Search: “kuwait”

Below are the official prices for the new iPhones in Kuwait. These are the prices all authorized Apple resellers in Kuwait will be following:

iPhone 16

iPhone 16 128GB KD299.9
iPhone 16 256GB KD329.9
iPhone 16 512GB KD399.9

iPhone 16 Plus

iPhone 16 Plus 128GB KD329.9
iPhone 16 Plus 256GB KD364.9
iPhone 16 Plus 512GB KD439.9

iPhone 16 Pro

iPhone 16 Pro 128GB KD374.9
iPhone 16 Pro 256GB KD409.9
iPhone 16 Pro 512GB KD480.9
iPhone 16 Pro 1TB KD554.9

iPhone 16 Pro Max

iPhone 16 Pro Max 256GB KD444.9
iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB KD519.9
iPhone 16 Pro Max 1TB KD589.9

Some of the prices are slightly higher than last year, for example when you compare the 15 Pro with the 16 Pro, this year its KD2 higher:
iPhone 15 Pro 128GB: KD372.9
iPhone 16 Pro 128GB: KD374.9

If you purchase the iPhone 16 Pro 128GB online from the US Apple Store and shipped it to Kuwait, even with taxes and shipping it would still be cheaper, costing around KD345. This is because the US has the lowest iPhone prices. Compared to the rest of the world though, Kuwait’s prices are somewhere in the middle.

Here’s a price comparison for the same phone in different parts of the world, in case you’re planning to pick one up on your next trip:

iPhone 16 Pro 128GB

Australia: KD367
Canada: KD326
Denmark: KD432
France: KD415
Germany: KD404
Hong Kong: KD337
India: KD436
Italy: KD419
Kuwait: KD375
Netherlands: KD415
Spain: KD412
Switzerland: KD378
Thailand: KD362
UAE: KD358
USA: KD305
UK: KD400

If you’re interested in purchasing it locally, pre-orders in Kuwait will be starting tomorrow (Friday) at official Apple resellers.

Apple recently announced the new iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, and I was just informed by @gaitkuwait that the new phones will be officially launched in Kuwait on Friday, September 20th.

Pre-orders will open on September 13th at 3 PM.

I have the iPhone 15 Pro, and the difference between it and the new 16 Pro seems fairly minor. However, the higher resolution sensor on the wide-angle lens is enticing since I use that lens frequently for my blog. Plus, the new 16 Pro also has the 5x lens, which last year’s model lacked unless you had the larger Max version.

Tomorrow, IKEA will be launching their new concept in Kuwait called ‘IKEA for Business’. I got a sneak peek of the store, and I left impressed.

The new store felt like a movie set because they built various shops with shop fronts inside a large warehouse-like building. The idea is that they wanted customers to see in person how you could fit out an entire shop or office with just IKEA furniture and accessories.

When I first walked into the IKEA store, I stepped into the offices of a recycling company called RRR—complete with cubicles, private offices, a waiting room, and everything you’d expect from a real office. The next area had a more casual office vibe, which turned out to belong to a make-believe marketing agency called Mirage. It was more colorful and less serious looking, completely different to the previous corporate looking offices.

After leaving the office area, I found myself on a street lined with a nail salon, flower shop, and café. None of them were real, of course, but they looked and felt convincing, complete with working faucets and functional equipment. To the left of the nail salon were stairs that led me up to a women’s hair salon. I walked through it and emerged out the other side onto a rooftop restaurant.

Exploring the store was surprisingly fun, like a KidZania for adults since they had hotel rooms, a kids nursery, a company board room, and various offices all for customers to interact with and explore.

The coolest thing wasn’t even what was on display—it was that IKEA now functions like a design studio with a contractor. Previously, they’d help design a room or bathroom, but they wouldn’t handle finding a painter or taking care of plumbing for example. With IKEA for Business, that’s changed. They now can manage everything from design to execution, so you don’t have to deal with anyone else. Super convenient.

If you want to check out the new IKEA store, it’s located in Shuwaikh where their first original store used to be, right next to the new Spark gym (Google Maps). Opening hours will be 10 to 10 and they open to the public from tomorrow.

