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 new folding iPhone flip phone concept shows what such a device might look like if Apple took the same approach as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.
Unlike a conventional-sized phone which unfolds to something iPad-like, the flip concept envisages a conventional size iPhone that folds in half…
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The cofounder of a Twitter 2FA text service is reported to have been secretly selling access to its networks to governments, enabling them to locate people of interest – and in some cases obtain their phone logs …
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There are more than 2,800 US government Cellebrite customers, according to the smartphone hacking company. The tech can be used to extract most data from both iPhones and Android phones.
The company also boasts that its private sector clients include “six out of the world’s 10 largest pharmaceutical companies and six of the 10 largest oil refineries”…
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The Waterfield Tuck Backpack is described as a streamlined version of a European military rucksack, and I’d describe it as a mini-Tardis. It’s a compact bag when you’re just using it to carry your Apple devices and one or two other items, but is surprisingly spacious when you need to carry more.
It also has some neat features like self-locating magnetic buckles and a strap to slot over a roller case, making it suitable as a ‘laptop bag’ to travel into the cabin with you as your second bag when flying…
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TikTok age restrictions for mature content are on the way, says the company, but it is at an early stage of figuring out exactly how to do it …
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A report has found overwhelming evidence of Tinder age discrimination in the pricing of premium memberships, with users charged as little as $4.45 or as much as $25.95 for the same features, depending on their age…
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A new report this morning says that we’ll see high-tech exercise bike company Peloton slashing jobs and replacing its CEO, as it struggles to cope with falling demand.
There have been rumors that the company could be acquired by Amazon, Nike, or Apple, with the outgoing CEO not ruling out the possibility …
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OLED iPad rumors have been inconsistent to say the least, with commenters not even able to agree on whether Apple will make the switch, let alone when. But a new supply-chain report says that Apple display supplier LG is engaged in specific preparation for OLED iPad production.
At one time, it was reported that Apple was switching to OLED screens for the iPad Air 5, which is expected to launch at an event in March or April, but we’re now expecting the screen tech to make its iPad debut considerably later …
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A report claims that Apple used NDAs against workers, and then lied about it to both investors and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
Apple claims that it does not use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), also known as “concealment clauses,” when workers report concerns about unlawful acts by the company. However, there are multiple reports that it does, in fact, do so …
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I’m bracing myself for the comments section as I confess that, almost 2.5 years after it was first launched, I bought a ceramic Apple Watch Series 5.
I would like to put it on record that this whole thing started in a perfectly innocent fashion …
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A new Twitter DM feature is being tested, designed to make it easier for people to send a direct message in response to a tweet – but many users think it’s a terrible idea …
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Sean Murray’s best-known app is No Man’s Sky, but he’s also been busy working on a Joe Danger relaunch on iOS – all because of the sweetest letter he received …
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A number of users are experiencing overnight battery drain on MacBooks in macOS 12.2, and this turns out to be due to a Bluetooth bug that continually wakes the machine from sleep. The bug affects both Intel and M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro machines.
We’ve previously suggested manually toggling Bluetooth off at the end of the day, but now there’s an app for that …
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Developers reacted with astonishment and anger at Apple’s 27% commission policy as a minimal form of compliance with a new antitrust law regarding the App Store.
One leading developer described the move as ‘vile,’ while another said Apple is deliberately ensuring it would cost developers more to opt-out of Apple’s payment system than it would to remain within it …
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An Apple Caltech patent infringement case is returning to court some two years after the iPhone maker was ordered to pay $838M in damages. The new trial will only consider the sum awarded, and will not revisit the question of infringement.
Broadcom, one of Apple’s chip suppliers, was ordered to pay an additional $270M, making the total sum awarded a fraction over $1.1B …
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Apple’s latest response to antitrust regulation is to announce a 27 percent App Store commission instead of the standard 30 percent for apps that offer alternative payment systems.
Not worldwide, of course. Apple is still reacting on a country-by-country, regulation-by-regulation, lawsuit-by-lawsuit basis – so this specific policy relates only to dating apps, and only in the Netherlands…
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Twitter downvotes, the feature nobody asked for, are now rolling out to more people worldwide. A down-arrow lets you express your displeasure at a reply to a tweet – but the result won’t be visible to the author or any other Twitter user …
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Why there is no official iPad calculator app is one of the mysteries of the universe, ranking alongside “What is dark matter?” and “What is the biological mechanism for the placebo effect?” …
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Listings for AirTags with deactivated speakers have been spotted on eBay and Etsy. This removes one of the two anti-stalking features Apple built into the tracking devices.
One seller claimed that the modification was done for innocent purposes …
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A federal judge has ruled that iPhone water resistance claims made in Apple’s advertising may be misleading, but she has still rejected a proposed class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged that Apple misled consumers about the extent of the waterproofing, and therefore overcharged for the phones …
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A new report suggests that we’ve reached a turning point for Apple in India, as the company appears to have earned more smartphone revenue in the country than any other brand.
This is indeed quite a turnaround in just a few years. The company’s market share in 2018 was said to have been as low as 1% …
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South Korea has stated that it is still not satisfied with Apple’s App Store plans to comply with a new antitrust law requiring developers to be able to choose third-party payment platforms.
The regulator has also expressed concern at Google’s plans, which include just a 4% reduction in the company’s app store commission if a developer uses a different payment processor …
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The latest Apple Store opened today, with Apple highlighting the “stunning curved glass exterior” and use of Bianco Cristal flooring. The latter is a quartz material noted for durability and low maintenance.
The new store replaces the former Abu Dhabi store, which opened in 2015 and was only half the size …
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Duolingo is one of the world’s most popular apps, consistently ranking in the top two or three educational apps, and a hugely popular way to learn a language.
All of which had, until very recently, been completely irrelevant to me. I’m generally a fast learner, and have picked up a diverse range of skills over the years, but have always been completely hopeless when it comes to learning languages …
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