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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

Apple’s Epic ban is questioned by EU regulators, as more details emerge

Apple's Epic ban | Photo of lawyer fastening jacket

Apple’s Epic ban – which saw the iPhone maker again terminate a developer account used by the games company – is being questioned by EU antitrust regulators.

More details also emerged of follow-ups to Phil Schiller’s demand for written assurances of good faith by both Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and Apple’s lawyers …

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Apple shares three success stories from its Entrepreneur Camp for developers

Apple Entrepreneur Camp success stories | Photos of three participants

Apple’s Entrepreneur Camp was first launched back in 2018, focusing then on app-driven business owned or led by women. The latest edition is geared to developers from Indigenous backgrounds.

Apple has today highlighted three of the camp’s success stories, representing apps in the education, fitness, and mental health sectors …

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There is no excuse for the failure to implement Spotify HomePod support

Spotify HomePod support | Original and mini models shown

My colleague yesterday referenced the fact that Spotify is demanding greater freedoms from Apple, but hasn’t yet taken advantage of the ones already offered to the company. Key among these is the company’s failure to implement Spotify HomePod support.

It seems pretty ridiculous to complain that Apple Music has an unfair advantage over Spotify, while at the same time failing to take advantage of a clear opportunity to partly level the playing field – and keep your HomePod-owning subscribers happy …

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Apple’s DMA response could render the law toothless, say campaign groups

Apple's DMA response | Rainbow Apple logo on iPhone

Campaign groups say that if the EU lets Apple get away with its response to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), then the law will be rendered toothless.

Apple, Amazon, Google, and Meta have all taken the same approach to the antitrust law, say the groups: to seek technical compliance while ensuring that their market dominance remains protected …

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Global meta outage: What do we know, and what was the likely cause?

Global meta outage cause | Plug removed from socket

Yesterday’s global meta outage seemingly took out the company’s entire network, with users unable to access Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Threads, and Quest headsets.

The outage lasted between one and two hours for most users, and while everything now appears back to normal, questions are naturally being asked about what went wrong …

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Poll: The iconic MacBook Air wedge is no more – will you miss it?

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Yesterday’s introduction of the M3 MacBook Air meant the discontinuation of the M1 MacBook Air – and with it, the very last of the models to retain the iconic wedge shape …

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PSA: X audio and video calls probably don’t use strong encryption

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X audio and video calls started rolling out last year, in a feature nobody appeared to ask for and few seem to want. We previously shared how to deactivate the feature, and now it seems there’s another reason to do so …

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Parts pairing used by Apple set to be outlawed by Oregon

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The practice of parts pairing – which can prevent third-party repair shops from cannibalising broken devices for parts – is set to be outlawed by Oregon.

The legislature just passed the toughest right to repair legislation seen to date, and it now requires only the governor’s signature to pass into law …

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iPhone sales ride high in Japan, plunge in China

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There’s good news and bad for Apple in two different market intelligence reports. One points to Apple’s market share rising and continuing to utterly dominate the Japanese smartphone market, while the other describes a dramatic slump in iPhone sales in China.

When it comes to Japan, it’s long been the case that there’s Apple, and then, a long way behind, there’s everyone else …

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Spotify comment on Apple’s $2B antitrust fine hints at possible malicious compliance

Spotify comment on Apple | Headphones next to iMac on desk

We noted yesterday that Spotify welcomed Apple being fined $2B for antitrust offences relating to streaming music services.

The tone of the company’s response, however, strongly suggests that it believes the iPhone maker will repeat what some have described as Apple’s “malicious compliance” in another antitrust case …

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Signal usernames (screenshot)

Signal usernames rolling out in beta, to keep your phone number private [Update: Availability]

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Update: After rolling out in beta last month, Signal has announced that usernames are now available to everyone.


Signal usernames have long been inexplicably absent from the secure messaging app, requiring users to share their phone number with contacts. That’s changing, however, in the latest beta …

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Using Vision Pro as a sole device for a week shows it can work for some

Using Vision Pro as a primary device | Internal view

There’s no doubt that one of the things making that $3,500+ price tag hard to swallow is the fact that, for most people, a Vision Pro is an accessory, not a primary device. But what happens if you try to use Vision Pro as a primary device – indeed, as your only device?

That’s the question a new piece sets out to answer, and the experiment worked surprisingly well …

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M3 15-inch MacBook Air is now my default Mac recommendation

M3 15-inch MacBook Air is now my default Mac recommendation

I guess most of us here find friends ask us which Mac they should buy, and for me the base model M3 15-inch MacBook Air just became the new default recommendation – even for those with somewhat demanding needs.

At $1,299, it’s a truly incredible amount of Mac for the money, even though Apple is still being somewhat stingy with the memory and storage …

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What to expect from Apple this week [Updated]

Beats Solo 4 and new iPads

Update 8:43am PT: Beats Solo 4 are not expected to launch for several more weeks, according to a source familiar with the matter. No word on when to expect new iPads.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported that Apple stores are planning a minor refresh this week, but he believes it to be for a new accessory, rather than a major new product.

He says that a bigger refresh is expected the following week, and it sounds like that one may point to the new iPads we’re expecting to be announced any day now, alongside the just-announced M3 MacBook Air models

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Micro-LED Apple Watch Ultra project not cancelled, says supply-chain report

Micro-LED Apple Watch Ultra project not cancelled | Existing Ultra model shown

We last week cast doubt on reports that the micro-LED Apple Watch Ultra project had been cancelled, and a new supply-chain report appears to confirm our view.

It says that while Osram was in line to supply micro-LED screens for the Watch, and has been dropped by Apple, the Cupertino company is still working on the project, and is simply seeking new suppliers …

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Doctors prescribing app, with walking steps targets for patients

Doctors prescribing app, with walking steps targets | Typing on Mac next to stethoscope

A pilot scheme is effectively seeing doctors prescribe an app – specifically one which measures the number of steps patients walk, with each person being prescribed a personal target.

At the end of the ‘prescription’ period, the results are sent to the patient’s doctor, to be combined with other health data in order to assess the effectiveness …

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