Last night Kuwaiti athlete Faisal Sorour (@f9olsroor8) won the Gold medal for Kuwait in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Faisal came first in the Men’s Shot Put – F63 event by scoring 15.31m. This is Faisal’s second medal at the Paralympic Games, he previously secured a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The F63 category is for athletes with a moderate impairment in one leg or the absence of legs above the knee.

Kuwait’s medal tally is now two after the bronze medal secured by Faisal Al-Rajehi last week in the men’s 5000m race. You can follow the Kuwait Paralympic Committee @kuwaitparalympic

According to a contact of mine, Alshaya are bringing Primark, the popular multinational fashion retailer to Kuwait and the Middle East GCC.

Primark is known for offering affordable, fast fashion and a wide range of clothing, accessories, and home goods. The brand is particularly popular for its trendy styles at low prices, appealing to budget-conscious shoppers.

I don’t have any idea on when they’re planning to open their first location, but I’d imagine they would need at the very least a year. I’ll update this post if I discover more.

<strong>Update: It’s now official.

Kuwaiti musicians Ghazi Al-Mulaifi and Amin Abdal have both been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Latin Jazz Album category. Ghazi and Amin played a key part on the album Virtual Birdland by Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.

That album was nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 64th Grammy Awards which took place back in 2022, but Amin and Ghazi only recently found out that they were also nominated because of their role. Ghazi was a composer and performing artist on the album as Boom Diwan, while Amin was the recording engineer for the band.

This makes them the first Kuwaitis to be nominated for a Grammy, and the first from the Arabian Gulf.

Boom Diwan is a band that blends Kuwaiti bahar music with jazz and you can follow them @boom.diwan. You can also follow Ghazi and Amin at @ghazimusic and @xxmrfarixx.

The new Nissan Patrol got released yesterday and the Kuwait prices are already available. The price of the entry level Patrol starts at KD 19,399 while the top of the line model is priced at KD 30,499. Here are the prices:

Patrol 3.8L, V6 (310HP)
XE: KD 19,399
SE T2: KD 20,950
SE Titan: KD 23,499
SE Platinum City: KD 26,099

Patrol 3.5L, V6 Twin Turbo (425HP)
LE-T1: KD 23,499
LE-T2: KD 24,999
LE-Titanium: KD 26,950
LE-Titanium+: KD 27,950
LE-Platinum City: KD 30,499

Nissan Kuwait already have the car up on their website along with the details on what every version of the car has in terms of equipment so if you want more details, click here.

Starting September 1st, Wizz Air has suspended flights to Kuwait. Although I’ve never flown with them, they did have some really great prices and from what I read, it really wasn’t that bad of an experience flying with them.

It’s not clear yet if this is a permanent or just temporary suspension, but right now you can no longer book any Wizz Air flights from Kuwait for the foreseeable future. source

There is a German car dealer that has a 1963 Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider for sale that was originally sold in Kuwait back in 1963.

According to confirmation from the Alfa Romeo archives, the Spider they’re selling was delivered to Kuwait on 1 April 1963. The car later went to South Africa and then a few years ago was sent to Germany where its now on sale again.

I actually have a copy of the ad above that I had taken from a 1962 issue of the Kuwait Times that showcases the Spider. The dealer for Alfa Romeo back in the early 60s was Kazima Trading Co.

It’s a beautiful car and I kinda feel someone needs to buy it and bring it back to Kuwait. I would have, but at over 40,000KD it’s not really an impulse buy. Link

The Paris 2024 Paralympics started a few days ago and yesterday, Kuwaiti wheelchair racer Faisal Al-Rajhi (@faisal.alrajhi98) won a bronze medal in the T54 5,000m race. The T54 category is for wheelchair athletes with no leg function, but near full arm function.

Faisal is one of three Kuwaiti athletes taking part at the Paralympics with the other two being:

Dhari Buti – Men’s Shot Put – F37
Faisal Sorour – Men’s Shot Put – F42

The F37 category is for athletes competing with co-ordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis).

The F42 category is for athletes competing without prosthesis affected by limb deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement.

