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Ben Lovejoy

benlovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer who started his career on PC World and has written for dozens of computer and technology magazines, as well as numerous national newspapers, business and in-flight magazines. He has also written two technothriller novels , a romcom novel, and an SF novella series.

He is old enough to have owned the original Macintosh. He currently owns an M1 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro, a MacBook Air 11, 12.9-inch iPad Pro (LTE 256GB), iPhone 13 Pro Max (256GB), Dell Ultrawide 49-inch monitor, an Apple Watch (Series 4 WiFi) and multiple HomePods – he suspects it might be cheaper to have a cocaine habit than his addiction to all things anodised aluminum.

He thinks wires are evil and had a custom desk made to hide them, known as the OC Desk for obvious reasons.

He’s known for his op-ed and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review:

He considers 1000 miles a good distance for a cycle ride and Chernobyl a suitable tourist destination. What can we say, he’s that kind of chap.

He speaks fluent English but only broken American, so please forgive any Anglicised spelling in his posts.

If @benlovejoy-ing him on twitter, please follow him first so that he can DM you if appropriate. If you have information you can pass on, you can also email him. If you would like to comment on one of his pieces, please do so in the comments – he does read them all.

Connect with Ben Lovejoy

Don’t count on a mobile app making you rich; you’ll likely make $50/month

Mobile app revenue | Charts on a MacBook screen

If you’ve got big dreams about earning a living from creating iPhone apps, a new report makes for some sobering reading. The median monthly revenue generated by an app after a year on the App Store is less than $50 per month.

There is some encouraging news, though: There seems to be a tipping point if you can get an app to the point where it’s earning $1,000 per month …

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Brave Browser sees sharp increase in take-up as Apple prompts EU users to choose

Brave browser iPhone installs | Logo with graph

One change Apple made in iOS 17.4 has resulted in a notable increase in the number of iPhone owners choosing to install the Brave Browser app to use in place of Safari.

The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) required Apple to prompt European iPhone users to choose their default browser, with its own Safari app merely listed as one of the options …

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TikTok ban: Congress and Biden in favor, but Senate may block

TikTok ban may be blocked by the Senate | Logo with prohibition sign

There’s been significant progress toward a US TikTok ban, with Congress looking likely to vote in favor, and President Biden confirming that he will sign the bill if it passes – but the latest report saying that it may be blocked by the Senate.

In particular, Senator Rand Paul has said that he would seek to block the ban on First Amendment grounds …

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Jailbreaking an iPhone re-enables blood oxygen measurement on Apple Watch; August 2028 expiry

Blood oxygen measurement on Apple Watch

An interesting look behind the scenes of the court battle between Apple and health tech company Masimo reveals that jailbreaking an iPhone re-enables blood oxygen measurement on an Apple Watch.

The same report notes that even if Apple doesn’t succeed in its appeal against the import ban, it will be able to re-enable the feature by August 2028 at the latest, when Masimo’s patent expires …

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Vision Pro used in surgery “to eliminate human error”

Vision Pro used in surgery

A UK report describes how Vision Pro was used in surgery, with the spatial computer described as a “gamechanger.” It was first used last month by US neurosurgeon Dr Robert Masson in an operation seen in the above photo.

The headset was said to “eliminate human error” by ensuring that the correct processes and instruments were used throughout the operation …

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Another Apple research lab opening in China, for new materials and technologies

Another Apple research lab opening | City skyline in Shenzhen, China

The bulk of Apple’s new product development work takes place in Cupertino, but the company has a number of research labs around the world. Locations include ChinaFranceIsraelJapanSweden and the UK. The company has today announced plans for a further lab in China.

Apple has two primary motivations for most of the overseas labs it operates, but there is an additional factor in the case of the latest example …

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Age verification should be Apple’s job, says Tinder parent Match

Age verification should be Apple's job | Young woman partly covering her face

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has argued that for age-restricted apps, age verification should be Apple’s job. He’s now been joined in this view by the new head of trust and safety at Match, the company behind leading dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and Plenty of Fish.

Yoel Roth – who formerly had the same role in Twitter – said that Apple and Google are in a better position to accurately assess the age of their smartphone users …

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Vision Pro helps surgeons plan and visualize operations carried out with a surgical robot

Vision Pro helps surgeons plan and visualize operations | Knee surgery visualization shown

Vision Pro is being used for a wide range of applications in the field of health and medicine, with Apple highlighting an app which helps surgeons plan and visualize operations which are carried out with the help of a surgical robot.

The company says that the device is also helping to familiarize nurses with new medical equipment, in a way that reduces anxiety when they start using the kit in real-life applications …

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Apple patent may (slightly) hint at touchscreen iMac similar to Microsoft Surface Studio

Touchscreen iMac hint along the lines of Microsoft Surface Studio (shown)

Although Apple has long rejected the concept of a touchscreen iMac or MacBook, and for good reason, there was one product which made us wonder whether there might be a role for such a device: the Microsoft Surface Studio (above).

Take away the Microsoft logo and Windows UI, and you could easily imagine it was designed by Apple. It’s today being suggested that a new patent application might hint at the possibility of making a Mac version …

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Reddit shares will cost between $31 and $34; Redditors can sell immediately

Reddit shares | Close-up of illustrative trading screen

We don’t yet know the exact cost of Reddit shares when they go on sale, but the company has indicated that the initial public offering (IPO) price will be between $31 and $34 per share.

Selected Redditors will get priority access ahead of the IPO, and unlike most preferential access deals, they will be free to sell their shares immediately if they wish to …

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Sam Altman officially rejoins the OpenAI board after internal review, but mystery remains [U]

OpenAI mess resolved | Abstract image of brain over 3D OpenAI logo

The OpenAI mess was all but over as of last November, but there was one outstanding item: an official review into the actions of CEO Sam Altman. Update: The internal review is now complete, Altman has now been officially appointed to the board, with three new directors.

The board expressed full confidence in the leadership of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, but the mystery of what led to his removal in the first place remains unsolved – more at the end …

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These two models give a glimpse into the abandoned Apple Car designs

One Apple Car design resembled Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle (shown)

While many concept designers gave us their takes on an Apple Car design before the project was finally abandoned, a new piece suggests that the reality would likely have been less sporty than most of them envisaged.

With Apple originally aiming for Level 5 autonomy – with no steering wheels or pedals – the main designs created within the company were less sportscar and more minivan …

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What can we expect from a folding MacBook? (Aside from a less awkward label)

Folding MacBook would be along the lines of the Lenovo Yogabook (shown)

It was claimed earlier this week that Apple is actively working on a folding MacBook, and that plans for this are further advanced than those for a folding iPhone or iPad.

The term ‘folding MacBook’ is a rather awkward one given that the description could be applied to any of the existing models, but what’s meant by it is of course something very different …

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The law doesn’t allow Apple to threaten Epic, says EU commissioner

The law doesn't allow Apple to threaten Epic | Abstract image of man silhouetted against red smoke

Apple appeared to threaten Epic Games, when the company cancelled its developer account for the second time, and cited the developer’s public criticisms of the iPhone maker as one of the reasons.

The European Commissioner, who heads up the executive branch of the European Union, has now suggested that this breaks the law …

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Eight ways AI accessibility features could turbo-boost the Apple experience

AI accessibility features could turbo-boost the Apple experience | Wheelchair user in the Chicago Marathon

Disability campaigner Colin Hughes has described eight ways that AI accessibility features could turbo-boost the experience of using Apple products this year.

Hughes – who is quadriplegic, and previously shared with us the ways in which Apple tech helps him in his daily life – is excited by the company’s focus on artificial intelligence

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