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.
Sure, current iPhones can send data via satellites in emergencies, but two new demonstrations show that we might soon be able to routinely make voice phone calls via satellite connectivity. You can watch the call and 5G demo in the video below.
The test phone call – along with a separate 5G data download – was made from Maui, Hawaii, to Madrid using a new low Earth orbit satellite …
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While we’re still waiting to hear whether a federal TikTok ban will be imposed, some 18 state attorneys general are backing Montana’s state-level ban on the short video app. The ban is due to take effect on January 1, 2024.
TikTok is seeking to overturn the ban on the basis that it violates the free speech rights of its video creators, granted by the First Amendment. The app is one of the most popular in the world, used by around a third of the US population …
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After an analyst described the Arizona TSMC plant as a “paperweight” – due to the fact that all the chips it makes will have to be sent to Taiwan for the final stage of production – the state’s governor has claimed that this might change.
Governor Katie Hobbs said during a visit to TSMC in Taiwan that the state and the Apple chipmaker are “talking” about upgrading the capabilities of the plant …
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iPhone 15 pre-orders are strongly up on those seen for last year’s iPhone 14 lineup, according to a new analyst report.
Wedbush says it’s seeing some 10-12% more pre-orders for this year’s iPhone 15 lineup than it did in the same period last year – and that’s not the only good news for Apple …
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While Apple made much of the iPhone 15 Pro weight reduction, achieved by swapping out the stainless steel frame for a titanium one, it did create something of a mystery.
The weight reduction of the iPhone 15 Pro versus last year’s model is relatively modest, yet almost everyone present at the launch event – including our own Chance Miller – said that they could really feel the difference …
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Although the previous White House incumbent threatened a US TikTok ban and then quietly dropped it, the idea never quite went away. A new report says that fresh meetings have taken place between Bytedance, the Chinese owner of the app, and US government officials.
Things kicked off back in the summer of 2020 when the previous administration said that it was considering the possibility of banning TikTok over unspecified security concerns that data could be used by the Chinese government. Since the app uses very little personal data, the nature of these fears was not explained …
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A regulatory database has revealed details of the iPhone 15 battery capacity for each of the four models, and shows it to be slightly higher than the equivalent iPhone 14 ratings across all four models.
However, the boost doesn’t come anywhere close to the double-digit percentage increases that had been rumored …
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Prior to Apple’s launch event, there had been numerous suggestions that the iPhone 15 USB-C port might be restricted in some way, with only Apple-certified cables and accessories able to take advantage of full data transfer rates and charging power.
This would have mirrored the situation with the Lightning port in previous iPhone models, but a new report today says that Apple itself has indirectly confirmed that there are no such restrictions with the USB-C port in iPhone 15 models …
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Foldable devices have so far proven a rather slow-burn. On the smartphone side, the devices we’ve seen have been expensive and fragile.
Convertible laptop/tablet devices have also really compromised the functions of both. But the HP Spectre Fold kicks things up a notch, with a three-in-one device which could argue that it’s really a four-in-one …
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9to5Mac editor-in-chief Chance Miller shared his hands-on iPhone 15 video straight from the Apple event in Cupertino, focusing on the Pro models. This included his impression of the new titanium frame, a run-through of the various ways to use the new Action button, and a look at the new 5x telephoto camera.
These immediate hands-on videos are always brief, and of course only represent first impressions, but until the first iPhone 15 reviews are out, they do give us the best sense of what the new devices are like to actually use …
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A lawyer representing Apple has objected to claims made in court about how much Google pays the Cupertino company to be the default search engine on iPhones and other devices.
The objection was made in a major antitrust case against the search giant, which could see the Department of Justice force the breakup of the company into separate businesses …
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Yep, I’m now a fully paid-up member of the Annual iPhone Upgrade Club. As of the iPhone X, I’ve upgraded every year to the iPhone 11, 12, 13, and 14.
As usual, it’s the camera improvements that sold me on the new model – even though I’m fairly sure I’ll never actually use two of the biggest new features …
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Updated to note that Euro prices have also been reduced, as well as sterling.
In what is almost certainly Apple’s response to currency fluctuations, the company has introduced iPhone price rises in China and India, and has reduced prices in Europe. Price changes have also been seen in other products, like AirPods.
The price changes do vary between models, however, suggesting that Apple is trying to balance the effect of currency changes with the likely impact on demand …
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iOS 16 last year introduced a Clean Energy feature, which lets you set your iPhone to charge during times when your local energy grid is using carbon-neutral electricity. In iOS 17, a new Grid Forecast feature takes a first pass at expanding this capability to any device in your home.
Grid Forecast shows up in the Home app, and shows a prediction of when your energy provider will be generating electricity from carbon-neutral sources like solar and wind …
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One of the pre-launch rumors suggested that there would be iPhone 15 RAM increases, at least for the two Pro models. Reliable source Aaron (@aaronp613) and Joe Rossignol say they’ve now been able to confirm this from files present in Xcode.
They found that both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have 8GB RAM, increased from the 6GB found in the equivalent iPhone 14 models …
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A day after the iPhone 15 launch, the situation regarding a reported Chinese iPhone ban is, if anything, less clear than it was beforehand – and that’s probably not accidental.
The Chinese government has now said that it has not banned either the purchase or use of iPhones, but made reference to claimed “security incidents” related to Apple devices …
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Apple has announced Apple Watch Ultra 2, replacing the top-end model first introduced a year ago.
The new model gets improved internals – shared with the Apple Watch Series 9 …
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Most iPhone 15 displays will be made by Samsung, after competitors LG and BOE failed to gain Apple approval for their planned initial production.
Samsung is reported to be the only company making displays for the standard iPhone 15, the iPhone 15 Plus, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max …
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We’re still awaiting today’s Apple event, but alongside the anticipated new products, we’re expecting confirmation of something which might seem relatively minor, but which could prove hugely influential: Apple dropping leather from its iPhone cases and Apple Watch bands.
While the move is not yet official, there does seem to be strong evidence that the company will this year be taking an environmental stand on the issue …
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Twitter user Kosutami, who often manages to get their hands on prototype versions of Apple products, has posted a sneak preview of a FineWoven Apple Watch band.
The new fabric material is expected to replace leather for both iPhone cases and Watch bands, and to be officially announced alongside the iPhone 15 lineup and one or more new Apple Watch models in today’s event …
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As is now traditional, the #AppleEvent hashtag on X displays a custom hashflag graphic in the form of a tiny version of the Wonderlust logo – complete with a special animation when you like #AppleEvent tweets …
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The TSMC Arizona chip plant is behind schedule, over budget, and the subject of contention in online forums – and now an analyst says that it will be little more than a useless paperweight, even when it does finally begin production.
Not only will it only make chips for older Apple devices, but it can’t even complete the process of making those without sending them back to Taiwan for final assembly …
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One day ahead of the launch of the iPhone 15 line-up, CNN took a look back at every iPhone which preceded it, from the original iPhone in 2007 onward. That got me thinking about my favorites, and wondering: Which were yours?
When Steve Jobs presented the first ever iPhone – with his famous “an iPod, a phone and internet communicator … are you getting it?” reveal – he said it was a magical product which was five years ahead of anything else on the market …
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One of the rumors about this year’s iPhone lineup was that the top-end model might be called the iPhone 15 Ultra, instead of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. But just ahead of the reveal, we noted Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is confident the Pro Max name is sticking around.
Expand Expanding CloseIn a new report detailing what to expect at next week’s “Wonderlust” event, Bloomberg says Apple is planning to stick with the “Pro Max” branding this year …
