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.
A regulatory database has revealed details of the iPhone 15 battery capacity for each of the four models, and shows it to be slightly higher than the equivalent iPhone 14 ratings across all four models.
However, the boost doesn’t come anywhere close to the double-digit percentage increases that had been rumored …
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Prior to Apple’s launch event, there had been numerous suggestions that the iPhone 15 USB-C port might be restricted in some way, with only Apple-certified cables and accessories able to take advantage of full data transfer rates and charging power.
This would have mirrored the situation with the Lightning port in previous iPhone models, but a new report today says that Apple itself has indirectly confirmed that there are no such restrictions with the USB-C port in iPhone 15 models …
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Foldable devices have so far proven a rather slow-burn. On the smartphone side, the devices we’ve seen have been expensive and fragile.
Convertible laptop/tablet devices have also really compromised the functions of both. But the HP Spectre Fold kicks things up a notch, with a three-in-one device which could argue that it’s really a four-in-one …
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9to5Mac editor-in-chief Chance Miller shared his hands-on iPhone 15 video straight from the Apple event in Cupertino, focusing on the Pro models. This included his impression of the new titanium frame, a run-through of the various ways to use the new Action button, and a look at the new 5x telephoto camera.
These immediate hands-on videos are always brief, and of course only represent first impressions, but until the first iPhone 15 reviews are out, they do give us the best sense of what the new devices are like to actually use …
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A lawyer representing Apple has objected to claims made in court about how much Google pays the Cupertino company to be the default search engine on iPhones and other devices.
The objection was made in a major antitrust case against the search giant, which could see the Department of Justice force the breakup of the company into separate businesses …
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Yep, I’m now a fully paid-up member of the Annual iPhone Upgrade Club. As of the iPhone X, I’ve upgraded every year to the iPhone 11, 12, 13, and 14.
As usual, it’s the camera improvements that sold me on the new model – even though I’m fairly sure I’ll never actually use two of the biggest new features …
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Updated to note that Euro prices have also been reduced, as well as sterling.
In what is almost certainly Apple’s response to currency fluctuations, the company has introduced iPhone price rises in China and India, and has reduced prices in Europe. Price changes have also been seen in other products, like AirPods.
The price changes do vary between models, however, suggesting that Apple is trying to balance the effect of currency changes with the likely impact on demand …
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iOS 16 last year introduced a Clean Energy feature, which lets you set your iPhone to charge during times when your local energy grid is using carbon-neutral electricity. In iOS 17, a new Grid Forecast feature takes a first pass at expanding this capability to any device in your home.
Grid Forecast shows up in the Home app, and shows a prediction of when your energy provider will be generating electricity from carbon-neutral sources like solar and wind …
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One of the pre-launch rumors suggested that there would be iPhone 15 RAM increases, at least for the two Pro models. Reliable source Aaron (@aaronp613) and Joe Rossignol say they’ve now been able to confirm this from files present in Xcode.
They found that both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have 8GB RAM, increased from the 6GB found in the equivalent iPhone 14 models …
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A day after the iPhone 15 launch, the situation regarding a reported Chinese iPhone ban is, if anything, less clear than it was beforehand – and that’s probably not accidental.
The Chinese government has now said that it has not banned either the purchase or use of iPhones, but made reference to claimed “security incidents” related to Apple devices …
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Apple has announced Apple Watch Ultra 2, replacing the top-end model first introduced a year ago.
The new model gets improved internals – shared with the Apple Watch Series 9 …
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Most iPhone 15 displays will be made by Samsung, after competitors LG and BOE failed to gain Apple approval for their planned initial production.
Samsung is reported to be the only company making displays for the standard iPhone 15, the iPhone 15 Plus, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max …
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We’re still awaiting today’s Apple event, but alongside the anticipated new products, we’re expecting confirmation of something which might seem relatively minor, but which could prove hugely influential: Apple dropping leather from its iPhone cases and Apple Watch bands.
While the move is not yet official, there does seem to be strong evidence that the company will this year be taking an environmental stand on the issue …
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Twitter user Kosutami, who often manages to get their hands on prototype versions of Apple products, has posted a sneak preview of a FineWoven Apple Watch band.
The new fabric material is expected to replace leather for both iPhone cases and Watch bands, and to be officially announced alongside the iPhone 15 lineup and one or more new Apple Watch models in today’s event …
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As is now traditional, the #AppleEvent hashtag on X displays a custom hashflag graphic in the form of a tiny version of the Wonderlust logo – complete with a special animation when you like #AppleEvent tweets …
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The TSMC Arizona chip plant is behind schedule, over budget, and the subject of contention in online forums – and now an analyst says that it will be little more than a useless paperweight, even when it does finally begin production.
Not only will it only make chips for older Apple devices, but it can’t even complete the process of making those without sending them back to Taiwan for final assembly …
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One day ahead of the launch of the iPhone 15 line-up, CNN took a look back at every iPhone which preceded it, from the original iPhone in 2007 onward. That got me thinking about my favorites, and wondering: Which were yours?
When Steve Jobs presented the first ever iPhone – with his famous “an iPod, a phone and internet communicator … are you getting it?” reveal – he said it was a magical product which was five years ahead of anything else on the market …
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One of the rumors about this year’s iPhone lineup was that the top-end model might be called the iPhone 15 Ultra, instead of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. But just ahead of the reveal, we noted Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is confident the Pro Max name is sticking around.
Expand Expanding CloseIn a new report detailing what to expect at next week’s “Wonderlust” event, Bloomberg says Apple is planning to stick with the “Pro Max” branding this year …
A new WhatsApp third-party chats feature has been spotted in the latest app code, indicating that the app is preparing to comply with European law on messaging interoperability.
Apple is so far pushing back on suggestions that iMessage would be subject to the same antitrust law, making the unlikely-sounding argument that it doesn’t have enough European users to count …
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Spotify is planning to offer free audiobooks to paying subscribers over the next few months, as it continues to seek ways to make money, according to a new report today.
The company is said to be working with some of the largest publishers in the US to offer premium subscribers up to 20 hours of free audiobook listening per month – but don’t expect it to last long …
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iPhone 15 Pro Max sales will account for 40% of all purchases of this year’s models, according to a prediction by market intelligence company TrendForce.
It says that the periscope lens unique to the top-tier model will be enough to drive consumer demand, despite a potential $100 price increase over last year’s Pro Max …
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Leaker yeux1122 says that Apple Store staff have been told to make sure iPhone 15 buyers know about the change from Lightning port to a USB-C one, when they make their purchase.
Staff will advise them that the box includes a USB-C to USB-C cable, but not a charging brick, so they may need to buy one …
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The iPhone 15 ultrawide-band chip will reportedly be a new U2 version – the first time the location-finding chip has been updated since the U1 first seen in the iPhone 11 Pro.
The report says that this further improves on the already impressive location-finding abilities of the first-gen chip …
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A new patent application describes how Crash Detection accuracy could be improved by using multiple Apple devices.
In particular, it suggests that using motion sensors in AirPods could be used to detect incidents that could result in head injury without necessarily registering an impact on an Apple Watch or iPhone …
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