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.
![Top Gear gives us a detailed look at Apple CarPlay Ultra [Video]](https://9to5mac.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/05/Top-Gear-gives-us-a-first-look-at-Apple-CarPlay-Ultra-Video.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
It’s taken a very long time, and it’s so far only being offered by a single, niche car-maker, but next-gen CarPlay – which Apple has branded CarPlay Ultra – is finally here.
It’s currently limited to Aston Martin, and is available with new orders, alongside a software update being made available to owners of existing (recent) models …
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A Coinbase hack has seen some customers tricked into sending funds to the attackers, with the company estimating that they suffered losses of somewhere between $180M and $400M.
The attackers also stole personal data, after Coinbase refused to pay a ransom demand – instead reporting the hack to law enforcement, and offering a $20M reward for information on the perpetrators …
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Data brokers may be banned from selling your personal data without legitimate justification, under a new proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Back in the summer it was revealed that one of these brokers was hacked, resulting in the compromise of personal data for every person in the US, UK, and Canada.
Update: With the CFPB being neutered by the Trump administration, plans for this protection have been killed. Original post follows …
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Back in February, we saw beta-testing of an Apple Music tool to import playlists from Spotify and other music services. An updated Apple support document suggests that this is now rolling out as a live feature.
Apple says you can import both your music library and playlists into Apple Music, using your iPhone, iPad, Android device, or a web interface …
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Update:
This message has been live in the App Store since the beginning of Apple’s DMA compliance efforts in March 2024.
In August 2024, Apple announced multiple changes to its compliance plan – including a change to the disclosure message that appears in the App Store for apps that do not use Apple’s In-App Purchase system. Apple proposed updating the disclosure to read:
Transactions in this app are supported by the developer and not Apple.
Learn more
The proposal also changed the design of the disclosure message, replacing the bright red “!” icon with a less aggressive gray “i” icon, as you can see below.
Apple tells 9to5Mac it was ready to implement the changes and that the EU took no issue with the updated disclosure sheet. According to Apple, however, the EU requested the company not implement the changes at that time and never followed up with further guidance. It then fined Apple $500 million for noncompliance last month.
Apple’s comments today align with a report from Politico last week, which said Apple tried addressing the EU’s concerns last summer but was stonewalled.
Here’s the updated disclosure sheet proposed by Apple:
Original story below.
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There’s a bit of a tech fad at present which might perhaps be better described as an anti-tech fad, epitomized by products like the Light Phone III and Minimal Phone.
The idea is that a less-capable, less-compelling smartphone will let us do the essentials without getting addicted to our device. But while I love the concept and aesthetics, most of those who’ve tried them quickly found they spent hundreds of dollars on something that’s more frustrating than calming …
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An Apple Maps update rolling out from today will let you explore the F1 Monaco Grand Prix circuit in 3D, thanks to a combination of a Detailed City Update and features specific to the Monaco Grand Prix. Currently the rollout appears to be progressing at a rather leisurely pace.
The update is landing just in time for this weekend’s race, and coincides with the premiere of F1 The Movie on Apple TV+ …
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Apple has long been working on embedding Face ID into the display, with recent report suggesting that this will finally happen in the iPhone 18 Pro.
That idea today got a big boost in credibility, with a new development making the end of the Dynamic Island seem almost a done deal …
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Bloomberg last month suggested that Apple is working on a 20th anniversary iPhone, which might represent the culmination of the company’s long-held ambition to create “a single slab of glass.”
Few details have been reported as yet, but a new supply-chain report claims that it will be totally bezel-free, using display tech being developed by Samsung and LG …
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By this point, we’re fairly sure we know what to expect from the iPhone 17 Air. Consistent reporting suggests that it will be an ultra-slim device, with around half the thickness of existing iPhones.
The big unknown is how many people will be willing to pay a premium for that sleek design – and Samsung’s latest phone may help answer that question …
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Job offer scams have increased dramatically over the past few years, with the Federal Trade Commission stating that financial losses suffered by victims increased from $90M in 2020 to half a trillion dollars last year …
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Good news: Hotel and concert apps and websites can no longer display misleading prices upfront, with hidden fees revealed only when you go to checkout. As of this week, the practice is illegal in the US.
