Daraz, a leading online marketplace operating in Pakistan, has brought to the forefront significant issues related to cross-border payments. During a high-level meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday, Ehsan Saya, Managing Director of Daraz, along with a delegation, discussed these operational challenges in detail.
(more…)Category: IT & Telecom
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Google releases top trending searches of 2022 in Pakistan
KARACHI: Google has released top trending search in Pakistan, recapping the top trends of 2022 in the country.
The searches revealed that over the year, Pakistanis had a diverse range of interests that pivot on politics, famous personalities, government initiatives, current events, entertainment, technology, and food.
READ MORE: Self-service repair provided to Apple customers
This year, cricket continued to be the major search trend, with the T20 World Cup, Asia Cup 2022, and PSL 7 filling the top three spots in the overall list of top searches. Nationwide financial insecurity, floods, and inflation led people to search for government campaigns and financial aid schemes like the Ehsaas Program.
Meanwhile, celebrities like Queen Elizabeth, Aamir Liaquat, and Arshad Shareef also took their spots on the list. Here is the complete list of all the top trending searches;
Top Trending Searches:
T20 World Cup 2022
Asia Cup 2022
PSL 7
Melbourne weather
Climate change
Ehsaas program
Arshad Shareef
Aamir Liaquat
Queen Elizabeth
Naseem Shah
READ MORE: Price, specs of Apple MacBook Pro in Pakistan
In 2022, Pakistani movies were all over the news. The Legend of Maula Jatt stayed at the top of the Movies & TV section, followed by London Nahi Jaunga and Quadi-e-Azam Zindabad.
The love for Hollywood movies can also be seen in the fact that movies like Ms. Marvel, Black Adam, and Doctor Strange remained in the top five search results. The complete list is below or you can check out Fuchsia Magazine talking in depth about it on their channel too.
Top Movies & TV Shows
Maula Jatt
Ms. Marvel
Black Adam
Thor Love and Thunder
Doctor Strange
London Nahi Jaunga
The Batman
Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad
Sinf e Aahan
House of the Dragon
READ MORE: Price, specs of iPhone 13 Pro Max in Pakistan
People in Pakistan mainly searched for politicians and athletes in the last year. Due to Naseem Shah’s brilliant performances in the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup, he remained at the top of this category. People also looked for the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, due to the political situation in the country.
Also, famous Pakistani cricketers such as Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, and Muhammad Rizwan took their spots, respectively. Here is the complete list;
Top Searched Personalities
Naseem Shah
Pervez Musharraf
Salman Rushdie
Iftikhar Ahmed
Mohammad Rizwan
Shahbaz Sharif
Shadab Khan
Amber Heard
Azhar Ali
Imran Riaz Khan
In 2022, Pakistanis actively searched for smartphone brands, which include Infinix, iPhone, Samsung, and OPPO. Whereas, Vivo grabbed the majority of the attention because of the launch of its new Android mobile phones and got featured multiple times in the list.
READ MORE: Price, specs of iPhone 14 Pro in Pakistan
The complete list is mentioned below. Also, take a look at the analysis of VideoWaliSarkar on the top tech searches in Pakistan
Trending Tech Searches
Vivo V23
iPhone 14 Pro Max
OPPO F21 Pro
Vivo Y21
Vivo V23e
Realme c35
Infinix Note 12
Infinix Hot 12
Samsung A32
OPPO A16
With such ease under COVID-19 restrictions, people in Pakistan celebrated all major festive occasions in 2022 and turned to Google for finding modern recipes and a variety of food items.
The search categories reflected Pakistan’s love for food, with desi cuisine having the upper hand in the results. Check out the full list or visit Food Fusion, where they discussed the top food searches in Pakistan over the last year.
Trending Food and Cuisine
Chicken Recipe
Pulao recipe
Shami kabab recipe
Chicken soup recipe
Nuggets recipe
Chicken pakora recipe
White chicken recipe
Imli ki chutney recipe
Brownies recipe
Hot and sour soup recipe
Pakistanis also browsed Google for updates on local and international news, with the tragic death of Amir Liaquat Hussain topping the trending news list. News related to the Murree incident and Imran Khan also garnered a lot of interest in 2022.
People were also interested in events worldwide related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Below is the full list;
Trending News
Aamir Liaquat News
Ukraine News
Imran Khan Latest News
Murree News
Fatima Tahir News
Arshad Sharif News
Pervez Musharraf News
Salman Rushdie Latest News
Iqrar ul Hassan News
Sri Lanka News
To see more information about Google’s Year in Search 2022, please visit yearinsearch.google
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Self-service repair provided to Apple customers
Apple provided its customers with Self Service Repair. The company will provide repair manuals, genuine parts and tools through Apple Self Service Repair Store.
