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.
Once upon a time, there was just a single iPhone. Today, things are rather more complicated, with a choice of four new models plus two older ones remaining on sale directly from Apple.
Next year may see the most fragmented iPhone lineup we have ever seen in the company’s history – and that could be bad news for some of us …
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Some users on Reddit and elsewhere are reporting that the search function in Apple’s Calendar app is broken in iOS 26.
Those affected say that no search results are found. A workaround has been successful for some, but not for all …
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A bizarre app that invites you to record and share your audio calls so that it can sell the data to AI companies has become the second most downloaded social app in the app store.
Neon Mobile says that users can sell their privacy for hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year by allowing their audio conversations to be used for AI training …
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A new study says there has been a dramatic rise in the number of fraudulent mobile apps on both iOS and Android. Many of these appear to have been either generated with, or powered by, AI tools.
So far in 2025, there’s been a 300% increase in fraudulent apps on iOS, and a 600% increase on Android …
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Apple CEO Tim Cook is currently in Tokyo and has shared a photo taken outside the Apple Ginza store, which reopens tomorrow with an all-new design.
Cook also shared a photo of himself meeting Pikachu, the Pokémon mascot, and described Japan as a gamer’s paradise …
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The European Union is currently carrying out a consultation process into the impact of its Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is the antitrust legislation which required Apple to permit third-party app stores and which the company says has made it impossible to release some software features to EU users.
In its response, Apple says it has not yet released either iPhone Mirroring or AirPods Live Translation within EU countries over privacy concerns, and it expects more features to be delayed in Europe. The company in its submission to regulators said there was a possibility some hardware launches might be affected …
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Social media app Bluesky is down for some users. Some are reporting that their feed appears to be frozen with only older posts appearing, while others are seeing an error message …
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Legacy paid users of the popular podcast app Pocket Casts are being shown ads and directed to pay a subscription of $40 a year in order to remove them. This violates an agreement which promised them ad-free usage for life under what was initially branded Pocket Casts Lifetime and later rebranded to Pocket Casts Champion …
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Spotify has announced support for popular Mac DJ software like djay, rekordbox, and Serato. Simply logging into Spotify from within the DJ app gives you access to the entire music catalog, including your own playlists and those put together by Spotify …
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For many years, it was accepted wisdom that Mac malware wasn’t really an issue. One of the reasons for that was that the market share was simply too low to make it a worthwhile target for attackers.
Today, of course, is a very different world. Macs are the fourth most popular brand of personal computers, and as owners of a premium brand, Mac owners make a juicy target. Does that mean you need third-party antivirus software on a Mac, or are the built-in security protections good enough? A very thorough test sought to find out …
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Apple has frequently cited insecure and scam apps as justification for wanting all iPhone apps to be sold exclusively in the company’s own App Store.
Numerous reports, however, have found that there is no shortage of scam apps making it through Apple’s app review process, and the company is now under fresh legal scrutiny in the EU over this issue …
Update September 23, 2025, 10:41am PT: Apple has issued the following statement to 9to5Mac:
“As digital threats have evolved in scope and complexity over the years, Apple has expanded its antifraud initiatives to address these challenges and protect users. Every day, teams across Apple monitor and investigate fraudulent activity and utilize sophisticated tools to stop bad actors. Unfortunately, the European Commission is undermining our efforts by forcing Apple to allow alternative app distribution and payments, despite warnings that this puts users at greater risk of fraud and scams. While the regulator focuses on issuing misguided and counterproductive threats of investigation and fines, we will continue to advocate for the safety and security of our users.”
Apple says that in the last five years, the App Store has prevented over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions, including over $2 billion in 2024 alone.
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Apple Ginza was the company’s first retail store outside the US, opening way back in 2003. It reopens on Friday in its original location with what Apple describes as an “all-new design.”
New features include a double-skin glass facade with integrated adaptive louvers that help regulate light and temperature throughout the day …
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A combination of new code spotted by Macworld and 9to5Mac suggests that Apple may be set to make two iOS 26 security changes which will make iPhones safer.
Historically, Apple has issued security patches as part of a new iOS build. This has two significant disadvantages which can leave many iPhones unprotected against the latest threats for longer than necessary …
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A new supply chain report suggests that Apple could bring the same advanced display technology to two of its devices in 2027.
Previous reports have indicated that Apple is planning to adopt a new approach to making displays thinner and brighter in the upcoming Vision Air, and a new report today says the company could also use this tech to at least one iPhone in the same year …
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is pursuing separate legal actions against Amazon for mis-selling Prime, and Ticketmaster for colluding with ticket touts …
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While Apple first started supporting eSIMs back in 2018, it’s only this year that it has taken full advantage of the technology.
For the first time, Apple is using the space previously occupied by an insertable SIM card slot for additional battery capacity …
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I spent quite some time in an Apple store over the weekend, most of it hands-on with the iPhone Air – with the iPhone 17 Pro very much a secondary thing.
That experience, including seeing and hearing how other visitors were reacting to the phone, convinced me of two things …
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While I am almost certainly the least-prolific videographer on the planet, I am finally starting a long-planned series of interviews on my fledgling YouTube channel. The first of these went live this week, and I’m aiming for roughly one a month from now on.
I use a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K rig as my primary video camera, but my iPhones have long been my camera of choice for B-roll footage …
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A slew of people are reporting that the Starbucks app is completely broken. With too-perfect irony, the thing that is breaking it is an app satisfaction survey …
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Mobile carriers are very slowly getting better at detecting and blocking scam texts, but it seems the fraudsters may still be staying ahead of the game.
Scammers are now using a technology known as SMS blasters, backpack-sized devices that can trick smartphones into thinking they are cell towers …
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The Apple Watch Hermès has always seemed to serve as nothing more than a way for Apple to separate fashionistas from their money. But the Series 11 model comes with the ultimate new feature for longtime Apple enthusiasts …
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Apple runs literally thousands of tests while validating, tuning, and refining AirPods in a facility which includes mini recording studios with real instruments.
One tech writer got a rare tour of the facility, which is even home to a large vintage hi-fi setup donated to an earlier generation of Apple audio engineers by Steve Jobs …
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When T-Mobile launched its T-Satellite service back in July, iPhone users were limited to text messaging via satellite – but the company promised that support for selected additional apps would follow.
With the launch of iOS 26, the company has started to make good on that promise, with support for six apps so far. Notably, you don’t need to choose T-Mobile as your carrier in order to subscribe to the service …
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Ming-Ching Kuo today suggested that we can expect a touchscreen MacBook Pro to go into production in late 2026. This is the latest in a years-long string of rumors that Apple is working on such a device.
The company has been testing prototypes since at least 2008, but has consistently dismissed the idea of launching one. However, I do tend to believe the latest report …
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