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 two technothriller novels , a romcom novel, and an SF novella series.
He is old enough to have owned the original Macintosh. He currently owns an M1 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro, a MacBook Air 11, 12.9-inch iPad Pro (LTE 256GB), iPhone 13 Pro Max (256GB), Dell Ultrawide 49-inch monitor, an Apple Watch (Series 4 WiFi) and multiple HomePods – he suspects it might be cheaper to have a cocaine habit than his addiction to all things anodised aluminum.
He thinks wires are evil and had a custom desk made to hide them, known as the OC Desk for obvious reasons.
He’s known for his op-ed and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review:
He considers 1000 miles a good distance for a cycle ride and Chernobyl a suitable tourist destination. What can we say, he’s that kind of chap.
He speaks fluent English but only broken American, so please forgive any Anglicised spelling in his posts.
If @benlovejoy-ing him on twitter, please follow him first so that he can DM you if appropriate. If you have information you can pass on, you can also email him. If you would like to comment on one of his pieces, please do so in the comments – he does read them all.
Tap to Pay on iPhone has today launched in France, the eighth country to get access to the ultra-convenient payment system for small businesses – though some major brands are also adopting it.
Nine banks and financial service companies are on board for the launch, with others joining the French rollout “soon” …
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Apple may have made a U-turn on the right to repair, but the battle is far from over. The growing practice of parts pairing – something which has been increasingly adopted by the iPhone maker – is coming under increasing fire.
Requiring components to be individually linked to the serial numbers of specific devices is proving a major barrier to affordable third-party and DIY repair. The EU is already considering a ban on parts pairing, and right-to-repair campaigners are pushing for this in the US too …
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Anyone reading a couple of recent reports on Apple’s iOS 18 plans might be forgiven for feeling a certain amount of confusion.
The first said that the company had paused all development of new features in iOS 18, macOS 15, and watchOS 11 to focus on bug fixes. The second said that Apple intends iOS 18 to be its biggest update for years …
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Growing concern about Zelle scams has seen parent company Early Warning Services (EWS) begin to refund some people duped into sending money to criminals. The U-turn on its previous stance that customers are responsible for their own transactions is believed to have been made in an effort to stave off potential legislation …
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General Motors announced back in March that it was ditching CarPlay from future vehicles, in favor of its own infotainment systems.
The company originally partnered with Google on this, but now seems to have decided it needs an Apple touch – by hiring one of the Cupertino company’s former design directors to work on the user interface (UI), along with three more former Apple employees …
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Apple Wallet account balances can now be viewed for a total of 10 UK banks and card companies, as Apple continues the rollout of the new feature.
Users can follow a short process to connect the app to their bank account, and it will then show the current account balance directly underneath the card itself …
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Apple has admitted to discriminating against US citizens and green card holders when hiring workers through Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM).
It has been fined $6.7M, and has agreed to pay a total of $18.25M to compensate those who were victims of its “unintentional” discrimination …
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Just as HomeKit led to the development of the broader smart home standard Matter, so Apple’s Home Key is spurring the adoption of a new industry standard for smart locks and digital keys: Aliro.
The new standard is being championed by Apple, Google, and Samsung – along with a number of smart lock companies …
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Understanding what’s happening to Mac sales over the past few years is a tricky business, due to the convergence of three different factors: pandemic-induced demand, COVID-related supply disruptions, and early upgrades driven by the switch to Apple Silicon.
Last week’s earnings report led some to wonder whether Mac sales were in trouble, but my own view is that the underlying longer-term trend of slow and steady upward growth is essentially unchanged …
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Macworld has updated its tables in which the performance of every Apple processor is compared – from the A13 Bionic in the 9th-gen iPad, to the top-end M3 Max in the new MacBook Pro.
It’s been a week since we first saw just how impressive an achievement the M3 Max is: Apple’s top-end mobile chip matching that of its previous generation maxed-out desktop chip …
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Apple’s Irish tax battle looked to have reached the end of the line when the case went before the European Court of Justice – the equivalent of the US Supreme Court. Whichever way the ECJ ruled, its decision would be final.
The ECJ was set to announce that result as soon as this month (though more likely early next year) – but this now looks unlikely, following a major setback to Apple and the Irish government …
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Most messaging apps let you choose whether or not to reveal that you’ve read a message, but there was no way to switch off Instagram read receipts. That is now changing, albeit only for some users initially …
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Free access to Spotify audiobooks is now available to Premium subscribers in the US. The new perk first launched last month in the UK and Australia …
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The launch of the M3 MacBook Pro has reignited a long-standing debate over Apple’s memory tiers and pricing.
A new piece describes 8GB as an insulting starting point in a 2023 professional machine, and calls Apple’s upgrade pricing “pure corporate greed” – while Apple claims that its base model is equivalent to 16GB in PC terms …
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The Chamberlain myQ smart garage door opener is now blocking access by Homebridge, Home Assistant, and other third-party apps. It follows the company last year discontinuing the myQ Home Bridge Hub, which made the door opener HomeKit compatible.
The motivation for the move appears to be to force people to use Chamberlain’s own app, so that they will be exposed to the ads run in it …
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Apple yesterday crushed the hopes of anyone waiting for an Apple Silicon 27-inch iMac, breaking the company’s usual “we don’t comment on future products line” to specifically rule out the possibility.
But what hasn’t been ruled out is an iMac with a display larger than 27-inches – and I do very much believe one is coming …
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Hopes of an Intel versus Apple Silicon battle are still alive, claims the US chipmaker’s chief exec – despite the Cupertino company having raised the bar yet again, with the M3 series.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said that the company is on track to deliver ten years’ worth of chip development in just four years …
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The first lucky customers around the world have received their new M3 MacBook Pro and iMac machines, thanks to the joys of timezones.
Apple works on local time when it comes to shipping new devices, so those in Australia and New Zealand become eligible for deliveries first, and the US having to wait a little while longer …
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Tomorrow will see the announcement of AAPL Q4 2023 earnings, at a time when hardware revenue has been falling, and Apple itself has warned investors to expect big year-on-year drops in iPad and Mac sales.
While Apple suggested that the previous quarter might not beat the previous quarter’s $81.8B revenue, and there have been signs that all is not well with iPhone sales, analysts appear optimistic …
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Apple’s proud boast that the entire Scary Fast event was shot on the iPhone 15 Pro Max has lead to a lot of discussion and debate about what that really means, and whether or not it’s a big deal.
There are those suggesting it really does mean the camera is something special, while other are suggesting that it’s at best meaningless, and at worst a cheat …
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A new report based on interviews with insiders says the very first Apple Watch was originally supposed to launch with non-invasive blood sugar monitoring. Indeed, it says, this was intended to be the device’s headline feature.
The piece also reveals battles within the company over how far the company’s health ambitions should go, with some criticising it for targeting the “worried well” rather than those who most need health tech …
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The gradual global rollout of Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone feature continues, with Ukraine the seventh country to benefit.
The small business payment service is initially limited to the state-owned PrivatBank, and customers can get up-and-running in just a few minutes …
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AAPL’s share price dropped by 11% since the company’s last earnings report in August, losing more than $400B in market capitalization. The fall is discussed a couple of days ahead of Apple’s next earnings report, on Thursday.
A new report notes that this is the first time in eight years that the company’s share price has dropped between WWDC and fiscal Q4 earnings report …
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Apple has sent iPhone hack warnings to the leader of India’s main opposition party, alongside other politicians opposing Narendra Modi’s government – placing Apple in a potentially delicate position.
A security researcher was also alerted, and shared a copy of the alert message he was sent, in which Apple advised enabling Lockdown Mode …
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