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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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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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Best Apple Vision Pro apps

What does Apple Vision Pro actually do? Thanks to these visionOS app developers, the answer is a lot. Even before Apple Vision Pro launched, we heard from developers making the first spatial experiences for visionOS. While it’s not a comprehensive list of every visionOS app, these are some of the many experiences possible on Apple Vision Pro!

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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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M3 MacBook Air reviews: midnight fingerprints, dual display limits, fanless M3 performance

Apple surprised us on Monday morning with the introduction of the M3 MacBook Air. It can now drive two external monitors while the lid is closed, the midnight color should be less prone to fingerprints, and both the 13- and 15-inch sizes are available from day one. Apple calls the M3 MacBook Air the best consumer laptop for AI, and it hits stores on Friday. In the meantime, let’s check out some of the first press reviews.

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Spotify changes tune and won’t offer in-app purchases on iPhone app in EU

Regain clarity with CleanMyPhone by MacPaw — the new AI-powered cleaning app that quickly identifies and removes blurred images, screenshots, and other clutter from your device. Download it now with a free trial.


Spotify teased up a version of its iPhone app earlier this year that would let users subscribe to ad-free plans directly in the app. Despite dramatic changes forced by the Digital Markets Act and a gigantic $2 billion fine by the EU, Spotify has reportedly changed its tune for now.

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Windows abruptly drops Android apps while the Mac embraces iOS

Regain clarity with CleanMyPhone by MacPaw — the new AI-powered cleaning app that quickly identifies and removes blurred images, screenshots, and other clutter from your device. Download it now with a free trial.


In 2020, switching from Intel to Apple silicon brought incredible performance-per-watt improvements to the Mac. It also enabled iPhone and iPad apps to natively run on macOS for the first time. A year later, Microsoft and Amazon teamed up to bring some Android apps to Windows with a similar approach.

The difference? Apple was rewarding developers and users with the culmination of its own technology to expand the app catalog on the Mac. Microsoft, on the other hand, well, no one is exactly sure what they were trying to achieve.

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Apple releases final iOS 17.4 build with new emoji, CarPlay update, EU App Store changes

Regain clarity with CleanMyPhone by MacPaw — the new AI-powered cleaning app that quickly identifies and removes blurred images, screenshots, and other clutter from your device. Download it now with a free trial.


Apple has confirmed it will release the final version of iOS 17.4, officially bringing the software update out of beta. iOS 17.4 is packed with changes including new emoji characters, podcast transcriptions, virtual Apple Cash card numbers, and much more. The update also addresses Digital Markets Act regulatory requirements in the EU with support for competing app marketplaces and other changes where required.

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Meta service outage causing Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and Threads to go down

Regain clarity with CleanMyPhone by MacPaw — the new AI-powered cleaning app that quickly identifies and removes blurred images, screenshots, and other clutter from your device. Download it now with a free trial.


Update: Services were restored after an outage of 1-2 hours for most people. The most likely explanation appears to be a mistake within Meta, similar to that in 2021.


Did you just get randomly signed out of Facebook? It’s not just you. The platform is facing an outage that has logged out users. The outage will cause your password to be rejected, but your password isn’t wrong.

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Apple AI and why investors should expect revenue growth

Apple AI features iOS 18

Another day, another case of Apple stoking the growth fire on Wall Street with the magical two letters: AI.

Tim Cook’s shareholder meeting comments about Apple breaking new ground for AI this year were intended to excite investors. According to one analyst, however, the market has not been persuaded by promises. Still, they make the case for one investors should be optimistic about the company’s revenue growth with AI.

Meanwhile, Apple has found new ways to market existing silicon using AI. The term AI, not the technology, that is.

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