Zac Hall is a Senior Editor, covering Apple, AI, and the modern technology landscape.
He joined 9to5Mac in April 2013, originally as a writer and copy editor.
He later served as Lead Editor from May 2016 through December 2020, before shifting focus to creating the Space Explored website.
In 2015, Zac began co-hosting 9to5Mac Happy Hour, establishing the format of the site’s premier podcast, which he hosted for eight years.
In 2018, he created 9to5Mac Daily, providing audio recaps of Apple and technology news each weekday. He also created and hosted multiple seasons of the 9to5Mac Watch Time podcast, a health and fitness-focused interview series.
Zac currently focuses on writing for 9to5Mac. He is based in the lovely Gulf Coast town of Ocean Springs, MS, where he lives with his brilliant kids and Nova, his adventurous Cavachon rescue pup.
Contact: zac@9to5mac.com
The Financial Times reports that Apple is seeking clearance from the Trump administration to purchase memory chips from a blacklisted Chinese company. The move would help it meet demand for product manufacturing during the ongoing global memory supply shortage.
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OpenAI is introducing GPT-5.6, its next-generation model, two months after the release of GPT-5.5. However, the rollout to customers won’t be as straightforward as previous model updates to ChatGPT and Codex.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company will donate to relief efforts in Venezuela following the catastrophic earthquake that occurred earlier this week.
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Apple has released Xcode 26.6, adding support for a third coding assistant to the company’s integrated development environment software.
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Last year, Notion expanded its productivity suite to include Notion Mail, an AI-powered email client. Today, the company announced that it’s shutting down the Notion Mail inbox service this fall.
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As promised a week ago, Apple just increased prices across a range of product lines. While rising RAM costs are to blame, according to Apple, Wall Street isn’t too impressed with the move.
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When Apple released the iPhone 17 in September, the timer started for the new flagship model breaking a record set 15 years ago. The record will take more than a year to break, but based on current rumors, the iPhone 17 will be the first to steal the crown.
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ChatGPT users may notice something different about the AI chatbot experience over the next few days. That’s because OpenAI is tweaking how its most-used model works.
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Back in March, Apple Vision Pro customers were gifted a new experience called Debut at the BBC Proms, a 35-minute Apple Immersive Video concert featuring Lukas Sternath performing Grieg at Royal Albert Hall.
Now a wonderful behind-the-scenes interview with director Ian Russell shows what it took to film classical music for Vision Pro.
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Do wireless CarPlay adapters actually work? Many years ago, I bought a new car that came with wired Apple CarPlay. I really wanted wireless CarPlay, but replacing the whole entertainment system didn’t make sense. Fortunately, there are popular solutions for turning standard CarPlay into wireless CarPlay, and they work with iOS 27 and Apple’s latest iPhones.
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Apple’s digital event planning app, Invites, is out with three changes today, including a new cohosting feature.
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No sign of Claude Fable 5’s return yet, though Anthropic does have a new Claude feature launching today. Claude Tag is “a new way for teams to work with Claude,” per Anthropic.
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Apple Watch is playing a role in improving the lives of professional surfers. A new video from Apple shows how World Surf League athletes are using Apple Watch to “stay informed and in control on the Championship Tour.”
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Update 2: Both apps are now removed from the App Store as of 10:04 am PT.
Update: Two hours later, a second stealth app has has climbed the App Store top charts, reaching the second position today. The app Family Online appears to be another sanctioned Russian banking app.
Earlier this month, a sanctioned Russian banking app disguised as a Pomodoro timer reached the top three spot on the U.S. iPhone App Store. Today there’s a new sanctioned Russian banking app in disguise on the App Store.
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Apple released iOS 27 beta 2 today, giving developers the first follow-up update since iOS 27 debuted at WWDC. The new beta is available now for registered developers ahead of next month’s expected public beta release.
iOS 27 is a major iPhone update centered around Siri AI, Apple Intelligence, Liquid Glass refinements, and a long list of quality-of-life changes. Here’s what we’ve found so far in iOS 27 beta 2.
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Apple has released the second iOS 27 beta for developer testing. iOS 27 beta 2 replaces the first iOS 27 beta, which arrived after WWDC 2026 earlier this month, and continues Apple’s summer beta cycle ahead of a public release this fall. We’ll update our devices and share what we discover.
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Fantastical from Flexibits is so much more than natural language event creation for your calendar. The app has been solving everyday calendar problems with common-sense solutions for 15 years now.
The latest version of Fantastical is no exception. It tackles the age-old problem of accidentally double-booking yourself for events. One calendar shows you’re free while the other has something scheduled.
Fantastical’s fix is fitting for the app because it gives you granular control. Here’s how it works.
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Noticing anything weird on X this morning? It’s not just you. Parts of the service are experiencing downtime this morning, it appears.
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Apple has confirmed that its products will see price increases in the future due to ongoing memory supply constraints. Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered the bad news in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
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OpenAI is updating ChatGPT with a new scheduled tasks feature. The new ability is rolling out starting today.
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While it’s not available in the very first beta, Siri AI is coming to the Apple Watch in watchOS 27. In my view, this is the biggest change for the device in a long time.
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iA Writer, the lightweight text editor for Apple devices, is out with a new Liquid Glass design-focused update for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
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Microsoft Outlook should now look more at home on the Mac with today’s “app-wide” Liquid Glass update.
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June 16, 2026: A day later, iOS 26.6 public beta 2 is now available as well.
While iOS 27 is the new focus for pre-release software, Apple is still preparing iOS 26.6 as the next iPhone update. Apple has released the second iOS 26.6 developer beta. The update follows the first developer beta release and public beta release in May.
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