The Paris 2024 Paralympics is taking place from 28 August to 8 September 2024 and the official account of the Kuwait Paralympic Commitee is @kuwaitparalympic

Yesterday CITRA launched new mobile network frequencies in Kuwait which will be used for the upcoming 5G Advanced network (also called 5GA or 5.5G). 5G Advanced has a number of benefits over regular 5G with the main ones being:

• Faster Speeds
• Enhanced Coverage
• Increased Reliability
• Lower Power Consumption
• More accurate device positioning

From my understanding (someone correct me if I’m wrong), 5G and 5G Advanced have the same max speed, but 5G Advanced has the ability to achieve +20% faster speeds more often (for example during peak hours or network congestion).

According to CITRA, 5G Advanced should be available in Kuwait by maximum June 2025. If you want to try it out they have a demo display for the next couple of days at Al Hamra Tower.

Lufthansa has decided to cancel the Kuwait – Frankfurt route with the last flight scheduled for September 15, 2024.

Lufthansa has been landing in Kuwait since 1963, over 60 years. They’re blaming the lack of carrying capacity caused by late delivery of new aircrafts from the manufacturer. They’re also planning to reevaluate and improving its network of routes, so they might eventually fly from Kuwait again.

Last year KLM suspended flights to Kuwait blaming lack of profitability. I personally stopped flying both KLM and Lufthansa since Kuwait Airways got the new planes. I just find the Kuwait Airways timings so much better since they fly out in the morning instead of the middle of the night. I’m assuming other people are doing the same.

Update: Seems the Times Kuwait article might be wrong. According to another article, Lufthansa is temporarily suspending flights until September 15 due to the situation in the region. I don’t trust newspapers in Kuwait so I’d believe this website over Times Kuwait. Link

Update2: A reader sent me the screenshot above which was a mid August update that was sent to travel agencies. According to Lufthansa in the screenshot, they decided to discontinue the Frankfurt Kuwait connection from September 16 onwards. Lufthansa currently suspended flights to the region till September 15 due to the situation in the region. This notice is basically saying that even after the 15th they won’t be operating out of Kuwait.

Blastoff Events, the same company that brought Bassem Youssef to Kuwait, is now bringing the popular show Peter Pan on Ice next month.

Produced by The Imperial Ice Stars and based on J.M. Barrie’s classic tale, Peter Pan on Ice transforms the familiar story into a mesmerizing experience with beautifully choreographed routines set to music. Intricate costumes, set designs, and lighting transport audiences to the magical world of Neverland. The show also incorporates aerial stunts, giving the illusion of flying, and features beloved characters like Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook, and others.

Peter Pan on Ice will be taking place at JACC where an ice rink will be built specifically for this show. This will be the first time JACC hosts an ice show since it opened back in 2016 so it’s going to be a unique experience for Peter Pan fans.

There will be a total of 4 shows taking place:

13 September at 2:00pm
13 September at 6:00pm
14 September at 2:00pm
14 September at 6:00pm

This is an adventure for the whole family (ages 5+), with ticket prices starting at just 5 KD. To book, click here.

So many places have closed down in T4, in fact, once you pass security the only places with food still left open are Raising Cane’s, Shake Shack, Starbucks, McDonalds and Al Rifai nuts. So if you’re boycotting brands, your only option for food and coffee is basically Al Rifai.

I previously posted about the club back in 2011, but I’m reposting it again today with more information because today is the first day of their pre-season training.

The Kuwait Scorpions Rugby Football Club is the oldest sports club in Kuwait, and very possibly the oldest in the region.

The club was originally formed by expatriates from the Kuwait Oil Company, who began training together as a hobby. In 1946, the team formally became the Kuwait Scorpions Rugby Football Club when they played the British Army in the region’s first recorded rugby fixture. In the 70s, as rugby community clubs started forming around the region, the Scorpions began traveling and competing in neighboring countries. Rugby in Kuwait continued this way until the 1990 invasion when the team was dispersed.

Following the invasion, the rugby club gradually reformed as its members returned to Kuwait. They were renamed the Kuwait Nomads, a name inspired by the way they reunited. The team played as the Nomads until the 2000s, when they reverted to their original name and relaunched the club as the Kuwait Scorpions.

The Scorpions are still very active, and in fact, their pre-season training starts today. If you’re interested in having fun and getting fit, bring plenty of water and a good attitude, and head to KOC Ahmadi Park. They train every Monday and Wednesday from 7 to 9 PM. For directions and more info, check out their Instagram @q8scorpions