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’s Mac mini is back in the AI headlines. Last month, Perplexity released its own version of the OpenClaw “personal AI assistant” idea with a feature called Perplexity Computer.
Now the company is taking the concept a step further with an implementation it calls Personal Computer. This version “works with a Mac mini that runs continuously, merging your local applications with Perplexity Computer.”
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Update: Anthropic now reports both issues as resolved.
Claude may have climbed up 40+ spots in the App Store this year, but the Anthropic’s AI chatbot is currently down.
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How does AltStore compete with the App Store on discovery? It turns out embracing the Fediverse may be the answer. The first big AltStore PAL update since May brings new social web features and Liquid Glass design.
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Apple has released a new version of its Invites app, adding a smart and useful improvement to the iPhone app’s widget.
Starting with today’s version 1.7 update, Apple Invites includes the option to let the countdown widget work with any upcoming event.
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Yesterday we learned that the “world’s most advanced flight simulator” will soon work with Apple Vision Pro. Now we have a first look at how the experience will look, including how ARKit intelligently handles physical controls.
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TikTok and Apple Music are teaming up to bring two new features to iPhone users. Play Full Song allows Apple Music subscribers to “listen to full music playback without leaving TikTok” thanks to an exclusive partnership. Listening Party, TikTok says, aims to bring artists and fans together on the platform.
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EV maker Lucid is bringing Apple CarPlay support to its Gravity SUV starting tomorrow. While Tesla is rumored to be working on Apple CarPlay support, Lucid Gravity makes one more EV model with the iPhone feature first.
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MacBook Neo launch day has arrived, and supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has some interesting insights around Apple’s first $599 laptop. Kuo also puts a timeline on the arrival of Apple’s first OLED MacBook Air.
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Update: The issue with Apple’s verification server is now resolved.
If you’re an Apple developer unable to install test builds on your device, you’re not alone. While Apple’s system status page for developer services doesn’t list any issues, there have been widespread reports over the last few hours about the issue.
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Apple has released a new software update for Mac. macOS 26.3.2 is now available as an over-the-air update, but only for the new MacBook Neo.
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When Apple releases visionOS 26.4, Apple Vision Pro will be able to display the “world’s most advanced flight simulator” for the first time. That’s because the upcoming software update introduces support for a key technology that will enable this new immersive flying experience.
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In addition to launching new products, Sonos has publicly acknowledged its defunct hardware project that would have competed with the Apple TV 4K set-top box.
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Apple’s new MacBook Neo comes out tomorrow, and you can read our hands-on review now. While the official release will instantly prompt teardown efforts, we’re already learning more about the internal layout today.
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If Dystopia Daily were a newspaper, this story would lead…
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Rode has announced a new product for video producers called the Rodecaster Video Core. Rode calls its new hardware the “ultimate all-in-one content creation tool, seamlessly integrating professional-grade video and audio production into a single, compact console.”
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Last week, Apple announced two new desktop monitors: the updated Studio Display, and the all-new Studio Display XDR. Now the first unboxing videos and reviews have arrived ahead of release day on Wednesday.
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Apple has been developing a smart home display for years, but the product relies the promised Siri upgrade to ship first. A new report corroborates a recent leak that claims Apple is targeting a smart home display release around iOS 27.
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You don’t have to buy a MacBook Neo to run those cool new Apple wallpapers. macOS 26.4 adds the marketing wallpapers first introduced with Apple’s new $599 laptop.
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Update: Apple released the public beta version a few hours after the developer beta version.
iOS 26.4 developer beta 4 is now available. The update comes after Apple released two versions of the third developer beta version. iOS 26.4 includes a number of exciting new features and changes, including AI-powered Apple Music updates.
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Apple Fellow Phil Schiller will be the subject of an upcoming interview at SXSW in Austin, Texas, next week. Schiller will be interviewed by David Pogue, author of the new book Apple: The First 50 Years, on March 18, at 2:30 p.m. central:
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“Well, it kind of started when I was born,” Steve Wozniak jokes when asked about Apple’s origin. “Steve Jobs wanted a company and he did it, and I was his resource,” Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with Jobs nearly five decades ago, adds.
Wozniak also says Apple wasn’t in the business of predicting the future. Instead, it started with a focus of creating something better than the competition.
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Apple’s new iPhone 17e hits stores on Wednesday, and reviews for the latest $599 model have arrived. Reviewers are praising the new color option, doubled storage capacity, and inclusion of MagSafe. However, what the iPhone 17e lacks is also making the standard iPhone 17 look even better for those who can afford it.
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Apple is expected to announce an all-new iPhone with a foldable display later this year. Ahead of the unveil, Sonny Dickson has shared what looks like 3D CAD rendering files of the rumored iPhone Fold design.
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David Pogue, author of the new book Apple: The First 50 Years, interviewed Apple CEO Tim Cook for CBS’s “Sunday Morning” program ahead of the company’s upcoming 50th anniversary.
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