The A17 Bionic chip for the iPhone 15 Pro will have two versions, Apple is developing a new iMac with a screen larger than 30 inches, YouTube is working on a new game service called Playables, the launch of the Samsung ViewFinity S9 screen similar to the Apple Studio screen, and other exciting news in On the sidelines…

News on the sidelines Week Mar 5 - Mar 11

The Photos app on iOS 17 can tell you what the laundry icons mean

The Photos app in iOS 17 can recognize a wide variety of symbols, including the laundry symbols you see on clothing labels. If you take a picture of a label with laundry symbols, it is highlighted by the visual search feature, and can be clicked to get a translation of the symbol. An explanation will be provided for each symbol, and you can click on the explanation to get more information from the source site.

Visual search can recognize all laundry codes, including washer temperatures, bleach recommendations, dryer restrictions, iron temperatures, and more. But the image needs to be fairly clear so that the iPhone can detect the symbols.

Apple is raising iCloud + subscription prices in many countries around the world

Apple has raised the prices of monthly iCloud Plus subscriptions in several countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and more. The price hike ranges from 25% to 30% for different plans and regions. iCloud Plus is a paid service that offers additional cloud storage and security features to iCloud users.

Apple has increased the price of iCloud Plus storage in several regions around the world. Each Apple account gets 5GB of free cloud storage, but users can upgrade to a paid iCloud Plus storage subscription plan to get 50GB, 200GB, or 2TB of storage.

A New Hampshire man has pleaded guilty to taking a massive bribe to ship stolen Apple products

According to the New Hampshire US Attorney's Office, Wu accepted a bribe of more than $700,000 and admitted to "moving stolen property across the states".

Wu owned Hai Xing Qiao Shipping Company in Manchester, New Hampshire. In the fall of 2022, a Hong Kong company purchased a batch of Apple products that Wu was supposed to forward to Hong Kong. Instead of shipping the goods, Wu accepted a bribe of more than $700,000 from another company to redirect the $2 million worth of Apple merchandise to this company instead of the company that made the original purchase.

Wu told the company awaiting its shipment that “Apple products have been confiscated by law enforcement officials,” and his company sent the victim a forged “title release” document, allegedly issued by the US Postal Inspection Service with a forged signature of a federal agent. Wu's scheme was discovered after a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Postal Inspection Service. Wu could get up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, plus he will return $2 million in damages to the company from which it was stolen.

Samsung launches a competing screen for Apple Studio next week

Samsung has announced that the Viewfinity S9 screen is now available for pre-order in South Korea, and will be launched on July 3. The ViewFinity S9 screen was unveiled at CES 2023 last January, and it contains specifications similar to the Apple Studio screen, including the same 27-inch size, 5K resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, maximum brightness of 600 nits, support for one billion colors, and support for 99% of the DCI color space. -P31. Even the metal monitor stand and the thin bezels, too.

The back of the ViewFinity S9 display has a Thunderbolt 4 port. The display also has three USB-C ports and a Mini DisplayPort. If the ViewFinity S9 sells for around $1300 in the US, that would be about $300 cheaper than the Apple Studio monitor, which starts at $1599.

YouTube is working on the Playables gaming service

It appears that YouTube is working on a new gaming service called "Playables" that will allow users to play games on mobile devices or desktop computers, and it is being tested with Google employees internally. Playables appears to offer instant gaming through YouTube or its apps, offering an alternative to video content.

In a statement, a YouTube spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that gaming has always been a focus at YouTube and that the company is always experimenting with new features, but the spokesperson declined to comment on Playables specifically. Google previously had cloud gaming service Stadia, and it was officially shut down in January 2023. Playables does not offer the same cloud gaming as Stadia, and focuses on simple games. There is no word on when Playables will launch in general.

Apple is developing an even larger iMac with a screen of more than 30 inches

Several reports indicate that Apple is developing a new iMac with a screen larger than 30 inches, which would be the largest size ever for an all-in-one PC. It seems that the announcement of this Mac will be at least after a year or two.

Currently, the iMac is only available in a 24-inch size, as Apple has discontinued the Intel 27-inch iMac and iMac Pro in recent years. Despite frequent rumors about the return of the iMac Pro, there is no big Apple Silicon iMac available. One solution is to buy a 27-inch studio monitor and connect it to a Mac, but that's not a complete setup.

Miscellaneous news

◉ Apple releases the fourth public beta of iOS 16.6, iPadOS 16.6, and macOS Ventura 13.5 updates.

◉ Apple plans to launch the new Beats Studio Pro wireless headphones on July 19, and the source said that they will be available in four colors, including black, dark blue, sand, and deep brown, and will have a design very similar to Beats Studio 3. It will have a USB-C port for charging instead of micro-USB, and general improvements. It is believed that it will be sold at a price of about 399 euros in Europe, and about $ 349.95 in the United States at launch.

◉ Apple announced that the popular game, Stardew Valley, will be added to Apple Arcade in July. The game, called Stardew Valley +, will offer the same engaging farming gameplay as the original game, with over 50 hours of content to explore. Plus, it will include mobile-specific features like auto-save and various control options for $4.99.

◉ Astropad, best known for its Astropad Studio software and Luna Display dongle that connects iPads to Macs, has officially launched its latest product called Darkboard, a board designed specifically for drawing comfortably on the iPad.

◉ Apple's emergency technology via satellite succeeded in saving a park that was hit on its way. Joanna Reyes was hiking in a remote part of the Falls Trail Canyon in the Angeles National Forest when she had an accident.

Part of the corridor collapsed under her, breaking her leg. She had no cell service, no people, but she had an iPhone 14. She immediately called XNUMX via satellite, and the Los Angeles Fire Department's Air Operations Division was able to reach Reyes after receiving a satellite call. It was successfully airlifted using a helicopter.

◉ Photos of iPhone 15 Pro cases have been leaked, which reveal minor changes in design, as the devices will contain power and volume buttons placed differently, in addition to other small changes in design.

◉ Rumors indicate that the A17 Bionic chip for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will have two versions: one initially uses a 3 nm B process and the other uses a 3 nm E. N3B technology provides better efficiency but has lower productivity. Apple may switch to the N3E to cut costs, which could result in an efficiency sacrifice. It is unlikely that the change will occur during the iPhone 15 Pro product cycle.

This is not all the news on the sidelines, but we brought you the most important of them, and it is not necessary for a non-specialist to occupy himself with every incoming and outgoing, there are more important things that you do in your life, so do not let the devices distract you or distract you from your life and duties, and know that technology exists to make life easier for you And help you with it, and if your life robs you, and you get busy with it, then there is no need for it.

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