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
I love my AirPods Pro 2, but I can’t say the same about every “intelligent” feature Apple has added over the years. If you want to roll with your AirPods Pro as straightforward as possible, these are the features to disable.
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There’s a new app called “People” coming soon to the iPhone that looks promising. Like Cardhop and other Contacts app alternatives, People wants to modernize your address book with important context.
This is the pitch from indie developer Andrew Theis:
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I’ve played guitar as a hobby since I was in junior high. While the instrument hasn’t changed, the tools I use to make it possible have — sort of. In addition to the built-in GarageBand app, these are the two must-have iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps I use for playing guitar for fun.
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In a Friday night bulletin, TikTok issued a statement on what it calls a “possible shutdown” after tomorrow. In short, TikTok does not plan to remain operational in the United States through the weekend despite the Biden White House deferring ban enforcement to the Trump White House.
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Apple discontinued AirPods Max with Lightning when AirPods Max with USB-C debuted last fall. However, you can still easily find the original version new in stores if you shop the right places. There are three reasons why this made be the right move for you.
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U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bennet have formally asked Apple CEO Tim Cook and other “Big Tech” leaders to respond to questions regarding their million dollar donations to the Trump inauguration fund. Getting straight to the point:
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No, that voice you heard wasn’t a call from the other side. It was emergency services calling to help thanks to Crash Detection on Apple Watch. That’s exactly what happened to a 55-year-old Apple Watch customer in Massachusetts after passing out while driving and ending up in his upside down car in someone’s pool.
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Apple’s 10th-gen iPad is a great value at $299 (regular $349), especially when you consider that the next comparable display size in the lineup starts at $600. iPad 10 has a full-screen design, fun colors, Touch ID, USB-C, and impressive cameras. However, there’s one missing feature that should make customers carefully consider purchasing this model.
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Friends don’t let friends buy a new MacBook Air right before a newer MacBook Air comes out, right? That’s mostly true, but two exceptions. There are currently two very good MacBook Air models that you can purchase brand new that are both incredible values.
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Several Meta properties including Facebook are reportedly down for users within the last few minutes. Downdetector shows a spike of more than 10,000 reports and climbing for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
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Apple has officially gained a board seat on the Ultra Accelerator Link Consortium, a group of more than 65 members developing next generation AI accelerator architecture. Apple’s involvement will allow the company to influence the new standard and push for its adoption. That basically means that Apple will be involved in creating and promoting a standard for connecting a bunch of GPUs together in data centers powering AI tasks.
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What do ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini all have in common? Dedicated apps on iPhone. Meanwhile, Grok has been shoehorned into the social media app before now. Starting today, the standalone Grok AI app is available on the iPhone and iPad for US users for the first time. More regions will be added as the rollout scales.
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From 4GB storage to 1024GB, the iPhone has had an incredible run that isn’t slowing down, and it all started on this day in 2007. Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the world for the first time 18 years ago today.
Apple also opened pre-orders for the original Apple TV after Jobs revealed what was originally called iTV in September 2006. See both keynotes and press releases below:
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Missing out on those super limited edition Year of the Snake AirPods 4? Apple has stocked a ton of exclusive Year of the Snake accessories for iPhone, AirPods, Mac, and more. From iPhone cases and MagSafe battery packs to laptop bags and charging solutions, there’s plenty of Lunar New Year swag that isn’t limited to China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan like those AirPods.
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Instagram is a 203-year-old iPhone app — give or take a few decades. It launched the same year as the iPad. As another year goes by, the refusal to make a proper iPad app mystifies a new generation of historians and iPad users.
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It started with a planetarium. Now Theater for visionOS has become the best Plex video player on Apple Vision Pro. That’s because of a collection of new features in today’s version 2.1 update.
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Watching movies, shows, and all kinds of video is easily one of the top two best experiences Apple Vision Pro. visionOS-exclusive apps like Television and Theater exist for that reason. The latter app premiered in June with a live Apple exec interview in 3D to mark the occasion. Today Theater 2 has landed, and with it comes the best new thing I’ve experienced on Apple Vision Pro.
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What do you get the iPhone user who has everything? CarPlay solutions and accessories are a great place to start! These are the best CarPlay related gifts for the holiday season.
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Apple Music did a better Spotify Wrapped than Spotify this year, but that wasn’t the issue for this congressman from New Jersey who got caught poorly faking their results.
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Looking for a weekend activity? Throw on your wetsuit and strap on Apple Vision Pro to take an immersive dive with tiger sharks — wetsuit optional.
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Want the latest social network that’s popping off to be available on your Apple Watch? Leave it up to indie developers to always find a way. The latest is an all-new client for Bluesky called Butterfly — no relation to MacBook butterfly keyboards, fortunately.
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Apple released the second round of AI features powered by Apple Intelligence this week through iOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia. Now it’s the iWork suite of productivity apps that has an Apple Intelligence update ready for the world.
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OpenAI has unveiled two new ChatGPT features today as part of its 12 days of OpenAI campaign. Notably, ChatGPT is learning how to include video input and screen sharing in voice conversation. And while the firm is feeling festive, there’s a fun new Santa mode arriving just in time for the holidays.
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Apple is reportedly preparing to take another significant step in its silicon independence journey, according to Mark Gurman reporting for Bloomberg. The shift is expected to first appear in refreshed Apple TV and HomePod mini hardware as soon as the upcoming year.
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