Tech and Telecom

Google Play has announced that new apps will be required to be listed in android’s all-new publishing format, called the Android App Bundle (AAB), from August onwards. Moving forward, the AAB format will eventually replace APKs as the standard publishing format for apps across the Play Store. ALSO READ Realme to Team Up With Kodak For Its Next Flagship Phone The all-new Android App Bundle optimizes app files for distribution across devices, depending on what language and configuration settings they support. The app size is 15 percent smaller, as compared to a standard APK. For what it’s worth, App Bundles…

Sazgar Engineering Works Limited (SEWL) has recently announced in an official notification that one of its partners, Haval, has been granted the Category-A greenfield investment status to assemble and sell its vehicles in Pakistan. The automaker made its debut in Pakistan a few weeks ago and launched two crossover SUVs, namely, Haval Jolion and Haval H6. Both vehicles sold out within days of being launched and the company had to close the bookings for its vehicles. ALSO READ Honda Atlas Has Not Decreased the Prices of its Cars Upon reopening the bookings, the company also bumped up the prices of…

Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batsman, Mohammad Rizwan, revealed that the change in his batting position has helped him resurrect his career and is the main reason behind his stellar form over the past year. ALSO READ Mohammad Hafeez Reveals His Retirement Plans Rizwan said that he was not able to perform according to the expectations in the early part of his career, but after being promoted to the top of the order and being provided with confidence by the team management, he has managed to turn his career around. He added that he might have been dropped from the national team if…

According to some insider leaks from China’s Twitter-like Weibo, Realme is preparing to partner with camera manufacturer Kodak for its upcoming Realme GT 5G Master Edition smartphone. It will be the first smartphone in Realme’s history to sport a Kodak camera assembly, and the first device that the camera manufacturing company is working on since 2015. ALSO READ WhatsApp is Bringing A New Video Quality Selection Feature Currently, Realme has yet to determine a release date for its GT 5G Master Edition device. The specs are still unknown, but the rumor mill suggests that they’ll be similar to the regular…

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has abolished withholding taxes on bank transactions and the purchase of used cars. The FBR has withdrawn the withholding taxes under the Finance Bill 2021 which has proposed to abolish around 12 different provisions of withholding taxes to provide relief to the masses. ALSO READ Petition Filed Against Fawad Chaudhry Over Comments On TikTok Ban According to details, there will no withholding tax on sending money abroad through credit or debit cards while consumers purchasing new cars will be required to register the vehicles in their names otherwise, they will be fined Rs. 200,000.…

The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) posted losses against the US Dollar (USD) in the interbank currency market on the first trading day of the new fiscal year (2 July) after posting an improvement on the last trading day of the previous fiscal year (30 June). In the ending fiscal year (FY2021), the PKR had improved by Rs. 10.51 or 6.25 percent against the USD. PKR lost 32.85 paisas against the US Dollar today. ALSO READ Rupee Gains Big Against the US Dollar With 6.25% Improvement in FY21 According to the financial analytics firm Capital Stake, the PKR has improved by 6.25…

Pakistani startups have managed to raise a record-breaking $120 million in 35 pre-seed, seed, pre-Series A, Series B, and Series B funding rounds during H1 2021. The investment in the country’s startup ecosystem in H1 2021 has increased by 58% in comparison to the whole of 2020 in which Pakistani startups secured $66 million in 43 deals. ALSO READ Pakistan’s Exports to UK Cross $2 Billion Mark For The First Time According to Data Darbaar, from January to June, the e-commerce sector secured more than $42 million in 11 deals. Bazaar, Retailo, Tajir, Salesflo, and Dastgyr collectively raised $36.6 million,…

The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA) has conveyed serious concerns to the Finance Minister, Shaukat Tarin, over the introduction of a new levy of Rs. 0.75 per voice call exceeding 5 minutes. GSMA stated that this measure would increase the compliance cost for the government and mobile sector, besides creating uncertainty for the sector planning investment as part of the planned spectrum auction. ALSO READ Confirmed: Govt Imposes Tax on Voice Calls Longer Than 5 Minutes GSMA Head of Asia Pacific, Julian Gorman, wrote a letter to the Finance Minister on federal budget 2021-2022 and recommended the removal of…

TikTokers in San Fransisco are now being allowed to put up videos up to three minutes long, tripling the previous cap of one minute to stay ahead of the competition. Drew Kirchhoff, who works as a product manager for the video-sharing app, discussed the development in a statement, saying that “some of you might have come across a longer video on TikTok already – we’ve been letting creators around the world experiment with the expanded format”. Discussing the new feature, he further remarked that “with longer videos, creators will have the canvas to create new or expanded types of content…

Pakistan’s decision of not providing airbases to the United States has started to yield consequences as the United States has added Pakistan to its Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) list. The new development could potentially lead to sanctions on military assistance and the inclusion of the Pakistan Army in peacekeeping programs. This designation of Pakistan appeared in the US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. It ranks countries based on their efforts to eliminate trafficking. ALSO READ FBR Withdraws Sales Tax on SIM Cards The US Child Soldiers Prevention Act requires publishing a list of foreign governments that…