The opportunity for these customers will be provided in eight European countries which include Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.
Customers who wish to complete their own repairs will be able to perform many of the most common repairs for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups, and Mac notebooks with Apple silicon.
The Self Service Repair Store provides access to more than 200 individual parts and tools, as well as repair manuals.
The program enables customers who are experienced with the complexities of repairing electronic devices the opportunity to complete their own repairs, using the same manuals, parts, and tools as Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Service Providers.
The parts are the same ones at the same price as those available to Apple’s network of authorized repair providers. Customers can send replaced parts back to Apple for refurbishment and recycling, and in many cases receive credit off their purchase by doing so.
The Apple tools available to customers on Self Service Repair Store are custom designed to help provide best repairs for Apple products, and are engineered to withstand the rigors of high-volume, professional repair operations where safety and reliability are the utmost priority. The high-quality tools offered through Self Service Repair include torque drivers, repair trays, display and battery presses, and more.
Apple will offer tool rental kits for $49, so that customers who do not want to purchase tools for a single repair still have access to these professional repair tools. The weeklong rental kits will ship to customers for free.
Self Service Repair is part of Apple’s efforts to further expand access to repairs and increase repair ability of products over time. For the vast majority of customers who do not have experience repairing electronic devices, visiting a professional repair provider with certified technicians who use genuine Apple parts is the safest and most reliable way to get a repair.
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Price, specs of Apple MacBook Pro in Pakistan
The Apple MacBook Pro was released on October 18, 2021 globally. The price of the laptop with internal memory of 512 GB and Ram of 16 GB is Rs405,000.
The laptop is available in 14 and 16-inch models. It delivers groundbreaking processing, graphics, and machine learning (ML) performance whether running on battery or plugged in, as well as amazing battery life that enables workflows previously unimaginable on a notebook.
M1 Pro and M1 Max revolutionize the MacBook Pro experience and mark a huge step forward in the transition to Apple silicon on Mac.
MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max applies a system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture to pro systems for the first time, featuring fast unified memory and increased memory bandwidth for unparalleled performance with best-in-class performance per watt and industry-leading power efficiency.
MacBook Pro offers a stunning Liquid Retina XDR display. Featuring the mini-LED technology used in iPad Pro, the Liquid Retina XDR display delivers up to 1,000 nits of sustained, full-screen brightness, an incredible 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
Following are the complete specifications of Apple MacBook Pro:
Dimensions 0.61 x 12.31 x 8.71 inches Weight 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg) Operating System Mac OS Generation M1 Screen Size 14.2 Inches Screen Resolution 3024×1964 Touch Screen No Backlit Keyboard Yes Internal Memory 512GB SSD RAM 16 GB Graphics Memory Apple M1 Pro Graphics Processor Type Apple M1 Pro chip Processor Speed 8-core CPU with 6 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores 14-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine 200GB/s memory bandwidth Battery type 70-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery2 Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0 Wireless/Wifi 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE USB 4 Ports Camera 1080p FaceTime HD camera Fingerprint Reader Touch ID -
FBR nominates focal persons for resolving issues of IT industry
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has nominated focal persons for resolving issues related IT industry.
The following chief commissioners Inland Revenue (by designation) are nominated as focal persons for resolving problems and issues related to IT industry for the regions mentioned against each:
Chief Commissioners – IR, Corporate Tax Office (CTO), Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi have been nominated as focal person for resolving problems and issues related to IT Industry regarding matter pertaining to Inland Revenue field formations within Lahore, Islamabad & Rawalpindi and Karachi.
READ MORE: No audit of IT sector due to fixed tax regime: FBR chairman
In October 2022, FBR Chairman Asim Ahmad said there is no audit of the IT sector due to fixed tax regime. There is no audit of IT sector export-oriented companies through budgetary measures in the current financial year for ensuring ease of doing business and reducing the cost of tax compliance.
“As fixed and final tax regime has been introduced in this fiscal year therefore, no tax or audit notices will be sent to the IT sector professionals and easier documentation will be the priority,” FBR chairman said.
READ MORE: Electricity withholding tax not applicable on ATL domestic consumers
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on youth affairs Miss Shaza Fatima and the Prime Minister’s task force on Information technology and Telecom sector, convened a meeting in the Prime Minister’s office to discuss IT sector exports taxation issues and the impact thereof particularly of small and medium IT companies and software houses, with Chairman FBR Asim Ahmad, officials of the Ministry of IT and representatives of PASHA.
