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Zac Hall

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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

Connect with Zac Hall

Here’s how iPhone 17 Air display size will compare to 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max

Apple hasn’t officially announced the iPhone 17 lineup, but we expect an event announcement later this month and the actual reveal in about four weeks. One highly anticipated change this year is the arrival of the iPhone 17 Air, replacing the iPhone 16 Plus with an ultra-thin model. Here’s how the iPhone 17 Air display size will compare to the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max.

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Amazon’s rocky Alexa+ launch might justify Apple’s slow pace with next-gen Siri

Amazon has finally started rolling out Alexa+, its oft-delayed overhaul of the Alexa voice assistant built on large language model technology. However, Alexa+ shows how difficult it is to replace a mature voice assistant with generative AI, especially when users expect instant, consistent results for simple tasks. It’s a real reality check on the notion that Amazon has managed to release something Apple promised and hasn’t shipped.

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OpenAI keeps GPT-4o active and doubles GPT-5 usage for some users

Yesterday OpenAI released GPT-5, the latest model update to ChatGPT. More than 24 hours later, the new model is still rolling out to paid and free customers. Meanwhile, OpenAI is reconsidering the availability of certain models and limitations for customers. The new model will also be more transparent and offer more control over which tools it uses for which requests.

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Apple pushes back on Fintiv’s latest litigious attempt to profit off Apple Pay

Fintiv, a firm you’ve probably only heard of in the context of patent litigation, is once again suing Apple over Apple Pay. Apple’s secure mobile payment solution launched over a decade ago in 2014. Fintiv has been unsuccessfully suing Apple over Apple Pay since 2018.

Apple is not hiding its frustration. In a statement first shared with 9to5Mac, the company accused the Texas-based firm of trying to “distract from their failed patent case” with a new set of allegations.

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