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.
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.
Apple TV 4K is finally expected to get its first hardware refresh in nearly four years. If the latest reports are right, Apple’s next streaming box could arrive this fall with a much faster chip, possibly the new Siri, upgraded wireless connectivity, and more.
Here is everything we currently know about the next Apple TV 4K.
Claude is turning its Chrome side panel into a full Cowork session, allowing browser-based tasks and conversations to follow users across Claude’s other apps.
The official MLB app for iPhone is rolling out a useful update for fans who want to follow more games. Both the CarPlay app and Live Activity experience has improved in a few ways.
If you use an Apple Watch with cardio equipment, GymKit should be on your radar. It’s the best way for Apple Watch and a fitness machine like a treadmill or elliptical to exchange workout data, producing more accurate measurements than either device can provide alone.
Apple introduced GymKit with watchOS 4 in 2017, but compatible equipment has remained surprisingly difficult to find. The good news is that, nearly a decade later, you no longer need to spend around $15,000 on a GymKit treadmill.
Instead, you can spend around $1,000 on an excellent home treadmill that works with Apple Watch. I’ve been testing the BowFlex T6 treadmill this summer, and its combination of GymKit support, approachable pricing, and dial controls makes it easy to recommend.
SpaceXAI seems to be in the process of repairing Grok’s reputation. From the recent Cursor acquisition to yesterday’s Grok Bot agent release, the company is getting more serious about its models. Today’s Grok 4.6 release builds on that effort with what SpaceXAI says is intelligence comparable to OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol and Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5.
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.
The third iOS 27 public beta is now available for iPhone. It gives users an early chance to try Apple’s biggest software update of the year.
Siri AI is the headline feature. The release also includes a redesigned Screen Time experience, Liquid Glass refinements, performance upgrades, and dozens of quality-of-life changes.
Here’s how to install the beta, what’s new, and which features you should try first.
Two years ago, Sonos made the leap from wireless speakers to over-ear headphones. Now it sounds like Sonos is preparing a more premium, AI-infused encore.
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.
Apple released iOS 27 beta 5 today, giving developer beta testers the next preview update since iOS 27 debuted at WWDC. Developers 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 5.
Apple has released the fifth iOS 27 beta for developer testing. iOS 27 beta 5 continues Apple’s summer beta cycle ahead of a public release next month. We’ll update our devices and share what we discover.
When Apple released the iPhone 17 last September, the timer started for the new flagship model breaking a record set 15 years ago. The record takes more than a year to break, but based on current rumors, the iPhone 17 will be the first to steal the crown.
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.
GymKit has been one of Apple Watch’s smartest fitness features since it launched in 2017. Tap your watch to compatible gym equipment, and Apple Watch shares your heart rate while the machine sends back metrics like distance, incline, pace, and calories.
With iOS 27, Apple is expanding that idea beyond Apple Watch. I tested the new GymKit on iPhone and AirPods Pro 3 experience with a GymKit-compatible treadmill. It basically gives you the Apple Watch GymKit workout tracking experience, just without the watch. This could be useful in a lot of scenarios.
Following X Money’s launch last month, one question has repeatedly surfaced: What happens to your money if X suspends or closes your social media account?
While Apple TV has found success at the box office, Apple usually reserves theaters for its movies, not its series. However, one hit show from Apple this year is coming to the cinema for one night only in select venues across the country: Widow’s Bay.
ChatGPT has become so much more than just chat over the last year. To that end, OpenAI is removing limits on text chat. ChatGPT will also improve with a smarter version of GPT-5.6 Sol. Details below.
OpenAI’s GPT-5 turns one tomorrow, and the company is marking the week by looking beyond individual models. Today, OpenAI introduced Agent Plugins, an open standard meant to let reusable AI-agent extensions work across compatible products.
Apple is gearing up for a more focused and potentially much more expensive iPhone launch this fall.
For starters, the cheaper base iPhone 18 is being saved for spring. That leaves the more expensive Pro models and Apple’s first foldable iPhone Ultra to carry September, with higher-than-usual starting prices expected.
Here’s how Apple is already preparing to make the sticker shock more palatable for new customers and upgraders.