Climate
Hot desert climate, though about 3 C cooler on average than Riyadh because of the altitude.
Najran is a fast-growing city in south-west Saudi Arabia, near the Yemen border, at about 1,300 m elevation. Najran Valley Dam, completed in 1981 about 15 km south-west of the city, provides water supply, flood control and groundwater recharge. Distribution partners for Najran are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Najran has no appointed SAMS distributor yet: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued, launch planned for Q4 2026), and distributor applications are open.
Status: pre-launch. IECEx, ATEX, UKEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress and no certificate has been issued; launch is planned for Q4 2026. Operator approval runs on its own timeline. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Level of protection | ia, ib or ic matched to the zone | ib, for Zone 1 |
| Entity parameters | Uo, Io and Po within the device limits | Published with the certificate |
| Accessories | Chargers and cases certified with the device | Defined at certification |
| Where it applies | Najran: Chemical and plastics manufacturing, Mining and quarrying operations, Stone and industrial dust areas (Zone 21) | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Najran. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Who operates there and which kinds of classified area a handset would meet, from the SAMS site research.
Hot desert climate, though about 3 C cooler on average than Riyadh because of the altitude.
Najran Industrial City covers 6.5 million square metres, about 45 km north-east of Najran city.
Marble and granite processing is a growing sector, supported by local gold, copper, iron and ornamental stone deposits, so quarrying and stone-cutting dust is part of the working environment.
About 3.6 million of the industrial city's 6.5 million square metres were reported as fully developed, so new plants are still being added alongside existing ones.
Najran Regional Airport, owned by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, opened in 1973 and serves the whole province at about 1,214 m elevation.
Najran city had 381,431 residents in the 2022 census and the wider governorate 592,300, so it is a sizeable regional centre for labour and services.
Intrinsic safety limits the electrical and thermal energy in a circuit so that neither a spark nor a hot surface can ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even when a fault occurs. The ib level, used for Zone 1, tolerates one fault. It is the usual way to make a handheld device that a worker carries continuously through a hazardous area.
The IS-04Z1 is designed on this principle for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4). Intrinsic safety is a design basis, not a certificate: certification is in progress and none has been issued yet.
In Najran. Rounds at chemical and plastics plants and mine sites suit a handheld device that can photograph, log and message. Where a gas hazard exists, an intrinsically safe handset reduces ignition risk. The IS-04Z1 is designed for gas atmospheres, so confirm whether a Najran task is gas or dust before choosing it.
SAMS is appointing authorised distributors ahead of the Q4 2026 launch. No territory has been granted for Najran yet and applications are reviewed company by company. Because a certified Ex device cannot be opened by an ordinary phone workshop without invalidating its certificate, SAMS looks for partners who can provide competent technical support and after-sales service locally.
Not yet. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and its certification is still in progress ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. No unit goes into a classified area before the certificate covering it exists. The datasheet, the certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
There is no list price yet. SAMS gives indicative pre-launch pricing in writing, against a stated quantity and site, and does not commit to a lead time before certification completes.
The circuits are designed to limit energy so a spark or hot surface cannot ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even with one fault (level ib, Zone 1). Certification of that design is in progress.
Likely candidates are chemical and plastics manufacturing, mining and quarrying operations, stone and industrial dust areas (zone 21). Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Apply through the distributor page with your company details and the territory you cover. SAMS reviews applications company by company and has not yet granted a territory for Najran.
Marble, granite and ore processing generate heavy dust, which affects equipment sealing and filters, and may be classified or not depending on the material. Paper, plastics and food plants can produce combustible dust. Ask each operator for its dust hazard assessment.
Najran Regional Airport serves the province, and the industrial city lies about 45 km north-east of the town, so visits usually include a road leg. Many teams also drive from other Saudi cities; check the client's travel and site-access rules.
Smaller than in the Eastern Province. Najran Industrial City, about 45 km north-east, and the region's mining sites create some classified areas, but there are no verified large operators. Many factories may not need Ex-rated handsets at all, so check the area classification first.
More on Najran, and on other places in Saudi Arabia.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.