the simple idea that mobile technology can improve everyone’s lives and it should be accessible to all. Knowing that our fans appreciate this, it drives us to continue to keep delivering great phones that serve the customers needs. Our commitment is to continue to deliver phones that keep getting better. I think doing this in a very human way results in the love of the brand that this survey demonstrates and has been seen in the warm reception we have seen since coming to market in 2016.”
Apart from HMD Global, Talkwalker’s list of well-loved brands in the Middle East & Africa region includes Etihad Airways, Four Seasons, Benefit Cosmetics, Hyatt Hotels, TikTok, Qatar Airways, Huda Beauty, InterContinental and Careem. Todd Grossman, Talkwalker CEO – Americas, said, “As companies adapt to a post-COVID marketplace, brand love will help improve consumer loyalty and advocacy. To measure the concept of love through social listening is near impossible as it’s not a tangible metric. Instead, we can look at the symptoms of brand love – engagement, positive sentiment, love focused emotive words, and so on. We gathered data for 781 brands from 28 industries, based on several industry listings and regional marketing expertise. Through this, HMD Global emerged as one of the Middle East & Africa region’s top 10 well-loved brands that were building real engagement, tackling the issues that matter to their communities, and making connections that go beyond the traditional consumer/company convention.”

Computex
AMD Intros Next-Gen RX 9060 XT at COMPUTEX 2025

Reporting from Taipei, Taiwan: AMD has officially revealed its latest midrange GPU, the Radeon RX 9060 XT, at COMPUTEX 2025, setting up a direct showdown with Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti. Built on 4nm RDNA 4 architecture, the new card brings notable upgrades, including 32 compute units, 64 AI accelerators, and 32 ray-tracing cores, positioning it as a strong competitor in the mainstream gaming market.
The RX 9060 XT will be available in 8GB and 16GB GDDR6 configurations, though Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti retains an edge in memory bandwidth thanks to its 28 Gb/s GDDR7 (delivering 448 GB/s vs. AMD’s ~322 GB/s on a 128-bit bus). Real-world performance comparisons will be crucial to determine how much this gap impacts gaming.
AMD has set the boost clock at up to 3.13 GHz, with an impressive 821 TOPS for AI workloads—a key focus in modern gaming and content creation. Power efficiency looks promising, with a TDP between 150W and 182W, while connectivity includes PCIe 5.0 x16, DisplayPort 2.1a, and HDMI 2.1b. Early indications suggest the RX 9060 XT will excel at 1080p gaming and handle 1440p smoothly, but 4K enthusiasts may still prefer the RX 9070 or 9070 XT for higher settings.
AMD has yet to announce pricing or a firm release date, leaving room for speculation on whether it can undercut Nvidia’s offering. With both GPUs shaping up to be closely matched, the final battle may come down to cost, driver optimization, and feature sets.
Gadgets
ASUS Launches ProArt P16 with RTX 50 Series

ASUS has unveiled the refreshed ProArt P16 (H7606WP), engineered for a new generation of creative graduates ready to shape the future. With graduation season in full swing across the UAE, thousands of students are stepping into the next chapter of their lives—turning passion into profession. Whether you’re a Gen Z content creator, professional animator, or 3d designer, the ProArt P16 is designed to match your ambition with power, portability, and precision.
Wrapped in a minimalist and luxurious chassis, it combines high-performance components with AI-enhanced tools, helping young professionals create, design, and deliver anywhere. Powered by the next-gen AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor with up to 50 TOPS NPU performance and paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU, the refreshed ProArt P16 is ASUS’s flagship AI-powered laptop for creators in 2025. Alongside this launch, ASUS also introduces the V500 Mini Tower (V500MV)—a compact desktop PC tailored for home and office productivity and light creative work.
ProArt P16 Refresh
The ProArt P16 is your ultimate creative companion, blending portability with powerhouse performance. At just 14.9 mm thin and 1.85 kg light, it’s perfect for graduates and professionals on the move. Designed for content creators, designers, and digital artists, it features AI-powered tools, studio-grade visuals, and unmatched performance. With an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor (50 TOPS NPU) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU, it accelerates rendering, editing, and effects. The 4K OLED touchscreen (100% DCI-P3, Delta E < 1, PANTONE validated) ensures stunning color accuracy.
Exclusive ASUS AI apps like StoryCube and MuseTree streamline organization and ideation, while Copilot+ PC features offer real-time AI assistance for smarter workflows. Built for durability, it boasts military-grade toughness, a long-lasting battery, and versatile I/O ports. NVIDIA Studio-validated and ISV-certified for top creative apps like Adobe Creative Cloud and DaVinci Resolve, the ProArt P16 is ready to bring every creative vision to life—from graduation projects to professional commissions.
ASUS V500 Mini Tower
ASUS introduces the V500 Mini Tower (V500MV)—a compact, efficient desktop PC designed for students and young professionals setting up their first creative workspace at home. It features options for Intel Core i7 processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics, and dual storage capability. With enhanced airflow, a clean design, and quiet operation, the V500 is perfect for light creative workflows, multitasking, and productivity. The V500 Mini Tower is available exclusively via Sharaf DG and the ASUS eShop in the UAE.
The refreshed ASUS ProArt P16 (H7606WP) is now available at leading retailers across the UAE and on the ASUS Middle East eShop priced at AED 14,999. In celebration of graduation season, ASUS is offering an exclusive 20% discount on warranty upgrades for purchases made on the eShop before May 31—unlocking the full creative power of the GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU for the next generation of professionals. The new V500 Mini Tower (V500MV) is available exclusively at Sharaf DG and the ASUS eShop priced at AED 2,699, ideal for students and professionals looking for a space-saving PC for productivity and light creative use.
Artificial Intelligence
Intel Unveils Next-Gen AI and GPU Innovations at COMPUTEX 2025

