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.
AnandTech has taken a deep dive into the new M2 chip announced yesterday, focusing in particular on the M1 versus M2 chip performance. These chips are available in the all-new MacBook Air, and in an updated version of the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The site says that while Apple has been as coy as ever when it comes to specifics on the chip (for example, the clock speed), we do know quite a few things already …
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Today’s WWDC 2022 keynote announcements comprised iOS 16, watchOS 9, iPadOS 16, the M2 chip, the all-new MacBook Air, the updated MacBook Pro, macOS Ventura, and iPadOS.
Some of the highlights of iOS 16 are much more customizable lock screens, a new wallpaper gallery, and some welcome improvements to Messages: Editing, Undo Send, and Mark As Unread …
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Among today’s iOS 16 announcements is Apple Pay Later, a way to let you pay in installments simply by choosing the option in the Wallet app when you make payment.
You can pay in four equal installments, and get up to six weeks interest-free …
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A sketchy report dating back to July of last year suggested that we’d see a new range of MacBook Air colors this year. This was given new life a month later when it was backed by Ming-Chi Kuo.
The pastel colors offered by the new iMac rekindled excitement about the idea, and many of us could see the merits in Apple offering same color choice for the MacBook Air. But Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently warned not to get too excited …
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The latest market intelligence data on the wireless in-ear headphone market showed that AirPods shipments grew 3% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, but the fastest growth was seen in Beats products.
The technical term for the market in which AirPods compete is TWS (true wireless stereo), which is a rubbish name as really it refers to self-contained in-ear wireless headphones. This includes Beats Studio Buds, Beats Fit Pro, and Powerbeats Pro, but excludes Beats Flex, as anything with a neckband/external components is not self-contained …
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Apple’s privacy bill lobbying has greater credibility than that of any other tech giant, says a privacy campaign group run by some high-profile figures.
There is strong public support for a federal privacy law, but the process of creating one has been complicated by mixed political views, and by tech giant lobbying …
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Excitement was generated yesterday when it appeared that a 14-inch MacBook Air was one of a number of “hidden product listings” discovered on the website of Apple authorized reseller B&H Photo. However, the company has responded by saying these are not real listings.
Not only were they just pre-event guesses, but they weren’t even guesses for this event …
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If you’re a developer who’s ever dreamed of hitting the top of the App Store rankings, the good news is that a new analysis shows roughly how many daily downloads it takes.
The bad news is that the number is always increasing and Apple applies additional criteria, which means that downloads alone won’t do it. There are six other things to worry about …
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Three of the Swift Student Challenge winners have been named by Apple, for demonstrating their ability to create problem-solving apps in Swift Playgrounds. We heard yesterday from some other winners who shared photos of their awards and swag.
Apple has now highlighted three of the winners. Aged 16, 17, and 19, all are first-time entrants. One of the apps helps gardeners identify invasive weeds, another teaches the basics of CPR, while the third helps those who are exploring their gender identity …
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There have been so many OLED iPad reports that it’s hard to even count, and the latest one suggests that Samsung is making plans to build an advanced OLED production line designed specifically for Apple panels for “tablets and PC line-ups.”
The plan is to begin production in 2024, but one interpretation might suggest the first OLED iPads launching as soon as next year …
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AppleTogether, a solidarity group that grew out of the #AppleToo campaign, has taken issue with Bloomberg’s characterization of what happened at the Cumberland Mall store in Atlanta.
The news organization variously said that Apple Store staff in Atlanta had “withdrawn” or “canceled” its bid to unionize …
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Who could have imagined five years ago that we’d all be swabbing our throats and noses at home to find out whether we have become the latest pandemic victim? But that’s life now, and while everyone knows about lateral flow and PCR tests, few know about the third option available: molecular COVID-19 tests …
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There’s been a lot of speculation about the timing of Apple’s mixed-reality headset launch – and in particular whether the company will announce it at WWDC 2022.
The smart money seems to be saying that it won’t go on sale until next year, with some suggesting that this means no mention at WWDC. Personally, though, I don’t buy this argument …
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Diablo Immortal, a massive multiplayer online action roleplay game, is now available for both iOS and Android. Some regions got early access, but the game is now available in most parts of the world.
The bad news is that it’s a freemium title, but Blizzard says that the “core game experience” will always be free …
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An analysis of pay levels at S&P 500 companies show that Apple increased worker pay by 18% last year, significantly more than most others in the index.
It also reveals that Google and Facebook parent companies Alphabet and Meta had the highest average pay …
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The financial problems of iPhone spyware maker NSO were so bad by the end of last year that it struggled to make payroll – after the company failed to make a single sale over a period of several months.
The company, which sells software to remotely carry out zero-click hacks of both iPhones and Android smartphones, has been in deep trouble ever since it was blacklisted by the US government. However, its plan to overcome its woes could make Pegasus an even nastier threat …
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The Shanghai COVID-19 lockdowns have caused massive disruption to Apple’s supply chain in China, and the company has reportedly responded by moving some iPad production to Vietnam – the first time it has ever done so.
Apple suppliers have also been asked to stockpile components in readiness for any further supply chain disruption, which is causing concern for some …
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A summary of AAPL’s worth as a stock – despite pressures on both supply and demand – notes that the company’s market cap is roughly the same as the gross domestic product of the United Kingdom.
Apple is increasingly being seen as a stock that offers investors the best of both worlds …
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As regular readers know, I’m a huge fan of smart home tech. But there’s a trend we’re increasingly seeing with this and other technology where we never fully own the product.
That’s true in a couple of ways, and there’s both an upside and downside to that – each illustrated by a different story I spotted this morning …
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It’s no surprise that Apple remains the smartwatch market leader by a considerable margin, according to the latest data, but what’s unusual is that the company doesn’t top the list in the premium smartwatch segment.
At the other end of the scale, Xiaomi is showing increasing signs of owning the budget segment …
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The prospect of a world without passwords can’t come soon enough for me, but a problem has been raised with the FIDO standard designed to eliminate the need for them. Namely, that abandoning passwords could make it harder to switch between ecosystems.
If you have your passkeys setup for Apple devices, there is nothing in the standard allowing you to transfer them to an Android device, or vice versa …
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The latest official data shows that Chinese smartphone demand is down by around one-third, year-on-year. Coupled to existing supply constraints, many are expecting troubled times ahead for most smartphone makers, given that China is responsible for around a fifth of all smartphone sales.
However, while the iPhone is likely to be hit alongside other smartphones, Apple is expected to do better than its competitors …
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The discovery that a RealityOS trademark is scheduled to be filed around the world on June 8 has led to widespread speculation that the Apple’s AR/VR headset is set to be announced at WWDC.
Parker Ortolani, who made the discovery, said that this would perfectly match Apple’s historical behavior …
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A report yesterday noted clues to a new ‘iPad multitasking mode’ in iOS 16, which appears to reference the ability to create arbitrarily sized windows rather than the limited, fixed options currently available.
We’ve been calling for a more powerful operating system on the iPad for years now, and have made a number of specific suggestions …
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