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.
Act surprised: Some Brits will face EU roaming charges for the first time since 2017, as EE is the first carrier to break its promise that nothing would change after Brexit…
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The House Judiciary Committee has this morning approved a bill that potentially poses a significant antitrust threat to Apple.
The American Choice and Innovation Online Act would make it illegal for companies to give preferential treatment to their own products over those of competitor products hosted on the same platform. The debate began yesterday morning, and only reached a vote in the early hours of this morning …
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US broadband costs are far higher than those in Europe, and that’s because of two very different ideas about competition in the market, argues a policy group …
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Apple is currently busy trying to extricate itself from an App Store mess. It’s making calls, writing letters, publishing white papers, and conducting interviews, all in an attempt to reverse the antitrust tide.
Some of the moves it is making frankly signal desperation, and it’s astonishing to me that the company missed an opportunity to enjoy a PR dream instead of its current defensive nightmare.
It’s not like Apple couldn’t see this coming – it had internal discussions about the issue a full decade ago …
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Leaker Sonny Dickson has shown iPhone 13 dummies of all four models, alongside case renders and video of a case (below).
Both dummy models and case renders show the same small changes over the iPhone 12 …
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Microsoft has become the second US public company to join what was previously an Apple exclusive: the $2T company club …
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Alongside a 16-page essay on why App Store protections are good and sideloading is bad, and lobbying calls to Congress by Apple CEO Tim Cook, the company’s head of user privacy is also arguing its case in a Fast Company interview.
While those in favor of third-party app stores for iOS apps argue that they would offer users and developers alike greater choice, Eric Neuenschwander suggests the exact opposite is true …
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When Apple announced that it was bringing lossless music and Spatial Audio to Apple Music, it majored on the latter and mentioned lossless almost in passing. That struck me at the time as the wrong way around, but listening to Spatial Audio tracks has changed my mind.
Spatial Audio – aka Dolby Atmos – had obvious appeal for movies, but with the possible exception of recordings of live performances, I couldn’t see much point in it for music …
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A controversial bill passed in Canada could require video streaming services like Apple TV+ to finance and promote Canadian content …
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Both Foxconn and Pegatron are offering substantial bonuses to help recruit workers for iPhone 13 production, according to a Taiwanese report.
Both companies are offering recruitment bonuses worth well over a month’s average salary, with additional bonuses offered to employees who introduce friends who then accept jobs there …
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London Underground mobile coverage is being extended to all stations and tunnels by the end of 2024. However, at present only 4G (LTE) coverage is guaranteed, and it will be up to individual carriers to decide whether or not to offer 5G support too.
Transport for London says five of the busiest tube stations will get full coverage by the end of next year …
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The iPhone 13 name would be off-putting to some 18% of iPhone and iPad users, who would describe themselves as triskaidekaphobic – that is, having a fear of the number 13.
The preferred alternative name would be iPhone (2021)…
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Facebook Live Audio Rooms are beginning their rollout today. The ability to create and host rooms is currently limited to public figures, and a handful of high-profile Facebook groups.
You can join in with chats using either iOS or Android apps, but you’ll need to be an iPhone user to host rooms, as this requires the main Facebook iOS app …
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The 12.5% corporate tax paid by Apple, Google, Microsoft, and other companies to Ireland would have to end under a global tax plan orchestrated by the Biden administration – and the Irish government isn’t happy about it.
The G7 nations and the European Union reached agreement in principle that all member countries would impose a minimum corporate tax of 15%. Ireland had previously expressed concern about this, and now says it thinks the rate should be “negotiable” …
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German antitrust proceedings against Apple have been initiated by the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office). The main focus is on the App Store, but the competition regulator is also examining the broader impact of the Apple ecosystem, such as pre-installed apps and the treatment of services that compete with Apple (like Spotify).
Apple is the fourth tech giant to come under investigation since a new antitrust law came into effect in January …
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Smartphone and smartwatch data provided crucial evidence that led yesterday to a man confessing to murdering his wife. The data showed that his story about what happened could not have been true…
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A Chinese app ban in the US is still very much on the cards, despite President Biden overturning the previous administration’s planned bans on WeChat and TikTok.
Biden replaced the specific executive orders with a more general one designed to protect the data of US citizens, and a report today says early indications point to some Chinese apps remaining at strong risk …
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Apple’s A-series chip roadmap appears to be on track, as the company works on ever smaller chip processes. The latest TSMC news suggests that all is on schedule for a revised 5nm process this year, a 4nm process(ish) in 2022, and a 3nm process in 2023.
We heard back in January about TSMC’s plans for 3nm chips, and a new report today has more information …
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Apple innovation grants worth $5 million each have been given to four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The grants are geared to silicon engineering, including chip design, and students also get access to Apple engineers.
The funding, announced today, is part of Apple’s $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative …
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An obsessive Apple fan has created what he describes as perfect reproductions of the original Apple I manuals. To do so, he says, he had to position individual letters by hand …
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Apple comfortably retained its position as 5G smartphone market leader in the first quarter of this year, despite the seasonal dip after the combined launch and holiday quarter.
All iPhone 12 launch sales were in the final quarter of last year, with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro going on sale in October, and the iPhone 12 mini and Pro Max the following month …
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The Amazon Appstore has now joined Google in following Apple’s lead in reducing commissions for smaller developers – but with an interesting twist. The Amazon Appstore is an alternative place for people to download Android apps.
Apple last year announced its Small Business Program, a clever way to reduce antitrust pressure by reducing its cut of app sales to 15% for all but the very largest developers. Google did the same this year, in a rather fairer way, and now Amazon has come up with its own twist …
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LG Best Shops will soon stop selling LG smartphones as the company exits the mobile market, and is now reported to be negotiating a switch to selling iPhones.
The deal for the chain of 400 LG-branded stores is expected to extend to the sale of iPads and the Apple Watch, but will specifically exclude Macs …
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Spotify announced plans for a Clubhouse competitor in March, and has today launched the new service as Spotify Greenroom…
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