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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 several books, and creates occasional videos.

He is old enough to have owned the original Macintosh. He currently owns an M1 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro, an M1 13-inch MacBook Air, an iPad mini, an iPhone 16 Pro Max, and multiple HomePods. He suspects it might be cheaper to have a cocaine habit than his addiction to all things anodised aluminum.

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

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

He gets a lot of emails and can’t possibly reply to them all. 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

Hey Siri, give us weather reports that work outside California

Hey Siri, give us weather reports that work outside California | A rainy night viewed through rain-streaked glass

Some of my feature requests are more ambitious than others, but my latest one is extremely unassuming. I would simply like Apple to appreciate that there are places other than California when it comes to Siri’s weather reports.

While I’m sure that the standard reports given by Apple’s voice assistant work just fine for Cupertino, they are lacking a vital ingredient for places like London …

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Apple says payments fully blocked in Russia following government diktat [U]

Apple pulls the plug on all payments in Russia following government diktat | Photo shows Russian banknotes and credit cards

Apple says that all payment processing in Russia has ceased, meaning that it’s no longer possible for residents of the country to make app purchases or renew subscriptions. This includes subscriptions to Apple services like iCloud+ and Apple TV.

The move followed a diktat from the Russian government, and saw the closure of a loophole that allowed customers to make payments to Apple indirectly …

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United Airlines app streamlines AirTag tracking, tells you TSA wait times

United Airlines app streamlines AirTag tracking, tells you TSA wait times | Photo shows a 787-9 leaving the runway on a flight to London

The United Airlines app has been updated with streamlined access to AirTag baggage tracking. The app now makes it easier for you to share the location of an AirTag with United’s customer service staff.

Additionally, with a partial government shutdown leaving TSA checkpoints understaffed, the app will now provide you with estimates of the wait time for security at your departure airport – alongside a number of other useful enhancements …

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I was an Apple guy almost from the start – here are my standout devices

I was an Apple guy almost from the start – here are my standout devices | OG Ben with OG Macintosh in 1984

This story is part of 9to5mac’s series celebrating Apple’s 50th anniversary.

On Apple’s 50th anniversary, it’s somewhat worrying that I’m old enough to have been an Apple guy almost from the very start. The above photo shows the OG me with the OG Macintosh in 1984. Oh, and a rotary-dial telephone just to complete the museum exhibit look.

I never used an Apple I, but I did use an Apple II fairly extensively – and I’ve been a Mac guy literally from day one. So of all the Apple products I’ve used over the years, which ones stand out for me … ?

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Tim Cook shares fun video trip back through 50 years of Apple products

Tim Cook tweets fun video trip back through 50 years of Apple | iMac G4 left, original Macintosh right

Apple is today celebrating its 50th anniversary, and CEO Tim Cook has tweeted a fun video taking a trip back in time through 50 years of Apple products in a glitchy vintage TV style.

It follows a homepage animation on the company’s website entitled “50 Years of Thinking Different” and, in my view, would have made a better choice …

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Apple continues to roll out age verification around the world; more UK methods

Apple continues to roll out age verification around the world | A young girl using a smartphone

Tech trends aren’t always easy to spot at an early stage, but there’s a very clear exception right now: the age verification requirement a growing number of countries and US states are introducing.

Apple is impacted by at least some of this legislation as certain apps are rated as suitable only for adults, and the company has so far introduced age verification in three countries …

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Here’s how to backup your Apple devices on World Backup Day

Here's how to backup your Apple devices | A close-up photo of the inside of a hard disk drive

There’s a saying that there are two types of people in the world: those who have experienced major data loss and those who will experience major data loss. World Backup Day is a good time to ensure that you’re protected against falling into the second category.

Fortunately, Apple devices make it very simple to keep them automatically backed up, but it is still worrying how many people fail to do so …

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The end of the Mac Pro was inevitable, but I still feel a little sad

The end of the Mac Pro was inevitable, but I still feel a little sad | Close-up photo showing the casing of the last model

I reluctantly accepted last year that the end of the line for the Mac Pro was an inevitability. It had already effectively been replaced by the Mac Studio, and a macOS 26 feature was another nail in its coffin.

Yesterday was a day that had been coming since the first Apple Silicon Mac. I do think it’s the right call, but confess to still being a little sad to see it happen …

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Here’s the most powerful charger worth buying for each Apple device

Curiously, the iPhone 16e gets close to (partly) supporting MagSafe | iPhone 16e with USB-C charger cable

The charging brick that came with your Apple device – or the one recommended by Apple, in the case of iPhones – usually won’t get you the fastest charge. It can be worth spending a bit more money on a more powerful charger.

Conversely, every Apple device has its own maximum charging rate, and buying a charger which exceeds this is just a waste of money …

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This Shortcut finds all your long videos to free up iPhone storage

This shortcut finds all your long videos to safeguard your iPhone storage | Photo shows a digital movie clapboard in a desert

Although I appreciate Apple’s desire to keep the stock Photos app as simple as possible to use, there are a number of surprising omissions.

One of them is that there’s no way to sort or filter videos by length or file size. That’s a pretty fundamental missing feature if you’re trying to free up iPhone storage by deleting some of your largest unwanted videos. Fortunately, there’s a Shortcut available to do the job …

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Major court ruling says social media apps are intentionally addictive; Meta & Google lose

Major court ruling says social media apps are intentionally addictive | Stock image shows a teenage girl silhouetted against a window

A court ruling with potentially massive implications has found that social media apps are intentionally designed to be addictive, and are harmful to teenage mental health.

A now 20-year-old woman sued Meta and YouTube owner Google for damaging her mental health as a child, with a jury awarding her $6 million in damages – and this is likely to be only the start …

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Apple age verification failing for some – here’s what to try [U]

Apple age verification failing for some – here's what you need to know | Photo shows a child holding a phone

Apple age verification went live in the UK in iOS 26.4 after a previous accidental release in the developer beta. While it was straightforward for me, some on the Apple Support forums and Reddit are reporting major problems with the process.

Some of the issues appear to be based on misunderstandings around the acceptable documentation when the company is unable to verify your age automatically, while others seem to be system failures. Update: See below for additional acceptable documents …

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UK regulator Ofcom welcomes Apple age verification in iOS 26.4

Ofcom welcomes Apple age verification in iOS 26-4 | Screengrab shown on a colorful background

Apple yesterday released iOS 26.4, with the company highlighting 13 new features and enhancements. The software update added functionality to Apple Music, made accessibility improvements, and introduced a number of other worthwhile enhancements.

There was one change the company didn’t mention, and that was the introduction of age verification for UK users. This was accidentally launched in a previous beta but is now official …

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