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
While my preferred way to use an iPhone is with no case or screen protector, I’m actually enjoying both on iPhone 17 Pro and can recommend them. They’re inexpensive enough to try without committing for a year or more.
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Meta is on an iPhone app launch streak after introducing two new apps in May. The latest is dedicated app for a key Facebook feature: groups.
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Apple’s Always On Display has been fairly consistent since it debuted on iPhone 14 Pro. With iOS 26, Apple quietly changed how it works in a way that may not be obvious.
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OpenAI just released this week’s Codex desktop app update, and it includes a brand new feature on Mac called Appshots.
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As Spotify users around the world await the return of their good old fashioned app icon, the company has a handful of news to share in a range of areas. New features coming soon include AI-powered remix tools, concert ticket reservations, and more.
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Two months ago, Perplexity brought its Comet AI browser from the Mac to the iPhone and iPad for the first time. Now Perplexity has launched a big update to Comet for iOS that it says includes eight major improvements.
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Last week, OpenAI updated ChatGPT for iPhone and iPad with access to Codex, its agentic coding tool for Mac. Since launching, the Codex iOS experience has improved in a few key ways.
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The simple act of sharing your screen in a way that feels natural during a video call can be overly complicated. Hovercraft is a new Mac app that solves a very specific problem around screen sharing during video calls.
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Airbnb launched a major iOS and Android app redesign a year ago. The updated app surfaced new experiences to have on vacation beyond just where you choose to stay.
Now Airbnb is further transforming its app into an all-in-one destination for managing your next trip by integrating four useful new services.
The new Airbnb app is also leveraging AI with three new features, and the service is expanding the types of destinations you can book.
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My new favorite Apple Watch and Apple Health metric is one that has been quietly working in the background for years. Specifically, it’s a bit of a hidden Apple Watch feature for tracking a great healthy habit: Time in Daylight.
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Anthropic is introducing two new features for Claude Managed Agents that give users more control over the security and privacy.
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Apple Watch includes a built-in sleep tracking feature. Just wear your Apple Watch to bed, and it works automatically. No need to install apps or enter a special mode.
watchOS 26 takes sleep tracking further with Apple’s sleep score feature. Sleep score is a great way to visualize the quality of your sleep from night to night. There’s one setting in particular that has made sleep score especially useful for me.
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Govee is launching its new TV Backlight 3 product, bringing cinema-grade reactive lighting with Matter support to your home theater.
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Spotify recently changed the app icon for its mobile app, and not everyone appreciates the celebratory disco ball logo.
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When Apple moved the iPhone to USB-C, it left behind more than just the Lightning port. New iPhone comes with a USB-C charging cable, but many cars still use USB-A ports for CarPlay.
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If you’re serious about wired audio, there’s now a MagSafe headphone amp and digital-to-analog convertor for iPhone.
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OpenAI is catching up with some competitors and offering new personal finance features inside ChatGPT. The new personal finance experience is rolling out starting today for some subscribers.
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All’s well that ends well in App Store review controversies. Back in March, a major agentic coding company made news when Apple reportedly pushed back on new versions of its iPhone app.
Two months later, the head of the company says they “worked things out with Apple,” and they have a big new app update to show for it.
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Mactracker has long been a terrific Mac app for keeping track of pretty much every Apple hardware and software release ever. Exactly how long? 25 years, in fact.
To help celebrate the big anniversary, Mactracker for iPhone and iPad has a big new release out this week that includes useful new features.
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Reactive backlighting is one of the best ways to enhance your Apple TV setup. It can also be an expensive endeavor. Lepro is stepping up with a more affordable solution: the Lepro STV1. The new product launches today.
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OpenAI has released a new way to interact with its Codex app from your smartphone. An update to ChatGPT’s mobile app brings remote access to Codex for Mac to the iPhone, iPad, and Android.
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CarPlay continues to improve in two ways. iOS 26 gives the in-car experience new features like widgets and upgraded Music and Messages apps.
Meanwhile, new third-party CarPlay apps are regularly added that enhance the platform. This week, two new audio apps arrive on CarPlay in time for your next summer road trip.
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The top three wireless service providers in the US are teaming up to eliminate coverage dead zones. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are forming a joint venture that will involve satellites, though the announcement is light on specifics.
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Spotify is making two video podcast announcements today, including one related to Apple’s big video podcast enhancement.
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