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Zac Hall

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Zac Hall is 9to5Mac Editor-at-Large with a focus on technology news, product reviews, and analysis. Zac previously served as 9to5Mac Editor-in-Chief, hosted over 400 weekly episodes of the 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast, and has been a member of the 9to5Mac family since 2013. Zac has over a decade of experience in technology journalism, including as a tech columnist for the Clarion-Ledger newspaper, part of the USA Today network.

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Apple AI researchers boast useful on-device model that ā€˜substantially outperformsā€™ GPT-4

Apple AI features iOS 18

Siri has recently been attempting to describe images received in Messages when using CarPlay or the announce notifications feature. In typical Siri fashion, the feature is inconsistent and with mixed results.

Nevertheless, Apple forges ahead with the promise of AI. In a newly published research paper, Apple’s AI gurus describe a system in which Siri can do much more than try to recognize what’s in an image. The best part? It thinks one of its models for doing this benchmarks better than ChatGPT 4.0.

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These are the best CarPlay apps for iPhone

CarPlay is Apple’s feature that brings communication and entertainment functions to the built-in screen in your car using iPhone apps. The feature appears on a lot of aftermarket displays and new cars that you can buy today.

As CarPlay support is now available from most manufacturers, we’re also seeing more CarPlay apps. Once you install these apps on your iPhone, they appear on your CarPlay-enabled display when you connect your iPhone. Read on for the growing list of iPhone apps that support CarPlay.

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Siri in iOS 18: An AI revolution, or a sometimes useful dumpster fire?

Siri launched with the iPhone 4S in October 2011, replacing Voice Control with a more capable virtual assistant. A dozen years later, Siri has evolved into the primary way we interact with our Apple products.

Wait, no, I’m being told Siri sounds more natural but the core technology is roughly the same. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence now means generative AI and chat bots are based on large language models.

Siri and the rest of iOS 18 will join the AI revolution in June, ending our long national nightmare of Siri being somewhere between hot garbage and kinda useful sometimes. At least that’s what’s being reported, but we don’t really have a great sense of what to expect yet.

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Visioneers: Music technology with Geert Bevin (Animoog Galaxy, MIDI Widgets)

In this episode of Visioneers, Zac Hall of 9to5Mac sits down with Geert Bevin, the Director of Software Development at Moog Music, for an insightful conversation. Together, they delve into the fascinating world of music technology, focusing on Moog Music’s latest creation, Animoog Galaxy for Apple Vision Pro. Additionally, Bevin sheds light on his innovative app, MIDI Widgets; his history with computers and music creation; and how Apple Vision Pro is meshing with work life and leisure so far.

Sponsored by Things 3: Zac’s all-time favorite task manager for iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro! Try it today!

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Three more Apple Arcade games coming to Apple Vision Pro including spatial Spire Blast

Update, March 27: In an email, Apple confirmed that these three games will launch on Apple Arcade on March 28.


Apple Arcade brings high quality games to Apple Vision Pro on day one. Apple highlights that over 250 titles are available with 12 specifically designed for a spatial experience on visionOS. Apple Vision Pro will soon gain three more games through Arcade including Spire Blast in spatial.

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11.1-inch OLED iPad supply lags behind larger version, April launch expected

Anyone ready for new iPads? New iPad Air and iPad Pro hardware is expected to be unveiled any day now. This includes a more affordable 12.9-inch display with the iPad Air expected to add a larger option. We also expect to see the first iPads OLED screen technology to deliver deeper black levels like the iPhone and Apple Watch.

A new report from DSCC may add color on when to expect new iPads to ship. The analyst firm also gives us an idea of what to expect with the iPad Pro supply mix at launch.

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Best smart scales with iPhone sync for Apple’s Health app

Whether you’re trying to lose a few pounds and track your weight for other purposes, smart scales that sync data to the iPhone can be a fun and useful way to keep an eye your status.

If you want to easily collect your weight and other measurement data in the Health app on iPhone and iPad (new with iPadOS 17), the trick is to find a scale that works with HealthKit.

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Apple worries DMA has lowered the cost of iPhone exploits

Apple has been forced by the EU to allow app purchases and installs without the App Store. The effort to enable the capabilities as securely as possible has been massive. The details continue to evolve based on developer arms regulatory feedback, and many more changes for EU customers are planned over the next year. Still, Apple continues to express concern that the Digital Markets Act that enforces all these changes could come at a cost.

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Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account, clearing path for Epic Games Store on iPhone

After a whirlwind of events, Epic Games says Apple has reinstated their App Store developer account. The move clears the way for Epic to bring its Epic Games Store to the EU, avoiding the App Store structure altogether. The turnaround is somewhat unexpected as Apple seemed to stand by its decision to revoke Epic’s developer account on Wednesday.

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