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.
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After we revealed a support document for an unreleased Apple dual USB-C charger, a Weibo account posted what was claimed to be a photo of the upcoming device – but it seems that it isn’t …
As promised, Apple CEO Tim Cook’s privacy speech was the headline address to the International Association of Privacy Professionals, describing the fight for privacy as “one of the most essential battles of our time.”
Consumers and tech giants alike favor a federal privacy law, rather than the piecemeal approach of individual states passing their own laws – and the chair of the Federal Trade Commission says that now is the time to create one.
She made her remarks at a global summit hosted by the International Association of Privacy Professionals, where Apple CEO Tim Cook is also set to speak later today. While the two may agree on privacy issues, they are likely to hold very different views on antitrust action …
The latest COVID-19 lockdown measures in China have seen Apple production halted at three key Chinese suppliers. One of these in particular could significantly hit iPhone availability.
Assembly of iPhones, iPads, and Macs has been suspended in the electronics production hubs of Shanghai and Kushan …
When it comes to speakers, there are laws of physics and rules of economics which are hard to defy. A pocketable speaker that costs $60 simply isn’t going to be any good. Yet the Tribit StormBox Micro 2 somehow is.
The laws of speaker physics say that you need a decent-sized driver and housing to sound good, especially when it comes to bass. The rules of economics say that good sound costs money. But audio companies are increasingly sticking their thumbs up to both …
It’s today been reported that Pegasus spyware hacked iPhones belonging to senior European Union officials, including that of the European Justice Commissioner.
The Apple versus Spotify antitrust battle took a new turn today, with the European Union saying that the Cupertino company will now face an additional charge of anti-competitive behavior.
This indicates that investigators have found enough evidence to add to the expected antitrust charges relating to the way that Apple treats Spotify and other developers …
A problem updating the Apple Studio Display firmware has now been resolved, after multiple users reported an error message saying that it “could not be completed.”
While it initially appeared this might simply be a server issue, it’s now being suggested that the problem was due to an embarrassing mistake by Apple …
The story of Apple’s growth from garage startup to multi-trillion dollar business is one that has been told in many different ways by many different people, but still new versions can be found.
Statista has put together the story of the last 20 years of Apple growth in a 40-second hypnotic video, with animated revenue bars showing how the company’s product mix has changed over time …
Apple chipmaker TSMC has announced record revenues for the first quarter of the year, despite the continued component shortage and COVID lockdowns in China.
The company said that Q1 revenue was 35% higher than the same quarter last year – even though it had faced challenges …
Twitteraccessibility improved today for people who are blind or have limited vision. The company is globally rolling out improvements to its image descriptions, after testing them for a month …
Two reputable sources recently reported that Apple was cutting iPhone SE orders in response to lower-than-expected demand. However, a new supply chain report says that there is as yet no evidence of this happening.
Both Nikkei Asia and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is significantly cutting production orders for its latest version of the entry-level iPhone …
Apple offered key AirTag anti-stalking measures when it first launched its tracking devices, and has since offered two rounds of improvements. AirTags unequivocally offer better protection against misuse by stalkers and thieves than any other device on the market – and that’s something we’ve continually stressed.
However, it’s equally undeniable that AirTags have brought a whole new level of awareness to the very existence of small and affordable trackers, and that awareness has increased the risk. So I think it would be beneficial for Apple take additional anti-stalking measures – and here are a few of our ideas …
Apple has defied Russian threats and restored to the App Store the Smart Voting app it removed in September. The app was created by jailed opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, in order to help strategic voting against Putin.
In September of last year, Russian agents had threatened to imprison both Apple and Google staff unless the app was removed within 24 hours – including a particularly chilling threat against Google’s top exec in Moscow …
Evidence for the launch of OLED iPads in 2024 appears to be growing, as a new supply chain report says that three Apple display providers are gearing up for production.
There have so far been conflicting reports about whether Apple even plans to make iPads with OLED screens, with further disputes about when it might happen, but we do appear to be getting a more coherent picture of late …
An analysis of 150 police reports shows that Apple’s AirTag stalking protections are working around a third of the time.
While AirTags can and have been used by stalkers, examining reports from eight police departments reveals that exactly one-third of the victims were alerted by notifications on their phones …
Uber yellow cab bookings – which began last month in New York – are just the start of the company’s ambitious plans to turn itself into a “super-app,” with offerings extending as far as banking and mobile wallet services …
It’s been revealed that NSO’s Pegasus hacked the iPhone of an award-winning journalist, just weeks after Apple sought an injunction that would bar the company from targeting iPhone users.
NSO’s Pegasus software is so dangerous for two reasons. First, it gives access to almost all the data on the phone, including messages, photos, and location. Second, it works via a zero-click approach …
We’re used to hearing of Apple gift card scams where fraudsters trick victims into buying gift cards for “release fees” for fictitious fortunes, or as “fines” to avoid arrest for tax evasion – but a pair of criminals found a clever way to generate $1.5M worth of gift cards.
Or more accurately, the method was clever, but the way they spent the cards was dumb …
There’s always a surprising amount of interest in Mac emulators for classic Macintosh and vintage Mac machines. For the older ones among us, it’s a nostalgic trip down memory lane, while for younger readers it’s an interesting peek into the history of the machines we use today.
A couple of years ago saw a Mac app to run Mac OS 8 on a virtual Quadra 900, and now there’s another Quadra emulator running entirely in a browser …