The Prime Minister Mian Shehbaz Shareef constituted a task force to devise ways to increase the Information Technology exports by $3 billion till 2023.
On the note of exemption from the proposed 0.25 per cent tax, this will remain and it is a quarter of what the other exporters pay.
In the Final Tax Regime, the Federal Board of Revenue has agreed in principle to resolve sales tax registration and return filing issues.
READ MORE: Tax rates on goods, passenger transport vehicles during 2022-2023
The definitions of IT in the June 2022 Finance Act were deliberated upon, and found to be all inclusive. The Federal Board of Revenue has also agreed in principle to propose necessary changes in law for all IT exports to attain the benefit of final tax regime.
In principle the FBR agreed upon the proposal that if the Provincial consensus is reached, Federal Excise Duty (FED) can be reduced from 19.5 per cent to 17 per cent for Telecom sector.
The funds received by the IT sector through applications like Payoneer etc. will be given the benefit of final tax regime through necessary changes in the law, if required.
READ MORE: FBR notifies tax rates on brokerage, commission during 2022-2023
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Price, specs of iPhone 13 Pro Max in Pakistan
The iPhone 13 Pro Max was released in Pakistan on March 24, 2021. The price of the phone varies according to the storage capacity of the phone.
The price of iPhone 13 Pro Max with internal memory of 128GB is Rs374,000. The price of the phone with internal memory of 256GB is Rs398,100. The price of the phone with internal memory of 512GB is Rs452,000 and internal memory of 1TB is Rs513,000 respectively.
The phone is available in colors of Alpine Green, Silver, Gold, Graphite, and Sierra Blue. The pro camera system of mobile gets its biggest upgrade. With next-level hardware that captures so much more detail. Superintelligent software for new photo and filmmaking techniques and a mind-blowingly fast chip that makes it all possible.
READ MORE: Price, specs of iPhone 14 Pro in Pakistan
The display’s ability to refresh up to is 120Hz which is combined with the amazing graphics performance of the new 5-core GPU on A15 Bionic that makes iPhone 13 Pro perfect for power gamers.
The iPhone helps in control of personal information. For example, when you’re browsing, Safari intelligently helps block trackers from profiling you and shows which ones have been blocked in Privacy Report. And the list goes on.
Following are the complete specifications of iPhone 13 Pro Max:
SIM Support Dual SIM (nano‑SIM and eSIM) Phone Dimensions 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.7 mm Phone Weight 240 g Operating System IOS 15 Screen Size 6.7 Inches Screen Resolution 1284 x 2778 Pixels Screen Type Super Retina XDR OLED Touchscreen, Multitouch Screen Protection Scratch-resistant ceramic glass, oleophobic coating Internal Memory 128/256/512 GB RAM 8 GB Card Slot No Processor Apple A15 Bionic (5 nm) GPU Apple GPU (8-core graphics) Battery type Li-Ion 4352 mAh, non-removable Front Camera 12 MP + 12MP Front Flash Light No Front Video Recording 080p@30/60/120/240fps Back Flash Light Yes Back Camera 12 MP + 12MP + 12 MP Back Video Recording 080p@30/60/120/240fps Bluetooth Yes 3G Yes 4G/LTE Yes 5G Yes Radio No WiFi Yes NFC Yes -
Price, specs of Apple Watch Series 8 in Pakistan
Apple Watch Series 8 was launched in Pakistan on September 07, 2022. The price of the watch with internal memory of 32 GB and 1 GB RAM is Rs 125,000.
Apple Watch Series 8 features the beloved design of Apple Watch, including a large, Always-On Retina display and a strong crack-resistant front crystal.
With all-day 18-hour battery life, Apple Watch Series 8 builds on best-in-class health and safety features like the ECG app and fall detection by introducing temperature-sensing capabilities, retrospective ovulation estimates, Crash Detection, and international roaming.
When Apple Watch detects a severe car crash, the device will check in with the user and dial emergency services if they are unresponsive after a 10-second countdown. Emergency responders will receive the user’s device location, which is also shared with the user’s emergency contacts.
When combined, Crash Detection on Apple Watch and iPhone work seamlessly to get users help efficiently. When a severe car crash is detected, the emergency services call interface will appear on Apple Watch, as it is most likely to be in closer proximity to the user, while the call is placed through iPhone if it is in range for the best possible connection.
