The Photos app in iOS 17 can identify a wide range of symbols, including the laundry symbols that you see on clothing tags. As noted by MacStories' Federico Vittici, if you take a photo of a tag with laundry symbols, it is highlighted through the Visual Lookup feature, and can be tapped for a symbol translation. The iPhone will provide an explanation for each symbol that is on the tag, with a tap on the explanation able to provide more information from the website that Apple is sourcing. Apple is getting information for laundry instructions from the Online Browsing Platform that is run by the International Organization for Standardization. Visual Lookup appears to recognize all of the laundry symbols that…

Apple today seeded the fourth betas of upcoming iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6 updates to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test out the software head of its official launch. The public betas come just a day after Apple provided the fourth betas to developers. Those who have signed up their accounts for Apple's free beta testing program can enable the beta by opening up the Settings app, going to General, selecting Software Update, tapping on Beta Updates, and selecting the iOS 16 Public Beta option. iOS 16.6 seems to be a relatively minor update, although Apple does appear to be laying the groundwork for the launch of the previously announced iMessage Contact Key Verification feature. Development on ‌iOS 16‌…

Apple today seeded the fourth betas of upcoming iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming over two weeks after the release of the third betas. Registered developers can opt in to the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to Software Update, tapping on the “Beta Updates” option and toggling on the iOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta. iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6 lay the groundwork for iMessage Contact Key Verification. It is meant to let Apple device owners verify that they are messaging with the people they intend to message rather than a malicious…

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 9.6 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software update coming two weeks after the release of the third beta. To install the watchOS 9.6 update, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once installed, ‌watchOS 9.6 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update. To update to new software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it has to be placed on the charger, and it will need to be in range of the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ it is paired with. It is not yet known if there are new…

Samsung today announced that its ViewFinity S9 external monitor is now available to pre-order in South Korea, and will launch in the country on July 3. The monitor is priced at 1.7 million won, which is equivalent to approximately $1,300 USD. Samsung has yet to reveal pricing or availability details for the U.S. market. Unveiled at CES 2023 in January, the ViewFinity S9 has similar specs as Apple's Studio Display, including the same 27-inch size, 5K resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, 600 nits peak brightness, support for one billion colors, and support for 99% of the DCI-P3 color space. The monitor's metal stand and slim bezels also resemble the Studio Display. The back of the ViewFinity S9 is equipped with a…

Macworld Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too. Ask a Siri question It’s been a few weeks now since the excitement of the WWDC 2023 keynote presentation, and the triumphs and disappointments have had a chance to sink in. There was plenty of the former, but several of the latter, and the one that continues to sting–particularly when I have an especially bad week with the feature in…