Behind the Bytes

We've been using the Samsung Galaxy S22+ and S22 Ultra. Well Abbas and Daanesh got to check them out, Vaibhav didn't. So Vaibhav finds out what the boys thought of the two smartphones. Tune in and let us know your thoughts.

There are strong rumors that Apple will be holding an event early March 2022 and annoucing a new iPhone, a new iPad and some new Macs. Daanesh, Vaibhav and Abbas discuss what products to expect and what product would they really like to see.

Along with the new Galaxy S22 line up of phones, Samsung also announced the Galaxy Tab S8 tablet in Ultra, Plus and standard variants. Daanesh, Vaibhav and Abbas discuss the features of Samsung's new tablets and how they compare to the gold standard in tablets- the Apple iPad.

Samsung has announced its latest Galaxy S22 series which is made up of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Galaxy S22 Plus and the Galaxy S22. We thought this would be the perfect time to put the band together and restart the podcast in 2022. Listen to Daanesh, Vaibhav and Abbas discuss Samsung's latest and greatest mobile phones.

Abbas, Daanesh and Vaihbhav share their throughs on WWDC21 and talk through the new releases of iOS, iPadOS and MacOS.

Daanesh and Abbas receive the Sony WF-1000XM4 truly wireless earbuds and share their first impressions.

In this episode Daanesh and Abbas share their first impressions with the iPad Pro 2021.

Abbas and Vaibhav received their new M1 based iMacs and talk about it

Abbas, Daanesh and Mike are BACK after a year-long hiatus. Nothing much has changed, except everything has changed. They chat about fold-able smartphones, the future of Android and the messy video streaming wars.

Apple's got a slew of new phones out and an updated Watch, but does anyone really care? Plus Lenovo's got a new take on workstation laptops, and has an old problem returned to haunt Samsung?

The big FIVE-OH is a bittersweet episode as it marks over two years of podcasting but also Mike moving on to infinitely cooler climes. But fret not, Abbas brought cake and the lads dig in for one last go around of chat about the Galaxy Note 9, Pixel 3 and why Daanesh can't decide on what laptop to buy. We'll see you when we see you - thanks for listening!

Are Sony Mobile and Oppo about to pull out of the Middle East? What is the point of a Bluetooth S-Pen? Who is the Microsoft Surface Go for exactly? All these questions and more answered in this week's episode!

Apple steps up its mobile operating system game and the lads have differing feelings about the new Blackberry phone. Everyone agrees that Oppo's retractable camera is waaay better than Vivo's.

The lads have some stuff to say about Apple's latest software announcements and the new ASUS ROG phone. Plus, everyone gets real mad at Lenovo.

Just Abbas and Mike this week as Daanesh is galavanting around the globe. That doesn't stop the lads chatting about all the smartphones they've played around with recently. And, yes, we mean ALL of them. The list includes: Honor 10 Nokia 7 Plus Huawei Mate RS HTC U12+ Plus: Android P chat and future iPhone predictions.

The lads discuss the latest Facebook announcements from F8. Fitbit Versa impressions are overall strong. LG G7 ThingQ impressions are overall meh.

The answer is, indeed, yes. The lads chat about Huawei's latest superphone after having used it extensively for the last three weeks. There's also chat about the OnePlus 6, Nest buying Nokia Health and the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium.

WWDC predictions chat descends into a long and rambling conversation about Apple's longterm content strategy. Everyone is very excited about the leaked colours for the upcoming Huawei P20 Pro. Fitbit are about to release a new smartwatch that may just save them. Abbas is unable to put his phone on silent. We're sorry about that. Bad Abbas.

Android P developer preview brings with it support for notches and the lads aren't very happy. The Huawei P20 leaks, however, looks daaamn fine - notch or no.