Apple Watch Series 8 takes a unique approach to temperature sensing with a two-sensor design, one sensor on the back of the watch, nearest the skin, and another just under the display reducing bias from the outside environment.
Following are the complete specifications of Apple Watch Series 8:
SIM Support N/A Dimensions 45 x 38 x 10.7 mm Strap Material TPU Water Resistant IP6X Weight 38.8 g Operating System watchOS 9.0 Speaker Yes Modes Mutiple Modes Camera No Screen Size 1.9 inches Screen Resolution 484 x 396 pixels Screen Type Retina LTPO OLED Ram 1GB RAM Rom 32GB Wifi Wi-Fi 802.11 GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS NFC Yes Capacity 308 mAh Battery Life 18 hrs -
Google adsence announces new advertisement format
Google adsence announces new advertisement format for websites from December 13, 2022. The advertisement format is called side rails which will be viewed on widescreen devices.
The side rail advertisements will stick on the sides of webpage when the user is viewing page.
The side rail advertisements will automatically appear on those websites, which have anchor ads enabled on their adsence account.
There is no action required from the website for this change to take effect. However, if it is preferred not to show side rails, the option of “Side rails” in Auto ads settings can be turned off
Moreover the benefit of this option is that, overall revenue from advertisements will also increase.
The Google adsence notified that, “Today, we’re announcing a new ad format called side rails. Side rails are ads that stick to the sides of your pages when they’re viewed on widescreen devices, such as desktops. If you already have anchor ads turned on, side rails will automatically start to appear on your site after 13-12-2022.”
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Price, specs of Samsung Galaxy A53 5G in Pakistan
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G was launched in Pakistan on December 27, 2021. The price of the phone with internal memory of 128 GB and RAM of 8 GB is Rs 103,999.
The phone is available with Awesome Blue, Black, Peach and White color. Galaxy A53 5G offer holistic mobile experiences at a great value, powered by a brand-new processor, expansive and bright displays and two-day battery life.
READ MORE: Price, specs of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 in Pakistan
Galaxy A53 5G also features 5G connectivity, and with up to four generations of One UI and Android OS upgrades and up to five years of security updates. The mobile phone make sure that your experience is always awesome. The devices also feature Galaxy’s signature AI camera system, offering crisp and steady shots.
Following are the complete specifications of Samsung Galaxy A53 5G:
SIM Support Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) Phone Dimensions 159.6 x 74.8 x 8.1 mm Phone Weight 189 g Operating System Android 12, One UI 4.1 Screen Size 6.5 Inches Screen Resolution 1080 x 2400 Pixels Screen Type Super AMOLED, 120Hz Screen Protection N/A Internal Memory 128 GB RAM 8 GB Card Slot microSDXC Processor Octa-core (2.4 GHz & 2.0 GHz) GPU N/A Battery type Li-Po 5000 mAh, non-removable Front Camera 32 MP Front Flash Light No Front Video Recording 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps Back Flash Light Yes Back Camera 64 MP + 12 MP + 5 MP + 5 MP Back Video Recording 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps; gyro-EIS Bluetooth Yes 3G Yes 4G/LTE Yes 5G Yes Radio Yes WiFi Yes NFC Yes (market/region dependent) -
YouTube issues lists of trending videos for Pakistan
KARACHI: YouTube has released the lists of the top trending videos, top music videos, top creators, breakout creators, and top shorts for Pakistan for the Year 2022, said a press release on Friday.
It is safe to say that Pakistani audiences enjoyed a wide range of content that kept them entertained throughout the year.
Farhan S. Qureshi, Country Director at Google, said: “YouTube has helped create an ecosystem in Pakistan that allows people to pursue their passions as full-time jobs while also enabling them to support their households financially.
“Pakistan has over 5,400 YouTube channels with over 100,000 subscribers, and over 350 of them have more than a million subscribers. It is also thrilling to see that the number of Pakistani YouTube channels making 1 million or more in revenue (PKR) has increased by more than 110 percent in a year.
“This year, we’ve had some amazing content creators who topped our lists in different categories and won over the hearts of average YouTube users with a wide range of content and creativity.”
In 2022, we saw a variety of videos that were the most popular in the country, dominated by the Pakistani drama and film industry. A Telefilm ‘RUPOSH’ on a young couple embarking on the journey of love and matrimony took the number one spot on the Top Trending Videos list followed by the first episode of the famous Pakistani dramas Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi’s and Sang-e-Mah’s. Here is the complete list of all the top trending videos.