Amusingly, one of the biggest offenders – Ticketmaster – is trying to claim credit for complying with the law, acting as if it’s doing us a favor …
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iPad shipments grew 14% year-on-year in the first quarter of the year, further increasing Apple’s global dominance of the tablet market. Apple now has more than twice the market share of its nearest competitor.
The COVID-19 pandemic is now five years behind us, but is credited with being one of the main drivers for this year’s boost in demand for iPads …
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Interim Sonos CEO Tom Conrad said in an interview that two of the unpopular decisions the company made were deliberate, but the biggest problem was that it failed to understand how its products were used in the real world.
Conrad said that Sonos would never have released the new app had it fully appreciated the difference between its lab testing environment and real homes …
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A report over the weekend said that iOS 19 will have a small but useful new feature when using public Wi-Fi hotspots. According to Bloomberg, if we register with any of our Apple devices, then all our other ones will automatically log us in next time.
In other words, register for your coffee shop Wi-Fi with your iPhone and you’ll benefit from automatic login on your iPad or Mac on a subsequent visit. That’s great, but I’d love to see Apple go a step further …
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SoundCloud is the latest company to run into trouble after quietly adding an AI clause to its terms and conditions. The clause appeared to allow the company to use subscriber work to train AI models.
Update: The company has now taken our advice and updated its T&Cs to explicitly state that it will not do this.
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During Apple’s recent earnings call, CEO Tim Cook revealed that absorbing the impact of tariffs was likely to cost the company about $900M in the current quarter. However, he refused to be drawn about whether we can expect iPhone 17 prices to be increased in response.
A new report today claims that Apple is considering raising prices for the new iPhone line-up, but almost certainly won’t give the real reason for this …
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Apple recently cited an award-winning cinematographer arguing that “we’re living in the age of democracy in filmmaking.” Anyone who owns an iPhone today can create a short film or creative video – and it’s a really fun and satisfying thing to do, whether you keep it short and simple like the example below, or don your Hollywood director’s cap for something more ambitious!
Of course, most Shot on iPhone films involve a lot of professional kit, but the single most desirable accessory for an iPhone filmmaker is now available in its most convenient and affordable form yet, thanks to Moment’s QuickLock VND Filter …
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Reddit has announced plans to fight back after a large-scale AI fraud was carried out against users of the highly popular Change My View subreddit.
However, the company’s plans to take to fight AI bots may not be popular with users, as it could compromise the platform’s long-standing approach to privacy …
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Despite the fact that the iPhone Fold display is being made by Samsung, it looks like it might be more advanced that the one so far used in the Korean company’s own Galaxy Z Fold series.
A leaker with a decent track record cites supply-chain sources as saying the upcoming Apple device will use a thinner and more advanced display than used in any of Samsung’s own products …
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If you used Siri between 2014 and 2024, and the voice assistant was ever activated by something random you said, you may be entitled to a cut of a payout from Apple.
Apple agreed back in January to settle a class action privacy lawsuit for unintended Siri activations between September 17 2014 and December 31 2024, and US residents can now register a claim …
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Apple SVP Eddy Cue yesterday suggested that we might not need an iPhone ten years from now. It echoes a report back in 2019, where the company’s execs were cited saying the same thing – also with a decade-ish time-frame.
Apple is absolutely right to take this possibility seriously. It’s the job of the company’s leadership to think long and hard about future scenarios, and there are four very good reasons why this possibility cannot be ignored …
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An update to the Matter standard will make it much easier to set up HomeKit-compatible smart home devices. In particular, it should make tap-to-pair a far more common feature, rather than something supported by only a handful of devices.
Multi-device QR codes will also make setup much easier for things like multi-packs of smart light bulbs, which will let you set up all of them at once, rather than having to do each one individually …
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TikTok has told advertisers that it’s in the US to stay, stating that “we are here” and “are absolutely confident in our platform and confident in the future of this platform.”
The statement came after Trump indicated that he would extend the current enforcement pause again if needed, despite that fact that this is probably unlawful …
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