Ben Lovejoy

In what appears to be a new feature in the latest iOS beta, Siri explains Conversation Awareness the first time it is activated.

Without the message, people might be confused as to why the volume has suddenly reduced itself on their Airpods Pro 2 …

If you’re waiting impatiently for the first folding iPhone, Samsung has you covered. In an attempt to sell iPhone owners on the benefits of a folding phone, the company has created a demo that lets you use two iPhones to experience a simulation of the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

The app lets you simulate both a single display stretched across two screens, and drag-and-drop multitasking between different apps on different screens (well, phones) …

If your commitment to fashion runs as far as color-coordinated Apple Watch faces to match your band or outfit, a future Watch may be able to automate the process.

A newly granted Apple patent describes how a future model could have a sensor embedded beneath the display, which can detect the color or a band or item of clothing, and then adjust the Watch face to match …

The WSJ yesterday reported that a version of Threads for web would launch this week, and this has now been confirmed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

In a post whose humor is matched only by the quality of the photography, Zuckerberg said that the web version would roll out over the next few days …

Meta has announced that European users can now opt out of algorithmic feeds on Instagram and Facebook, in order to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

However, the company is not extending the same choice to app users in the US or anywhere else outside Europe …

Previous reports of iPhone 15 price rises are being echoed in a new supply chain report. As with earlier rumors, this one again suggests that the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models will cost $100 to $200 more than the iPhone 14 equivalents.

We would offer the same cautions as we did with the previous reports, however …

Tap to Pay on iPhone has now rolled out to the Netherlands, after first launching in the US, and later expanding into Taiwan, Australia, and the UK.

The service allows small businesses to dispense with separate card readers, and simply use their iPhone as an all-in-one contactless payment terminal …

9to5Mac sources are corroborating an unlikely-sounding claim: that there will be no official Apple leather cases for this year’s iPhone 15 lineup.

It’s unclear what the reason for this might be, though the most likely explanation would be that the company plans to introduce a new premium case material this year intended to take the place of leather …

If you’re planning on an upgrade next month, it may be worth holding out to see what deals can be found from mobile carriers: A Bloomberg report suggests that they will be offering “aggressive” iPhone 15 discounts.

The predicted move is expected as they seek to address disappointing smartphone demand in the US, amid a global smartphone recession expected to be the worst in a decade …

The US government is proposing to clamp down on data brokers who sell sensitive personal data, such as income, payment history, and health conditions.

Two government agencies have now put forward proposals for regulations to place limits on what is currently the privacy equivalent of the Wild West …

Disabled people who rely on Apple’s accessibility features say that Voice Control has fallen behind Siri in both accuracy and capabilities, despite being an essential rather than a nice-to-have.

They say it’s frustrating to see the Cupertino company continue to make improvements to Siri, while Voice Control – which is key to many disabled people being able to use Apple tech – has apparently been forgotten …

We’re just a few weeks away from the launch of this year’s iPhone lineup, and a new report says that iPhone 15 production is underway in India, as well as China.

However, one big question remains: Will Apple succeed in simultaneously shipping launch iPhones from both countries?

Analysts have been pitching the idea of Apple buying Disney for many years, and to most of us it has seemed a rather ridiculous one. The supposed reasoning for it has always been absurdly weak.

Personally, I remain extremely skeptical. But the idea is now getting new traction, and being taken seriously in some unlikely quarters – and even I have to admit that there is some merit to the latest incarnation of the idea-that-will-not-die …

Intel’s planned acquisition of Tower Semiconductor has failed, after the US chipmaker was unable to get the necessary regulatory approval.

The abandonment of the $5.4B deal is a setback to Intel’s hopes of competing with Apple chipmaker TSMC …

If you’ve ever done an Apple Trade In of an old device when buying a new one, you may have briefly wondered what happens to it after you leave the store.

We’ve previously had a look at the post-Trade In experience for a major US carrier, and a new report gives us a similar behind-the-scenes look at what happens to devices traded in through Apple itself …

A report yesterday revealed that a set of popular streaming TV services can now cost more than traditional cable TV packages.

It pointed out that subscription costs have risen dramatically, which creates an obvious risk of people cutting back on the number of services. But I think there’s a second issue, too, and that’s the competition for attention …

Apple has been awarded a second patent for a way to implement MacBook Face ID, but we’d still caution against expecting it to happen any time soon.

That’s both because of the company’s past statements about the idea, and a specific technical challenge involved in implementing it in MacBooks …

Apple has successfully defended itself against claims that it infringed two Bluetooth pairing patents relating to AirPods. The claim was a ridiculous one, but might have succeeded on a technical point of law. Fortunately, sanity prevailed when the appeal judge decided to apply a commonsense test.

One-E-Way held two patents for a system of generating a “unique user code,” which is sent to a headphone to enable it to pair with the other device …