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Ben Lovejoy

benlovejoy

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.

Connect with Ben Lovejoy

Second TSMC Arizona chip plant delayed; may also be less advanced

Second TSMC Arizona chip plant delayed

The second TSMC Arizona chip plant has been delayed, just like the first one. The company had previously said that the plant would come online in 2026, but now says this has been pushed back to 2027 or 2028.

Additionally, the chipmaker says that the second plant – initially set to be making advanced 3nm chips – may also be downgraded to larger-process chips …

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Apple demands $73M in Epic legal expenses

Epic legal expenses | Payment terminal

The Supreme Court’s decision not to hear appeals by either Apple or Epic Games means that the antitrust case is officially decided – and the iPhone maker is now demanding that the games company pay $73M of its $81M legal expenses.

The iPhone maker says that as there were ten issues at stake, and Apple won on nine of them, Epic should pay 90% of its legal bill …

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Apple’s 27% response to the Supreme Court decision is baiting antitrust regulators

Apple response to the Supreme Court | Judge's gavel on US flag

The US Supreme Court yesterday decided that the original ruling in the Epic Games case should stand – and Apple’s response to the antitrust ruling has been uncompromising, to put it politely.

The company’s announcement that it will allow external payments but still claim a 27% commission on sales made outside the App Store is effectively Apple giving the middle finger not just to Epic Games – which may be understandable – but also to the court which made the original ruling, and to antitrust regulators …

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Vision Pro Immersive Video makes it the ultimate entertainment device, says Apple

Vision Pro Immersive Video | visionOS apps

Vision Pro Immersive Video makes it the ultimate entertainment device, according to Apple, as the company highlighted the entertainment capabilities of its spatial computer.

The company previewed “immersive, first-of-its-kind original stories, produced with Apple Immersive Video” which were first demonstrated to the media in the form of Alicia Keys: Rehearsal Room

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AirPods and Vision Pro supplier moving production to Vietnam after Apple pressure

AirPods and Vision Pro supplier moving production to Vietnam (AirPods line-up shown)

Apple supplier Goertek has firmed up plans to move a substantial amount of production from China to Vietnam, after the Cupertino company urged it to do so. The company currently makes AirPods, and is also believed to have been lined up as a Vision Pro supplier.

The company said last year that it had been receiving almost daily queries about how quickly it could move production from China to Vietnam …

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OLED iPad production underway in run-up to reported spring launch

OLED iPad production | Colorful wallpaper shown

A new supply-chain report says that OLED iPad production is now underway. LG is said to have recently started manufacturing displays for the 13-inch iPad Pro, with OLED panels for the 11-inch model expected to begin any day now.

Samsung is reportedly beginning its own production of OLED iPad panels sometime this week, as we approach a reputed spring launch …

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iPhone Diary: Video stabilisation still wows me; low-light video still tops my wish-list

iPhone 15 Pro Max low-light video quality | Still from footage in a dimly-lit restaurant

Back in 2021, I talked about just how much the iPhone 13 video stabilisation impressed me.

For casual usage, the in-camera stabilization is nothing short of miraculous. Would I use it for anything more serious, like short films? I’d still prefer the 100% stability of a tripod for locked-off shots, but it’s honestly very close to the point at which I’d be willing to use it, and I might well do so for panning and tilting movements, which look almost as smooth as tripod-mounted shots.

One year and one iPhone generation later, that was still the case …

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There’s an Apple Car airbag problem – but the company has a solution

Apple Car airbag challenge | Steering wheel airbag deployed

Airbags have been proven to save lives, but an Apple Car airbag system presents a new challenge – one which could be solved by a new approach, says the company.

Airbags have been around for a long time. The first one to be fitted to a car dates back to Chevrolet Impala with a customized Oldsmobile dashboard in 1973, followed by an Oldsmobile Toronado, and they’ve been required by law in all cars sold in the US since 1998. That’s with good reason …

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Windows PCs will follow Mac example with ‘Neural Engines’ this year – Canalys

Neural Engine equivalents coming to Windows PCs | M3 chip line-up shown

While critics might say Apple is falling behind in the AI race, there’s one area where the Cupertino company has led the way: on-device AI processing using the Neural Engine in its iPhone, iPad, and Mac chips.

Market intelligence company says it expects Windows PC brands to follow Apple’s lead this year, putting their own equivalent of Neural Engine chips into high-end laptops this year …

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Xreal Air 2 Ultra ‘Vision Pro competitor’ has been announced – at $699 [U: Hands-on video]

Xreal Air 2 Ultra | Claimed Vision Pro competitor

The first claimed Vision Pro competitor has been announced, in the form of the Xreal Air 2 Ultra. The device is powered by the shiny new spatial computing chip Qualcomm announced on Friday, and costs just a fifth of the price of Vision Pro.

Update: See the hands-on video at the bottom for a sense of what they are like to use …

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