Abbas and Mike chat about the latest announcements from MWC in Barcelona direct from the conference. (Excuse the audio quality, the episode was recorded using a smartphone in a noisy convention hall)

The calm before the MWC storm... Abbas recounts his travels to the Samsung MENA Forum in Rome. Daanesh isn't convinced by the pricing on the Lenovo Yoga 920. Mike gushes (as usual) about Bang & Olufsen's newest headphones. Other topics of interest: OSN & Netflix joining forces Is Nest officially launched in the UAE? Apple HomePod grey market prices aren't too crazy

Can Intel's new Vaunt smartglasses prototype hurry up and get to market already?! Apple HomePod reviews are in and Abbas says he still won't be buying one. Daanesh gushes over the admittedly cool Tesla Falcon X launch, and the lads chat about movies for a bit at the end.

Abbas explains why he won't be buying an Apple HomePod. Dubai gets AI-powered CCTV cameras. Daanesh speaks passionately about phones with five cameras and convince Mike that they're a good thing. The lads get excited about MWC, even if it's looking a little thin this year.

While the none of the lads are actually at CES this year, they sure do have a lot of opinions on what's been going on over in Las Vegas. Expect a lengthy chat about TVs, self-driving cars, VR and Linda.

2017 has been a busy year for tech. The lads round up the favourite gadgets and stories from the last 12 months.

Apple buys Shazam... and we're not entirely sure why. The new iMac Pro is lovely and it's probably only a matter of time until Abbas gets one. Google and Amazon need to calm down and stop feuding. Facebook launches a messenger app to creep on your kids.

Honestly, this week is just a Google Pixel love-fest. All three of the lads have had serious hands-on time with the Pixel 2 XL and talk about their likes and dislikes. Other topics of note: Mike’s Sonos explainer A couple minutes of Mac whinging

Oh you know we spend a large chunk of the podcast discussing the iPhone X - especially now that both Abbas and Daanesh have had some extensive hands-on time with it. We also ponder the alternate reality where HTC's upcoming U11 Plus was actually the Pixel 2 XL and everything was right in the 2017 smartphone world. Other topics of interest: B&O's Beoplay E8 wireless ear buds are classy but don't fit in Daaneh's ears Mike hates on Bluetooth Abbas fights Sith lords in AR

Daanesh is out this week, so Abbas and Mike hold the fort to discuss early reviews of the iPhone X. Rumours swirl about new phones from HTC and Razer and Mike talks about his experience using the FitBit Ionic for a few days.

The lads chat about their experiences using the Huawei Mate 10 Pro after a full week with the device. They give props to Motorola for the Z2 Force and its mods and while Apple Pay launched in the UAE this week, no one has tried it because they can't even remember the last time anyone actually used an iPhone. Go figure.

This is it, all the hype has lead to this...the Huawei Mate 10 (and its Pro big brother) is finally announced. The lads give their immediate impressions of the phone after spending a little time with it at the official launch in Munich, Germany.

It turns out that GITEX Technology Week is far more interesting than GITEX Shopper. The lads chat about all the things poised to make Dubai the super city of the future - flying taxis, flying motorbikes, wireless power, airport face-scanning aquariums...the lot! Other talking points: There's a new Blackberry phone... but who is it for? Reports of the iPhone 8 exploding may be greatly exaggerated MATE 10 HYPE REACHES MAXIMUM LEVELS Oh, and Abbas went and preordered something special, but we won't spoil the surprise here...

This week we're coming at you just moments after Google's Pixel 2 reveal event - expect hot takes on all the new hardware, sadness at the fact that none of it is coming to the Middle East officially, and Mike getting a couple words in about the new Sonos kit.

Daanesh returns this week with tales of empty GITEX halls. The UAE iPhone 8 launch fails to impress. What will result of Google buying a big chunk of HTC? Dubai gets smart about electric car subsidies. And Mike gets giddy over new Sonos product leaks. Oh, and we're all really excited about the Huawei Mate 10...have we mentioned that before?

Abbas and Mike hash out the spate of Apple announcements that were unveiled this week, including the much-hyped iPhone X.

We welcome Daanesh (hi!) from Gulf News/GNTech to the Behind the Bytes fold as we tackle the big 8s for 2017 - Nokia 8, Samsung Galaxy Note8 and the incoming iPhone 8. Plus, Mike gives his impressions from his time at IFA in Berlin and Abbas recounts his struggles setting up an account with the recently launched Virgin Mobile.

