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.
Today would normally see me poised over the Apple website on my Mac and the Apple Store app on my phone ready to seen which goes live first so I can finalize my order for a shiny new iPhone.
This year is an exception, and although that’s partly for personal reasons, it’s mostly because I’m just not seeing any good reason to want the iPhone 17 Pro Max over last year’s model …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple is sometimes accused of deliberately withholding new features from older devices for no good reason. For example, eyebrows were raised when dual capture video recording was restricted to the iPhone 17 when the same feature has been supported by third-party apps all the way back to the iPhone 11, so is clearly nothing to do with hardware capabilities.
When it comes to the latest health features, however, the company is wisely taking a far more inclusive approach …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple’s satellite messaging service was a key feature of the iPhone 14. Initially limited to providing an emergency service for those outside cellular coverage areas, it was subsequently extended to offer roadside assistance cover for mechanical problems and messaging with family and friends too.
Although initially described as free for the first two years only, Apple subsequently extended free coverage – and has just done so again …
Expand Expanding Close
We first spotted that AirPods Live translation was coming a month before the announcement. Initial language support is listed as English, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish – with four more languages coming later this year.
But while European languages are supported, you won’t necessarily be able to take advantage of that if you are within one of the countries in which they’re spoken …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple’s hardware design chief said yesterday the company knew it would be hard for some to choose between the new iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 Pro or Pro Max.
That isn’t true for everyone, of course. For some, the decision will be very straightforward – but I can see how it could be tricky for others …
Expand Expanding Close
It’s taken Apple 11 years to beat its own record, but the iPhone Air is now the thinnest iPhone ever, a record previously held by the iPhone 6 from way back in 2014.
At 5.6mm, the iPhone Air is also slimmer than any of the current Android competition, though isn’t the thinnest phone ever launched …
Expand Expanding Close
iPhone 17 pre-orders don’t go live until Friday, but you don’t need to wait until then to get the process started. Doing the preparation today can save time on the day and maximize your chances of receiving your new phone on day one.
Apple lets you go through the complete process of picking your iPhone 17, configuring the exact model you want in terms of color and storage, and even getting a trade-in quote for your existing phone – all before pre-orders open …
Expand Expanding Close
I’ll freely admit to being one of the many people who viewed Apple’s new crossbody strap with some bemusement. Internet comments on it mostly use terms like “bizarre” or worse.
But a new piece today suggests that many of us are misunderstanding Apple’s latest iPhone accessory, and that it does in fact have a valuable role …
Expand Expanding Close
It’s long been clear that the iPhone Air was going to be a beautiful device, but based on reactions so far, it seems that people are even more impressed than expected by the sleek look of the all-new iPhone.
It’s usually the two Pro models that get all the love, but this year it seems all anyone wants to talk about is the iPhone Air …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple has announced that visionOS 26 will be available to Vision Pro users from Monday, September 15.
The latest version of the operating system will offer a raft of new features, with spatial widgets and far more realistic personas topping the list …
Expand Expanding Close
The Apple Watch SE 3 has been announced alongside the Series 11 and Ultra 3.
The SE was long due an update after getting a relatively modest refresh back in 2022, in which the design was unchanged, although a new back case did make it slightly lighter than the original …
Expand Expanding Close
Just hours ahead of the official announcement, a leaker has suggested that the iPhone 17 Air may instead simply be named the iPhone Air. [Update: Confirmed]
They show a photo of what is claimed to be a Chinese warranty leaflet for the phone showing this name. Although it may well be fake, there is one reason to give it perhaps a little credence …
Expand Expanding Close
A Plex data breach in 2022 exposed usernames, email addresses, and encrypted passwords. The company required all users to change their passwords as a precaution, and now history seems to be repeating itself.
The company is again emailing users, using virtually identical wording to describe to report a new data breach with the same data obtained …
Expand Expanding Close
Mozilla is taking advantage of the on-device Apple Intelligence capabilities in iOS 26 to offer a shake-to-summarize feature in the latest iPhone version of Firefox.
Provided you have an iPhone 15 Pro or later and are running iOS 26, the summary is created directly on your device – but it’s also available for older phones …
Expand Expanding Close
It’s finally the day of the Apple event, and everyone is eagerly awaiting the official launch of the iPhone 17 lineup. 9to5Mac readers are mostly power users, so it’s no surprise that the thing you’re most looking forward to is the unveiling of the iPhone 17 Pro Max – though there is also substantial interest in the all-new iPhone 17 Air.
While we’re expecting a fairly packed event, there’s likely to be one significant difference from last year’s iPhone 16 launch: a conspicuous absence of Apple intelligence promises …
Expand Expanding Close
We first saw Apple Calendar spam almost a decade ago, when it hit such levels that the iPhone maker issued an apology and said that it was blocking suspicious senders.
We’ve seen the problem re-emerge several times since then, with Apple even publishing a YouTube video on how to remove it. Despite all of these efforts, however, it seems to be spiking again …
Expand Expanding Close
The popular Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones already got one update back in the summer, but the company has now announced a bigger update deserving of a 2nd-generation label…
Expand Expanding Close
Apple has been working for many years on developing its own mobile data modem to replace the Qualcomm ones on which it has traditionally relied. The first of these, the C1 chip, was used in the iPhone 16e, and is also expected to be used in the upcoming iPhone 17 Air.
There have so far been mixed messages on how well it compares to Qualcomm’s current chip, and a new study by Ookla provides our most detailed comparison yet …
Expand Expanding Close
There’s just one day to go until the iPhone 17 event, and the Awe Dropping announcements will of course be streaming online.
You have a choice of three different ways to watch the event live, and if you’re watching from a browser, it’s worth having two different tabs open …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple has always been unapologetic in its premium positioning. You know that when you buy Apple, you’re going to be paying a higher price than for almost any competing product, and are willing to do so for the perceived benefits of this – whether that’s the quality, the style, or the ecosystem.
The company has made a few nods toward affordability over the years, and we’re expecting the next one to be a new entry-level MacBook. But we’re also moving into an era where three new product launches are going to push the boundaries ever higher …
Expand Expanding Close
If you’re planning to replace your wireless router with a new one and you have a smart home, there’s a new certification you’re going to want …
Expand Expanding Close
Adobe Premiere Pro users will be happy to hear there’s an iPhone app launching later this month, which the company is promising will be closer to the capabilities of its desktop app than the cut-down Premiere Rush app.
The company will also be hoping to attract those who are newer to video editing on iPhone, in order to create a potential new market for the desktop app …
Expand Expanding Close
With Apple TV+ and other streaming services increasing their prices this year, there’s some rare good news from Paramount. For a limited period, you can get one of two annual plans for half price …
Expand Expanding Close
We’ve known for some time that there was major news on the way from Philips Hue, and the company has now announced all of the details.
One of the headline features is a new Bridge Pro which turns your existing smart bulbs into motion sensors. Bulbs also get more affordable, light strips get brighter, and there’s support for Matter-over-Thread. Finally, the smart doorbell leaked earlier in the year is now official …
Expand Expanding Close