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.
Hot off the heels of releasing iOS 18.4 to everyone, Apple has pushed out the first developer beta version of its next big point update. iOS 18.5 beta 1 is now available to developer beta testers. We’ll dig in to learn what’s new and report back so stay tuned.
Apple has a major artificial intelligence opportunity before it that the company could potentially address in one multibillion-dollar transaction. If this startup founder is able to productize AI, finally fix Siri, and unlock a wealth of new revenue streams for Apple, I would argue that she might also be a future Apple CEO candidate someday.
Sophia and Zac basically discuss some stuff about AI that goes off the rails, some stuff about autonomous vehicles that goes off the deep end, some stuff about Nintendo and the Switch 2 that manages to stay on track, and a special message at the end about love and kindness.
Note: recorded 3/14/2025 and released 3/25/2025 because… reasons. Thanks for viewing!
Apple is putting the final touches on the upcoming iOS 18.4 release. The release candidate version of the upcoming iPhone and iPad software update is now available for developer and public beta testers. iOS 18.4 brings a lot of new features to both devices.
Ever see Jason Vorhees, hockey mask and knife in tow, out on the town on a Friday that isn’t the 13th? It turns out the masked serial killer from the movies uses Siri. Here’s how we know…
I know, I know. I’m late to the Siri Sucks party. In my defense, Siri’s degree of suck has increased. Siri never used to trip when asked what month it is. Apple’s designers nailed the glow effect though.
It’s not just that Siri has steadily fallen apart over the years. The floor for what’s expected of a system like Siri is quickly rising.
Meanwhile, Siri is waiting for someone to decide if maintenance can feasibly repair the elevator while we all take the stairs to the top of the world’s tallest building.
MacWhisper has been a must-have transcription tool for a while now, and the new version 12 update makes it downright essential. New customers can save 15% at checkout with the promo code listed below
Eric Migicovsky, the founder of Pebble, announced plans just 50 days ago to bring the beloved e-paper display smartwatch back to market this year, iPhone support included. Starting today, Pebble fans can pre-order the spiritual successor to the Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2 smartwatches.
Two years ago, Apple effectively censored a core iPhone communication feature. The change was reportedly initially made at the request of the Chinese government. However, Apple quickly implemented the change to all iPhones globally a few months later.
Apple essentially endorsed China’s censorship demands by voluntarily enforcing the limit on all iPhone users, including the United States and every other democratic nation. Despite being controversial at the time, Apple’s decision has not faceted sustained public scrutiny. Instead, user control and a decentralized communication method were lost under the guise of safety.
Apple is one step closer to releasing iOS 18.4. The fourth developer beta version of the upcoming iPhone and iPad software update is now available for testing. iOS 18.4 brings a lot of new features to both devices.
Update 4:20 p.m. ET: Public betas are now also available for iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 betas.
Double-decker AirPower. That’s basically the pitch for this wireless charging station from Zens that Apple is selling. Unlike Apple’s AirPower charging mat, this two-story power apartment for iPhones and AirPods is an actual shipping product.
Sophia and Zac inspect the last week of humanoid and non-humanoid robots while unpacking several days of AI announcements, including Amazon’s new Alexa+ AI, Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 and Claude Code, and much more.
Note: recorded 2/27/2025 and released 3/16/2025 because… reasons. Thanks for viewing!
Apple is one step closer to releasing iOS 18.4. The third developer beta version of the upcoming iPhone and iPad software update is now available for testing. iOS 18.4 brings a lot of new features to both devices.
Epic Games has announced that it plans to bring Fortnite back to the iPhone and iPad in another region following a recent antitrust ruling against Apple.
Since last fall, Apple has been marketing the iPhone 16 and Apple Intelligence with an unreleased Siri feature. After confirming today that the more personal version of Siri isn’t coming anytime soon, Apple has pulled the ad in question.
Drivers love Apple CarPlay because it enables safe interaction with iPhone apps through the car’s built-in screen. It turns out police in Australia are benefiting from CarPlay for a whole other safety purpose.
M-series Apple silicon chips tout impressive performance but unpredictable release cadence. That makes it hard to keep up with which chips are in which devices. Apple currently has four generations of M-series chips, up to four variations of each generation, and three product categories that use M-series chips. Here’s the data to make sense of it all.
The Apple silicon era has not been kind to the Mac Pro, and the target market for Apple’s most niche machine shrank even more today. However, it’s always darkest before the dawn, and that may be the case for this Mac workstation.
Apple brought the MacBook Air starting price back to the magic $999 number with the introduction of the M4 MacBook Air. In recent years, Apple relied on selling an older version of the MacBook Air to stay below the $1,000 price tag.
Having newer technology for a lower price is a double win for customers. It also means customers should expect even lower prices on previous generation MacBook Air models still being sold.
Considering an M2 or M3 MacBook Air purchase now that the M4 MacBook Air has arrived? Keep these things in mind before making a buying decision.