Reporting from Taipei, Taiwan: At COMPUTEX 2025 in Taipei, Intel made a splash with the unveiling of new graphics processing units (GPUs) and AI accelerators aimed squarely at professionals and developers. These announcements coincide with a significant milestone: Intel’s 40th anniversary in Taiwan, a celebration of four decades of collaboration and innovation within Taiwan’s dynamic tech ecosystem around the x86 architecture. Intel emphasized the ongoing importance of x86 in accelerating innovation as high-performance AI applications demand more computational power.
Lip-Bu Tan, Intel CEO, underscored the significance of this anniversary, stating, “For the past 40 years, the power of our partnership with the Taiwan ecosystem has fueled innovation that has changed our world for the better. This week, we are renewing our commitment to our partners as we work to build a new Intel for the future. Together, we will create great products that delight our customers and capitalize on the exciting opportunities ahead.”
New Intel Arc Pro B-Series GPUs for AI and Workstation Performance
Expanding its professional graphics lineup, Intel introduced the Intel Arc Pro B60 and Intel Arc Pro B50 GPUs. Built on the advanced Xe2 architecture, these cards boast Intel Xe Matrix Extensions (XMX) AI cores and cutting-edge ray tracing units, delivering robust performance for creators, developers, and engineers.
“The Intel Arc Pro B-Series showcases Intel’s commitment in GPU technology and ecosystem partnerships,” said Vivian Lien, vice president and general manager of Client Graphics at Intel. “With Xe2 architecture’s advanced capabilities and a growing software ecosystem, the new Arc Pro GPUs deliver accessibility and scalability to small and medium-sized businesses that have been looking for targeted solutions.”
Specifically designed for demanding AI inference tasks and professional workstation applications, the Arc Pro B-Series GPUs offer AI-ready capabilities, with the B60 featuring 24 gigabytes (GB) of memory and the B50 offering 16GB. Their multi-GPU scalability provides a versatile solution for creators, AI developers, and various professionals.
These GPUs are optimized for AEC (architecture, engineering, construction) and inference workstations, ensuring stability and performance through extensive Independent Software Vendor (ISV) certifications and optimized software. Notably, the Intel Arc Pro B-Series GPUs are compatible with both consumer and professional drivers on Windows. For Linux users, they support a containerized software stack, simplifying AI deployments and promising progressive feature and optimization upgrades. By combining substantial memory capacity with crucial software compatibility, the Arc Pro B-Series presents creators and AI developers with scalable and cost-effective solutions.
Intel also previewed Project Battlematrix, a configurable workstation-class platform powered by Intel Xeon processors. This platform aims to streamline AI development by supporting up to eight Intel Arc Pro B60 24GB GPUs, enabling the training of medium-sized (up to 150 billion parameters) and accurate AI models with a total of up to 192GB of video random-access memory.
Sampling of the Intel Arc Pro B60 GPU from add-in board partners like ASRock, Gunnir, Lanner, Maxsun, Onix, Senao, and Sparkle will begin in June 2025. The Intel Arc Pro B50 GPU will be available through Intel-authorized resellers starting in July 2025.
Intel Gaudi 3 AI Accelerators Available for PCIe and Rack Scale Deployments
Further solidifying its AI strategy, Intel announced new deployment options for its Intel Gaudi 3 AI accelerators. Intel Gaudi 3 PCIe cards will support scalable AI inferencing within existing data center server environments. These cards offer the flexibility to run various AI models, from Llama 3.1 8B to full-scale Llama 4 Scout or Maverick, catering to businesses of all sizes. The Intel Gaudi 3 PCIe cards are slated for availability in the second half of 2025.
Intel Gaudi 3 rack scale system reference designs are engineered for both flexibility and scale, accommodating up to 64 accelerators per rack and providing a massive 8.2 terabytes (TB) of high-bandwidth memory. Their open, modular design aims to prevent vendor lock-in. Equipped with liquid cooling, these systems are designed for robust performance and efficient total cost of ownership (TCO).
The Intel Gaudi rack scale architecture is optimized for running large AI models and excels in real-time inferencing with low-latency performance. These configurations underscore Intel’s commitment to open, flexible, and secure AI infrastructure, supporting both custom and Open Compute Project (OCP) designs for cloud service providers (CSPs).
Intel AI Assistant Builder Now Publicly Available
Following its initial reveal at CES 2025, Intel AI Assistant Builder is now publicly available in beta on GitHub. This lightweight, open software framework enables developers to build and run custom AI agents locally on Intel-based AI PCs. With Acer and ASUS showcasing innovative solutions at COMPUTEX, Intel AI Assistant Builder empowers developers and partners to rapidly create and deploy tailored AI agents for their organizations and end customers.
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