Apple might have swayed some Gulf users with their brand new, all-inclusive flags in the newest emoji pack, but Gulf users wouldn't be blamed for having extra love for Android today.
Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge hit stores in the United Arab Emirates today, placing the UAE in the first round of countries to carry the latest of the Samsung Galaxy devices.
However, Apple users in UAE felt the burn once again, as they were not included as one of the nine countries where the Apple Watch could be pre-ordered, beginning on April 10. Countries where pre-order is available include Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Pre-ordered watches will arrive on April 24.
Being left out of Apple's pre-orders is nothing new for UAE-residents and many think residents will use the internet to order over-priced pre-orders of the Apple Watch, via online retailers who will then ship the watches to the emirates.
The soonest a pre-ordered watch would make it to the UAE? Try April 25th. Some think that these "grey market" watches will be priced at over three times their original price.
Not willing to overpay? Many believe that the UAE will be in the next round of countries where the Apple Watch will be officially sold. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were both available in the emirates only a month after their debut.
But that still begs the question: when will Apple start including the UAE - or any country in the Middle East - in their list of first releases? Here's to hoping the rumored Apple Store that will open in the UAE in 2015 solves all these problems.