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.
Snapchat’s My AI feature is facing the prospect of a ban in the UK, over concerns that it may be putting the privacy of children at risk.
It follows separate user outrage at the ChatGPT integration being pinned to the top of their chats, and a mix of concern and amusement when the chatbot went rogue …
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The Community Notes feature on X is being used to challenge claims made in ads by Apple, Samsung, Uber, and others.
A report says that this is adding another barrier to the willingness of major brands to advertise on the troubled platform …
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Mark Gurman’s latest newsletter says that Apple remains concerned about the Vision Pro’s weight and is working on making the next generation of the headset lighter.
Gurman also describes the difficulties the company is facing in dealing with the prescription lenses that will be needed for many customers …
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This may be something of an edge case, but as it caused me to waste a considerable amount of time Googling ‘Recovering Mac storage’ before the problem solved itself, I thought I’d share.
Having recently completed a 16-minute micro documentary, one of the things that shocked me was just how much drive space is eaten up! While the final cut was around one minute of interview per person, and a similar amount of dance footage, I of course shot more …
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Apple’s long-running battle with Korean antitrust regulators is showing no signs of ending any time soon.
In the latest development, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has found both Apple and Google guilty of anti-competitive behavior, required changes to their respective app store policies, and warned of possible fines …
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A Homeland Security report on the illegal use of smartphone location data by multiple government agencies – including the US Secret Service – has now been made public. The report concludes that three separate US agencies broke the law by breaching privacy protections.
The report was originally categorized as Law Enforcement Sensitive, but this classification has now been removed, and a redacted version made available to the public …
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One of the new iPhone 15 Pro features is somewhat niche but incredibly useful to video enthusiasts using their iPhone as a B-camera or C-camera: You can shoot directly to an SSD.
But a reviewer learned of one problem the hard way: If your cable doesn’t support USB 3 speeds, the iPhone won’t warn you – it will simply drop frames. Lots and lots of frames …
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Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra is the biggest competitor to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, especially when it comes to the camera capabilities.
CNET decided to put the two models into a camera shootout by a professional photographer, comparing the results achieved across a wide variety of types of shots …
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The iPhone 15 overheating problem was both confirmed and visualized using thermal imaging, and now the same tech has been used to show the impact of Apple’s software fix.
In our own poll, a full 57% of 9to5Mac readers with iPhone 15 models had experienced the overheating problem …
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A year ago, filmmaker Joey Helms created a stunning example of the video capabilities of the iPhone 14 Pro – and he’s back with an even more impressive example of iPhone 15 Pro cinematic video (below).
Helms told us that the addition this year of the LOG Image Profile was by far the greatest improvement, but there are other worthwhile upgrades too …
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When Apple chipmaker TSMC was granted federal subsidies for building its first US plant, creating jobs for American workers was one of the key arguments. But with hiring well underway, a new report says that almost half of the TSMC Arizona plant hires are from Taiwan.
Additionally, plans for a six-step expansion program – intended to allow the Arizona plant to rival the production volumes of those in Taiwan – are now said to be unlikely to proceed ….
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Photoshop AI features are already incredibly impressive, thanks to things like generative fill and generative expand, but the company isn’t done yet.
The company has just provided a sneak preview of a new AI feature expected to be officially announced at next week’s Adobe Max event, and it looks pretty stunning …
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MacBook Pro battery life is set to be boosted by more efficient backlighting on the upcoming models, according to a new supply chain report.
It suggests that Apple will be using brighter miniLEDs for the backlight, but won’t be increasing the maximum brightness level of the displays …
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Returning packages is one of life’s most tedious chores, especially when it involves a trip to an inconveniently located USPO, FedEx, or UPS office …
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A number of TikTok deepfakes have been called out by the celebrities whose likenesses have been stolen. These include MrBeast, Tom Hanks, and Gayle King.
The fake video of MrBeast claimed that viewers had been selected to receive an iPhone 15 Pro for just $2, leaving the YouTube star to question whether social media networks are prepared for deepfake scams …
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A reported Spotify audiobooks development has now been confirmed by the company. Paid subscribers will be able to listen to 15 hours of audiobooks at no extra cost – though Americans are not first in line.
Whether or not 15 hours will let you listen to an entire book will depend on the book …
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Multiple reports of problems with iPhone wireless charging in BMWs do not appear specific to the iPhone 15 line-up, but may be exacerbating existing heating issues which Apple says are most acute in the latest models.
Some owners of BMW cars with wireless charging pads are reporting a range of problems, including the NFC chip used for Apple Pay being left unusable …
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An Indian iPhone plant run by Foxconn was temporarily closed down back in 2021 due to major health infractions in worker accommodation – including the presence of rats, food crawling with worms, and toilets without running water.
Now for the first time, we’re learning of the findings of a subsequent government inspection, which revealed many more safety infractions within the plant itself, some of which were described as “highly hazardous” to the health of workers …
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A week after other companies did so, Apple has finally complied with a Chinese app law that requires developers to have a registered local company in the country.
The move comes after it was suggested that social media apps like X, Instagram, and Facebook would have to be removed from the Chinese version of the App Store …
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A busy time meant that my first test of the new 5x telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max was nothing more than a quick 3x versus 5x comparison shot from my apartment as part of a first impressions piece.
Yesterday, I got the chance to see how useful the new lens is for portraits – from the purely optical bokeh seen above, to testing iOS 17’s newfound ability to automatically add depth data, letting you adjust focus after taking the photo …
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An Apple Pay antitrust lawsuit will go ahead, after the judge rejected the iPhone maker’s motion to dismiss the case.
Three credit unions are suing Apple for what it says is a 100% monopoly on mobile wallets on iPhones and Apple Watches …
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Apple and its former engineer Cher Scarlett didn’t exactly part on the best of terms, but the company has publicly thanked them for identifying a Find My privacy flaw …
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Security researchers have highlighted a couple of potential iCloud Keychain issues you may want to be aware of in iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma.
One is that upgrading may switch the feature on if you previously had it off, while the second arises if you have the feature enabled and then toggle it off …
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Eufy security cameras are getting an update that allows them to track a visitor across multiple cameras, and send you a single video alert which follows the visitor between views.
A demo video shows a delivery driver dropping off a package, and one view shows them placing the package in a yard, combined with a view from a second camera which shows the driver getting back into their van at the front of the home …
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