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
Speaking of ways creatives can use Apple Vision Pro, check out this augmented reality art projector app from Da Vinci Eye. It uses Apple Vision Pro’s Passthrough feature to let you see your own canvas as you project a transparent layer of art for inspiration over it.
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As someone who dabbles in music creation for fun, nothing excites me like a Moog synthesizer. So when I learned that Moog has turned Apple Vision Pro into a first-class instrument for music production, my brain went into galaxy mode.
The aptly named Animoog Galaxy is a “multi-sensory creative tool” that delivers an “immersive experience unlike any other, bringing a revolutionary instrument to musicians and technophiles.” In other words, we have our first killer app for music creators.
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Apple Vision Pro is the third Apple product to use a Digital Crown. Apple Watch originally introduced the dial input method before AirPods Max adapted it as a volume knob. Now the Digital Crown is taking on its third life as one of two physical controls on Apple Vision Pro. Here’s everything you can do with the Digital Crown and top button on Apple Vision Pro.
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Sources indicate Apple plans to acquire Brighter AI, a German AI startup specializing in anonymizing face and license plate data. Apple aims to use this acquisition to enhance privacy features on Apple Vision Pro, 9to5Mac is told. Apple may be considering Brighter AI’s technology to minimize the risk of Apple Vision Pro capturing identifiable information in videos or photos taken in public.
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The Grammy Awards ceremony is just around the corner, and Siri is ready to get the music started. Siri can control Apple Music and other popular music streaming services with requests specifically tuned for the Grammys. And Swifties can take things even further with instant Taylor Swift playback using Shortcuts and Apple Music or Spotify.
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My pal Jacob and I trekked over to the Apple Store in New Orleans this morning to be customers #1 and #2 on Apple Vision Pro launch day. We both went for the half hour Vision Pro demo sessions that stores are now offering. The verdict? If you’re at all interested in experiencing Apple Vision Pro, you just have to find the nearest Apple Store and take advantage of the opportunity.
It was nice to finally experience some of the things Chance Miller hasn’t stopped talking about since June. But my experience isn’t really complete yet. My memory of using Apple Vision Pro so far is distant and blurry. That’s because there weren’t optical inserts for my particular corrective lens prescription. Still, I had to try Apple Vision Pro, and it was an interesting 30 minutes.
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Flexibits wasted no time preparing the Fantastical experience for Apple Vision Pro. Michael Simmons, the mind behind the best calendar app, said over the summer that taking advantage of Apple’s Vision Pro developer sessions “helped us start thinking not just about left to right or up and down, but beyond borders at all.” That’s a serious teaser, and now the result of their work is ready for Vision Pro customers.
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Apple will begin taking reservations for Apple Vision Pro demo sessions at Apple Store locations in the US starting Monday. In-store demos start today for walk-in customers on a first come, first serve basis.
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Apple has its fiscal year 2024 Q1 earnings results. The company reports $119.58 billion in revenue during the three-month period. Analysts expected revenue around $117.91 billion. Apple reported revenue of $117.15 billion for the same quarter a year ago in what was a rare miss for the firm.
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Apple started shipping special research iPhone hardware to security experts in 2020. Naturally, security researchers have been mostly coy about sharing the specifics of what Apple calls “rooted” hardware. Still, there are some program participants who grant a peek behind the curtains from time to time.
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Culture Code’s Things, the tasks system I’ve relied on for over a decade, is going spatial for Apple Vision Pro. The standalone visionOS app brings the full project management experience to Apple’s first spatial computer.
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Last month I wrote about two features that I consider missing from Apple’s Screen Time parental controls. In retrospect, what I should have written is how Screen Time is broken. I thought the next software update would fix things.
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A long, long time ago (last Friday) we shared that Meta appeared to be planning to officially support spatial videos shot on iPhone without workarounds. Now, on the eve of Apple Vision Pro hitting stores, Meta has made it real. Quest headsets will indeed gain spatial support for Apple’s spatial video format.
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Not hyped enough about Apple Vision Pro yet? Apple has cranked up the anticipation with a countdown clock on apple․com that tells you how soon Apple Vision Pro will officially launch.
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Ray Wong from Inverse has uncovered an interesting new tidbit about the Apple Vision Pro battery. The cable that runs from the battery to the headset is removable with a SIM-eject tool:
The connector looks like Lightning at first glance, but wider and with additional contact points.
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Apple recently launched its collaborative playlist feature for Apple Music as part of iOS 17.4. This lets Apple Music subscribers share, edit, and enjoy playlists together. Now Apple has clarified the age restriction for playlist collaboration.
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Apple Vision Pro now has a newer software update awaiting customers on Friday. visionOS 1.0.2 is now the current software version released by Apple.
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Update: The public beta is now available as well.
Apple has released the first watchOS 10.4 and macOS 14.4 developer betas. tvOS 17.4 and HomePod 17.4 public betas are also available now.
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Apple TV has long been a conference room hit for sharing content on the big screen. tvOS 17 and iOS 17 add the ability to use your iPhone as your webcam and join video calls from your TV.
Now Cisco is launching Webex for Apple TV 4K so you can turn your TV into the best screen for work meetings.
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NBA fans will soon have a new leaderboard to climb. NBA Infinite, the upcoming player versus player mobile basketball game, is launching on iOS and Android during the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend.
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I recently asked developers making Apple Vision Pro apps to send me their work (with the subject line WHY YOU NEED VISION PRO), and the response has been excellent!
Hearing from developers and seeing their ideas for the first visionOS apps has lit a spark. I think there’s a larger story to tell here in the early days of Apple Vision Pro.
I believe podcasting is the best medium for discovering and telling that story. That’s why I’m launching my first-ever Kickstarter campaign to help create a new podcast series, Visioneers: Developing for Vision.
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Update: TikTok statement to 9to5Mac added.
The music will stop for TikTok if a new licensing deal with Universal Music Group isn’t reached by January 31. Universal says it will pull its songs from the viral video giant as the existing deal expires.
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The Iconfactory basically gave Twitter its brand identity before X deleted it all and kicked Twitterrific into the void of space. Now the legendary team of programmers and designers is back with an ambitious project for a new app that will help unify the fragmented world of online media. It’s called Project Tapestry, and The Iconfactory needs your help to make it happen.
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It’s that time again. Apple is releasing another round of somewhat nebulous AirPods firmware updates. This time it’s the AirPods Pro AirPods 2, and AirPods Max hardware that are due for an update.
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