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.
Tap to Pay on iPhone has today launched in Malaysia as Apple continues the rollout of the service aimed at small businesses. Interestingly, the iPhone maker is slightly lagging behind when it comes to acceptance of its own payment terminal solution …
Expand Expanding Close
The new Framework Laptop 13 Pro has been described by the company’s CEO as “the MacBook Pro for Linux users” (though you can also run Windows on it). It even claims to beat the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro for battery life.
The new machine copies a number of key Apple features, but is the complete opposite in terms of its underlying philosophy …
Expand Expanding Close
We learned yesterday that Apple was at risk of losing Mike Rockwell, the exec tasked with rescuing the new Siri project after Tim Cook lost confidence in former AI head John Giannandrea.
A deal appears to have been struck to retain Rockwell long enough to deliver the Siri upgrade, and Ternus and Cook also notched up an even important retention win …
Expand Expanding Close
Speculation about Tim Cook’s retirement date intensified when he turned 65 in November of last year, and this was quickly followed by Apple testing the waters for John Ternus as his replacement this year.
That test went very well indeed, with the company last month laying further groundwork for yesterday’s announcement …
Expand Expanding Close
Around 3 million user photos from dating app OkCupid were used for AI training by a third-party company in direct contravention of the company’s own privacy policy …
Expand Expanding Close
Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station (DCS) was the first to suggest that Apple was working on a 200MP camera module for a future iPhone. This would be a huge increase in resolution over the 48MP sensors used in current models.
There have been conflicting rumors since then about timings, but it now seems everyone is aligned on a 2028 release …
Expand Expanding Close
A supposed Tim Cook retirement leak late last year indicated that hardware head John Ternus was Apple’s planned successor and that the announcement would be made ahead of WWDC 2026 in June.
I wrote at the time that this was very clearly a trial balloon by the company in order to test reaction to the plan, and we can now see that this indeed paved the way for yesterday’s announcement …
Expand Expanding Close
Coincidence or not, the latest Android folding smartphones mirror the form factor we’re expecting from the iPhone Ultra (now believed to be Apple’s branding for what was previously referred to as the iPhone Fold).
The Oppo Find N6 last month gave us a look at something very similar to the creaseless display we’re expecting Apple to offer, and today an extensive unboxing and hands-on of the Huawei Pura X Max 5G provides a video look at a device with much the same format we’re expecting from the iPhone Ultra …
Expand Expanding Close
A judge has ruled that the Trump administration should not have coerced Apple and Google into taking down apps which track the activity of ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
A preliminary injunction has been awarded, with the creators of ICE Sightings and Eyes Up told that they are likely to succeed in their argument that the government suppressed protected speech under the First Amendment …
Expand Expanding Close
Developers are arguing that Apple’s App Store ratings are fundamentally broken in at least a couple of different ways – including the fact that your 4-star rating could do more harm than good.
They also highlight the conflict between users not wanting their app experience to be interrupted, while Apple effectively forces developers to nag you for a rating and review …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple has said that it could potentially be fined a massive $38 billion in an antitrust battle taking place in India after it refused to cooperate with the regulator. Yep, that’s billion with a B.
The iPhone maker has persistently refused to submit financial data required by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) after being found guilty of abusing its dominant position in the smartphone market …
Expand Expanding Close
Back in the summer of last year, I started using Aqua Voice as a replacement for the built-in dictation feature on my Mac. I said then that it showed just how good Mac dictation could be if Apple really tried.
Ever since then, I’ve really wished I could use Aqua Voice on my iPhone, and the company recently granted my wish …
Expand Expanding Close
A smartphone loyalty survey has revealed the unsurprising news that Android users are 3.7 times more likely to switch to iPhone than the reverse. More interestingly, it shows that iPhone brand loyalty has increased significantly in the last five years …
Expand Expanding Close
In the run-up to Earth Day next week, Apple has highlighted its latest environmental progress. This includes the use of 100% recycled materials in three categories. The company is also offering a 10% discount on AirPods and other accessories when you recycle an eligible product.
The company today published its latest annual Environmental Progress Report, which tracks Apple’s timeline toward its goal of being carbon neutral across its entire footprint by the end of this decade …
Expand Expanding Close
It’s been revealed that an athlete and pilot killed in a microlight plane crash was being filmed for the Vision Pro immersive video series Adventure at the time.
The report says that crew members had reported safety concerns to Apple ahead of the crash, citing factors such as limited training and unsafe working hours …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple’s component suppliers are beginning production for iPhone 18 parts, and a new report says this includes elements of a brand new camera feature for the iPhone 18 Pro.
Specifically, China’s Sunny Optical has reportedly begun manufacturing a key component needed to control the iris in the lenses in the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max …
Expand Expanding Close
Last month saw a surprise ban on almost every new wireless router intended for use in US homes. The FCC ruling described all foreign-made routers as a national security risk.
The FCC offered a pathway to approval, and today Netgear has received that – but nobody knows why. Not even Netgear itself was able to offer an explanation …
Expand Expanding Close
As Apple continues its gradual replacement of IPS LCD screens with OLED, it’s been unclear exactly when the iPad Air would join the party. Early reports suggested it might happen this year, while subsequent ones pointed to 2027 or later.
A new supply chain report says that production plans are now in place and we can expect to see the shiny new model launched in the spring of next year, potentially as early as March …
Expand Expanding Close
Back in 2023, hackers accessed the personal data of 36 million Xfinity customers. Comcast said at the time that the data exposed included names, contact details, and dates of birth. A class action lawsuit followed, and a $117.5 million settlement has now been reached …
Expand Expanding Close
The global smartphone market fell more than 4% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, ending 2.5 years of consecutive growth, according to a new market intelligence report.
Things are expected to get even worse as the memory shortage bites even harder, but the tactic adopted by Apple is paying off …
Expand Expanding Close
Amazon has today announced that it’s buying satellite giant GlobalStar to allow its Amazon Leo service to offer direct connectivity to consumer devices. Apple owned 20% of the company.
The deal will see Apple buy its satellite services for iPhone and Apple Watch from Amazon Leo, with the acquisition promising to accelerate innovation and connectivity …
Expand Expanding Close
Analysts believe Apple may be adopting a very uncharacteristic policy in pursuit of accelerated growth. The company has traditionally protected its industry-leading profit margins, but now appears to be willing to sacrifice these to some degree in order to prioritize increased market share.
Analysts believe this is creating enormous opportunities for increasing the Mac user base in particular, with a big name suggesting that a doubling within the next decade is “certainly achievable” …
Expand Expanding Close
Even Windows fans saw the MacBook Neo as a stunning buy, with many saying that Microsoft and other brands were going to be forced to respond. Microsoft has now done so – but in completely the wrong way.
Yesterday saw the announcement of some very steep Microsoft Surface price hikes across the full range of models. The 13-inch version matching the MacBook Neo display size has cumulatively seen a staggering 50% increase from its original price of $999 to $1,499 today …
Expand Expanding Close
The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine is one of the web’s most valuable resources, enabling us to access earlier versions of webpages and websites. It performs an invaluable role in preserving information that would otherwise be lost when websites go offline, as well as providing a practical tool to track updates made to a web page.
However, the organization says that it is now under severe threat thanks to media organizations blocking access to the archive’s web crawler – despite those same publishers relying on it for some of their own stories …
Expand Expanding Close