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
Sports has defeated AI for the top of the App Store. March Madness is in full swing, and that’s knocked ChatGPT out of the top downloaded apps spot for today.
In fact, it’s not just one March Madness-related app pushing around the top AI apps.
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Apple may be out of the leather business for environmental reasons, but its partner Hermès is far from it. The company’s Spring 2026 collection includes a striking adaptation of Apple’s old MagSafe Duo charging pad, wrapped in “Gold Swift calfskin.”
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Last month, Apple upgraded its Apple Sports app with new NCAA tournament tracking features, a huge soccer expansion, and the ability to track leagues and teams in more markets. Now that March Madness is here, we have a look at how the feature appears in the app.
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Overcast, the third-party podcast player for iOS, will soon include transcripts for podcast episodes. When the feature arrives, it will have an edge over the version in Apple’s Podcasts app.
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Apple is named in a new AI lawsuit by publisher Chicken Soup for the Soul, reports Reuters. However, the lawsuit points to a data set that Apple has already said doesn’t power Apple Intelligence.
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The first iOS 26.4 release candidate is now available. iOS 26.4 includes a number of exciting new features and changes, including new emoji and AI-powered Apple Music updates.
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Last summer, Perplexity launched one of the first AI-focused web browsers with Comet on the Mac. Now, the long promised iOS counterpart to Comet is available.
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Updated with Apple’s statement to 9to5Mac after the story.
AI is making app development easier than ever. However, a new report claims Apple’s App Store isn’t fully embracing these new tools. Companies behind two “vibe coding” apps that let you create tools by entering text prompts into an AI system say Apple is pushing back on the category.
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AI startup Manus has released its answer to OpenClaw and Perplexity’s Personal Computer. The similarly dubbed “My Computer” system runs on your Mac or PC, turning your machine into a personal AI agent.
Manus originally started as an independent AI firm before being acquired by Meta at the end of last year. (Meta also recently acquired another OpenClaw-adjacent project: MoltBook, the social media site for AI.)
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Apple has released the first public Background Security Improvement for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. There are four versions of the release.
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OpenAI continues to ship new models with the release of GPT-5.4 mini and nano, its “most capable small models yet.” ChatGPT users can start using GPT-5.4 mini today.
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Last week, we learned that visionOS 26.4 enables Nvidia’s CloudXR 6.0 technology on Apple Vision Pro. Now Nvidia is officially announcing its work with Apple, which enables a new “Immersive for Autodesk VRED” app and more.
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Apple has expanded its developer reach, specifically in China, ahead of iOS 27’s unveiling at WWDC 2026 in June. This week, Apple Developer joined bilibili, the Chinese video sharing platform, where it has already published 32 developer-focused videos.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook continues the company’s 50th anniversary celebration with a press stop at Good Morning America on ABC News. The latest interview with Michael Strahan touches on a wide range of topics, including Apple’s greatest contribution, potential tariff refunds, Cook’s future as CEO, and more.
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Apple unveiled and launched seven new products in the first half of March, including iPhones, iPads, Macs, and more. Two weeks after the first product news, Apple returned with one more surprise announcement.
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Apple has been announced as an official partner of this year’s TCS London Marathon ahead of race day next month.
Running and Apple already have a strong association after a decade of developing the Apple Watch to be the best run tracking smartwatch on the market.
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Update 3/13: The event appears to be for a special performance. Alicia Keys is the rumor. There’s a pink piano and Apple’s 50th anniversary signage.
9to5Mac’s Michael Burkhardt is in attendance and has spotted Apple CEO Tim Cook. Michael also spotted a set list that contains several Alicia Keys songs.
Apple Grand Central in New York City is closed today and tomorrow due to some sort of mysterious special activity.
Customers visiting Apple’s retail location in Grand Central Terminal will be turned away until normal hours resume on Saturday, March 14, at 10 am.
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Spotify was early to the algorithmically recommended music game. Now the company is testing a feature that lets listeners have more direct input over what Spotify recommends. The feature is called Taste Profile, and it’s currently in beta.
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This week, both Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT were updated to embrace learning through interactive visualizations. Both moves show how AI is evolving from the initial chatbot phase to something more mature and helpful.
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Apple TV just landed its first F1 victory over ESPN. Eddy Cue says that last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix race saw more viewership on Apple TV than the same race received on ESPN a year ago.
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macOS includes device-specific accent color options for iMac and MacBook Neo. Any Mac can unlock these special color options, it turns out, with an app.
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Sports Central isn’t just a part of DIRECTV on TVs anymore. This week, DIRECTV updated its iPhone and iPad app with an overhaul that brings the live sports hub feature to iOS.
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Last week, Parallels cautioned that its Parallels Desktop for Mac software was not yet tested for MacBook Neo. Following the release of Apple’s $599 laptop, Parallels is back with an update on virtual machine compatibility.
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Apple’s first foldable iPhone is coming this fall, and Mark Gurman at Bloomberg has new information about how the interface will work. Notably, it sounds like the iPhone Fold (or whatever Apple calls the new phone) will allow you to run two apps side-by-side.
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