Zac Hall is a Senior Editor, covering Apple, apps, and AI. His work is regularly featured by Techmeme.
He joined 9to5Mac in 2013. He later served as Lead Editor from 2016 through 2020, before 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 hosted multiple seasons of the 9to5Mac Watch Time podcast, a health and fitness-focused interview series.
Zac is based in the lovely Gulf Coast town of Ocean Springs, MS, where he lives with his brilliant kids and Nova, his loyal Cavachon rescue.
Contact: zac@9to5mac.com
Apple has released the seventh iOS 27 beta for developer testing. iOS 27 beta 7 continues Apple’s summer beta cycle ahead of a public release in September. We’ll update our devices and share what we discover.
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CarPlay can make any vehicle feel significantly more comfortable and family. Still, the experience is not always perfect out of the box.
Some cars still require a wired connection, others lack CarPlay entirely, and what about keeping your iPhone charged and cooled on long trips?
Fortunately, improving those areas doesn’t require a big investment. These affordable accessories cover everything from wireless CarPlay and MagSafe charging to cable management and complete displays for older vehicles.
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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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When should we expect the iPhone 18 Pro event, and when will Apple officially announce the date? Apple hasn’t sent invitations yet, but its announcement history gives us a remarkably consistent window.
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Apple’s fall iPhone event is expected to look different this year. Rather than unveiling four closely related models, rumors point to a flagship-only September lineup consisting of three premium models: iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and Apple’s first foldable, widely expected to be called iPhone Ultra.
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SpaceXAI and Cursor are in the process of becoming a single company, but first, the two firms are releasing an all-new iPhone and Mac app called Grok Bot.
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Back in June, we flagged three instances of U.S.-sanctioned Russian banks sneaking client apps onto the App Store. Two months later, another example has climbed to the top of the iPhone App Store.
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August 21, 2026: Apple Watch Series 12 is rumored to include a ceramic option for the first time since the Series 5 was discontinued. With that in mind, I’m resharing my hands-on post of my favorite Apple Watch from September 2019. Seven years later, it’s still the best version I’ve ever owned. I hope you enjoy!
Apple Watch Series 5 introduces the return of the ceramic Edition after being notably absent from the Series 4 lineup. That means this is the first time ceramic has been an option with the redesign that debuted last year, and the new look is stunning. Check out our initial hands-on with the Apple Watch Edition before our full Series 5 review later next week.
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Choosing between AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3 was already mostly a question of fit, features, and price. Apple is also developing camera-equipped AirPods with Visual Intelligence, but they are not expected to arrive until 2027 at the soonest. That could make waiting an awfully long proposition.
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Well, this seems interesting. ChatGPT’s latest update adds a new Mac integration: the ability to work with conversations from Apple’s Messages app. The feature works with iMessage, SMS, and RCS.
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Since iOS 5 in 2011, the iPhone and iPad have included Notification Center, a central place to find alerts from various apps in chronological order.
Starting with iOS 27, Apple is making a major change to how users open Notification Center on iPhone and iPad.
iOS 27 is currently in beta, and the behavior has changed slightly between the first two releases. However, sixth developer betas so far show this change will ship this fall — even if I’d change it.
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Astropad has released Workbench 1.3, its largest update to the remote desktop app since the launch earlier this year. The release adds several tools for accessing unattended Macs, along with changes to performance and reliability.
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Meta continues to get serious about its AI technology. The latest sign? A dedicated Mac app for Meta AI.
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Things is making repeating to-dos significantly more flexible in version 3.23, addressing two common situations: finishing a task ahead of schedule and changing its date when plans shift.
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Apple Watch users can mark their calendars for the next activity challenge. The 2026 National Parks Challenge is set for this Sunday, August 23.
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Last month, Anthropic announced plans to expand Claude Cowork from the Mac to iPhone and iPad. The rollout started with Anthropic’s most expensive paid plan.
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If there’s one change I could make to iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, it would be disabling the new swipe-down gesture to invoke Siri AI. There are enough ways to summon Siri that don’t break my muscle memory around opening Notification Center on my iPhone and iPad.
Meanwhile, on the Mac, it’s almost all good news with macOS 27 Golden Gate. Even in late August, new betas are still adding delightful changes. Still, there’s one change I’d like to see before macOS 27 is released next month.
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OpenAI is launching ChatGPT for Teens. It calls the new effort “an experience designed to help teens learn, think critically, deepen understanding, and use AI with confidence.” ChatGPT for Teens is enabled when OpenAI systems estimate a user is between 13 and 17 or if the user’s age is directly stated.
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Another streaming service is getting more expensive. Peacock has raised the prices of all three subscription tiers, with increases of up to $3 per month or $30 per year.
Peacock’s latest increase makes Premium Plus a $20 monthly subscription. However, Apple’s discounted bundles appear to remain unchanged for now.
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Apple released iOS 27 beta 6 today, giving developer beta testers the next preview update since iOS 27 debuted at WWDC. Developer beta testers can download the new beta now.
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 6.
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macOS 27 Golden Gate beta 6 introduces redesigned traffic light window controls. The new look resembles older Mac OS X systems with more detail in each button.
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Apple has released the sixth iOS 27 beta for developer testing. iOS 27 beta 6 continues Apple’s summer beta cycle ahead of a public release in September. We’ll update our devices and share what we discover.
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Claude Code auto mode has become the default permission setting for users starting today.
Sessions for Pro, Max, and Team users now use it unless a user or administrator has pinned another setting.
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Earlier this year, I replaced my battery-powered push mower with an iPhone-controlled robot lawn mower. That machine creates a virtual map by letting you manually steer it around the perimeter of your yard. Once everything is configured, it takes over mowing duties on a schedule.
More recently, I’ve been testing another system called the TerraMow V1000. It takes a substantially different approach to navigation, and after several weeks of testing, I think it may be the more user-friendly option for a lot people.
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