We shake things up a little this week with our first ever guest, Omar Kassim, formerly of Middle East e-commerce giant JadoPado. Omar chats with Abbas and Bhavishya about e-commerce in the region and his latest venture Esanjo, a cryptocurrency real estate startup. Then on the bottom half of the show, Mike shows up and we chat all things MS Paint, Smartphones and AR...y'know, the usual. In this episode we also bid a fond farewell to Bhavishya who is leaving Dubai for more temperate climes. Take care bud, we'll miss you!

Topics discussed: Rampant OnePlus 5 speculation Mike goes hands-on with the Sony Xperia Touch Mike goes eye-on with the Sony Bravia A1 OLED TV Nokia launches in the UAE but is it enough to make a comeback? Dubai is getting flying taxis by the end of the year but would you actually sit in one? Etisalat and Du are fighting to give you free Eid Wifi Abbas demos why you shouldn’t register with Virgin Mobile - LIVE! The Xbox One X is actually cheaper than the new iPad Pro - think about it

WWDC 2017 blowout! tvOS gets Amazon Video and nothing else! watchOS gets some new faces and surfing tracking skills macOS High Sierra: dumb name, cool operating system New MacBooks! New iMacs! THE iMAC PRO IS A BEAST and Abbas wants one VR is coming to Mac, with 100% more Star Wars, get excited! iOS 11: Bahvishya is less excited New iPads! Mike implores you to stop taking photos with your iPad AR on the iPad looks super dope HomePod: dumb name, cool product

Topics include: How essential is the Essential phone? WWDC 2017 predictions and the Apple Pizza Box Is anyone actually going to buy the new Nokia 3310? Bhavishya pitches a WhatsApp phone Blackberry KEYone vs. Sony Xperia XZ Premium Qualcomm’s crazy new 18-core processor Computex 2017 news

Discussion topics: Google I/O info dump MS Surface Pro continuity reboot HTC U 11 is shiny and squeezable Bhavishya gives an e-commerce masterclass LG’s Wallpaper TV is ridonculous

Topics include: Du and Dubai Tourism get Handy People need to chill about the Du cinema commercial Abbas has a rude name for Google's mysterious new OS Would you buy an Amazon Echo you can poke at?

Topics: Jado Pado sold and shut down :( We live-podcast the MS Surface Laptop launch Dubai Font is classy Samsung Pay is here and we likey Bites: Milka is the anti Death Chips

Talking points: Abbas gets a sneak peek at the Dubai Mall Apple Store Apple Maps gets traffic info but still no turn by turn navigation, so what's even the point? HTC is set to announce a new phone next month and rumours are they want you to squeeze it Etisalat offering Samsung Galaxy S8 and Huawei P10 phones on surprisingly affordable monthly instalment plans

topics include: A veritable cornucopia of UAE smartphone launches Apple Mac Pro fiasco vs. Apple iPhone leaks There will be blood: Uber and Careem announce cheaper service DID WE MENTION DEATH CHIPS?

Other topic include: Uber's app in the UAE is bad / Abbas' first hand experience with #laptopbanM

Other topics include: Bhavishaya's bout with man-flu / Du mobile data outage / Linksys VELOP mesh Wi-Fi / the poor quality of the Withings Steel HR band

Other topics include: Abbas' Android Stockholm Syndrome, if Mike's man-flu legit?

Abbas and Mike record live from a hotel room in Barcelona within the relative vicinity of this year's Mobile World Congress. After 3 days of diligently covering all the latest and greatest announcements in the world of mobile communications they discuss the following topics: Huawei P10, Sony Xperia XZ Premium, LG G6, Nokia 3310, Blackberry KeyOne, Samsung Galaxy tablets

Other topics include: Apple dates a few announcements. Tag Heuer are making another smartwatch because...? The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 returns (kinda)! Mike looks like a rubbish Jony Ive. Japanese cheesecakes are the best cheesecakes.

Other topics include: Apple is making reality TV now? Abbas is attacked by boxes (twice!). We eat the healthiest chips known to man.