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.
The launch of the universal smart home standard Matter has been delayed yet again. This is the third delay since the standard – backed by Apple, Google, Samsung, Amazon, and others – was originally set to debut back in 2020.
The standards organization behind Matter claims that this latest delay is caused by the unexpected popularity of the protocol …
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Apple released macOS 12.3 on Monday, but not everyone is succeeding in upgrading. There are reports of repaired M1 Macs being bricked when attempting the upgrade.
Specifically, the issue appears to affect M1 MacBook Pro models which have had their logic board replaced …
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Apple has announced that the largest Apple Store in South Korea will soon be opening, in the capital Seoul. The store will be located in the city’s historical center of Jung-gu.
The Cupertino company says that the Center Point Myeong-dong store will offer a source of inspiration …
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Analysts have predicted that 2022 iPhone SE sales will hit 30M this year, compared to 25M for the 2020 model in its first year. 5G capabilities are expected to significantly boost the popularity of Apple’s latest entry-level model, especially outside China.
Apple is reported to have prepared 5M models for shipment in the first two weeks …
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A new 5G smartphone record was set in January, when fifth-generation mobiles accounted for more than half of all smartphone sales for the very first time.
The iPhone 13 played a huge role in this milestone, accounting for more than a third of all 5G phone sales …
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I reviewed Duolingo last month and said then that the signs were encouraging, but the real test would come when I visited Buenos Aires.
I’d been impressed overall, but did have one concern …
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Instagram parental controls were first promised back in December of last year, and these are now available in the US. Additionally, parent company Meta says that supervision options will also be introduced for Quest VR headsets …
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My girlfriend and I make extensive use of shared iCloud calendars. We have one for joint events, and we each share our own calendars so that we both have a complete picture of our schedules. That enables either one of us to arrange things like dinner with friends, knowing that it won’t clash with anything else.
But (semi-) vacationing with friends, we’ve also found a shared group calendar is the perfect way to coordinate activities …
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Ukraine mobile carriers are working together to keep smartphones online as Russia begins targeting telecoms equipment with both rockets and cyber attacks …
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A lobbying group whose members include Apple and Google is being accused of pushing for weak privacy legislation in a bid to pre-empt stronger measures by individual states.
As Congress makes little progress toward a federal privacy law, individual states are implementing their own legislation …
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Shenzhen iPhone production was forced to shutdown at two Foxconn facilities due to a new COVID-19 outbreak – but has now partially restarted.
Although the Chinese government ordered the city into complete lockdown for at least a week, it has now granted an exemption to Foxconn to use the same ‘closed loop’ system used by other companies in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic …
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My tango addiction means I’m spending a month in Buenos Aires. The first week was a holiday, but the remaining three weeks involve working in the morning, dancing in the afternoons and evenings. I’m using a three-screen mobile workspace that emulates as closely as possible the ultrawide monitor I use at home.
It’s not the first time I’ve worked while out of the country. Indeed, it’s not the first time I’ve done so in Argentina – but it is the first time I’ve done it for more than a week, hence my opting for a somewhat more sophisticated setup…
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If you prefer mice to trackpads, but don’t want the hassle of carrying one, an Apple patent for removable MacBook keys could be the answer …
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Meta has said that Putin assassination calls are still prohibited on Facebook and Instagram, clarifying an earlier statement which temporarily permitted calls for violence against Russian invaders in Ukraine …
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Update 2: The security researcher who discovered the privacy failure reports that Apple has now fixed it.
Expand Expanding CloseAs of iOS 15.4 and watchOS 8.5 the Mail app on the watch no longer leaks the IP address when downloading remote content. Remote content is blocked on the watch even when Mail Privacy Protection is on …
iPhone 13 production is expected to start in April at Foxconn’s plant in Chennai, India. This was originally scheduled to happen in January, but it was delayed after Apple placed the facility on probation following worker complaints about the conditions there.
It’s just one of a number of issues Apple has faced as it continues efforts to reduce its dependence on China …
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Smartphones in Ukraine are playing a crucial role, whether it’s checking up on loved ones, sending live videos to show the uncensored reality of what is happening in the country, or using GPS to help navigate a safe route out of the country.
Given this, some have expressed surprise that Russia hasn’t yet targeted base stations and other telecommunications infrastructure, with debate over whether this is an oversight or a deliberate ploy …
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Universal translation on iPhone is a fantastically useful feature when traveling. Arthur C Clarke famously said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and this is one capability that still feels that way to me.
I’m in Buenos Aires at the moment, with extremely limited Spanish, and it’s incredible to me that I can point my iPhone camera at any Spanish text and have it instantly translated into English. But there is one big limitation that requires an extremely clunky workaround …
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Russia has banned Instagram use in the country and blocked access to the platform for most of the country’s population. Russia says it took the action after parent company Meta announced a temporary change to its moderation policy …
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Apple Watch domination of the smartwatch market sees no sign of ending, despite the growing popularity of much cheaper devices.
A new report today says that much of the 24% growth in the market during 2021 was driven by demand for sub-$100 models, but that Apple continued to outsell its nearest competitor by a factor of three to one …
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The Ted Lasso wins keep coming, as the Apple TV+ show picked up a total of four awards last night, including Best Comedy – beating seven other nominated shows.
The wins take Apple’s hit show to a total of seven Critics Choice awards over two years …
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Update: In a statement to 9to5Mac, a Fitbit spokesperson said:
“Customer safety is always Fitbit’s top priority and out of an abundance of caution, we are conducting a voluntary recall of Fitbit Ionic smartwatches. We received a very limited number of injury reports – the totals in the CPSC announcement represent less than 0.01% of units sold – of the battery in Fitbit Ionic smartwatches overheating, posing a burn hazard. These incidents are very rare and this voluntary recall does not impact other Fitbit smartwatches or trackers.”
A Fitbit Ionic smartwatch recall has been announced today after multiple reports of the device overheating and causing burn injuries to owners…
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The Ukraine crisis has cast a new spotlight on an issue I’ve been raising for several years now: Apple’s unsustainable dependence on China.
With Russia, Apple can afford to take a stand against the country, and it is doing so. It has suspended sales in the country; stopped all exports to Russia; blocked access to state media apps from outside the country; disabled live info in Apple Maps; is donating to humanitarian work; and is effectively tripling employee donations …
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A Tim Cook email to employees about the Ukraine crisis outlines the steps Apple has taken so far, and assures them that further action will follow.
Additionally, when employees make donations to humanitarian aid organizations working in the region, Apple will match those donations on a two-for-one basis, tripling the original donation …
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