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.
For years, Apple’s Podcasts app was by far the most popular way to listen to them, but the company has now been knocked off the top slot, falling to number three.
The percentage of weekly podcast listeners who use Apple’s app has fallen from 30% in July 2019 to a little over 10% today …
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Suggestions that Apple plans to launch an iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone 17 Air are gaining ground, with most reports now pointing to a compromise device.
One big compromise we might see is for Apple to limit the model to a single camera – but there may be a creative solution to this problem, which could give us the equivalent of an entire camera bag full of lenses right there in our pocket …
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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has official screen time recommendations for kids of different ages – but parents still have to grapple with the trade-offs and practicalities.
One parent has shared her own struggles with finding the right balance, and the exceptions she allows to her normally-strict policy …
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Back in May, Meta started testing the ability to cross-post from Instagram to Threads, and the company is now rolling this out to everyone.
The feature also lets you cross-post from Facebook, continuing Meta’s integration of its three different social media platforms …
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We’ve seen quite a few Apple Ring patent applications, a number of them granted, and the latest is one of the more extensive ones.
Among the interesting elements here is Siri support, and a description of how multiple rings could be worn – including a ring-to-ring wireless charging arrangement …
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The cost of monthly Twitch subscriptions is rising again, with a new announcement just one month after the previous rise back in July …
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Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who previously said he expected a folding MacBook to launch in 2026, now says the timeline has been pushed back to 2027 or 2028.
He also says that work on a folding iPad is “not yet visible” in Apple’s supply chain – though Mark Gurman has given the same dates for this …
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Apple and 4-H are working together to extend the training offered by the youth development network, which is best known for an agricultural focus.
With Apple’s support, the network of youth organizations is teaching kids to program in Swift, as well as use technology for other creative work …
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A UK antitrust investigation into Apple has officially closed – despite finding the company to be at fault – after the regulator missed a legal deadline.
However, a case seems almost certain to be re-opened under an upcoming law which will grant new powers to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) …
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A potential plan to bring back the old Sonos app has turned out to be impossible, according to the company’s CEO.
The idea was hatched after widespread problems with the new app forced Sonos to issue a public apology, and to delay the launch of two new hardware products …
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The winners of the 17th annual iPhone Photography Awards have been announced, and the deadline of next year’s competition has been set.
All photos were shot on iPhone or iPad, and the rules state that all editing must also be carried out on the mobile device …
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The world just went a little further down the road of everything becoming a subscription, with the news that the companion app for the Anova sous vide cooker will now cost $2/month or $10/year …
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Hard as it may be to imagine, the massive data leak – which appears to include the personal data of everyone in the US, UK, and Canada – was even worse than we thought.
In a truly epic security fail, the same data was hosted by a partner company which managed to publish its own passwords, enabling absolutely anyone to access the data …
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Ticketmaster SafeTix, a feature the company claimed was for fraud-prevention, was actually intended to make it harder for customers to buy their tickets from other resellers, according to an antitrust lawsuit. The complaint says this is proven by internal company documents …
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Those who’ve never tried the service can now get an Apple Music free trial for three months, rather than just one.
This is the same deal the company offered when it first launched the streaming music service, but it later reduced it to one month …
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Apple will this year hit a major milestone in its efforts to reduce its manufacturing dependence on China, according to a new report today.
When the iPhone 16 line-up launches, both Pro models will be made in India within weeks of launch, something the company hasn’t achieved with previous models …
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A report earlier this week said that plans for Apple’s first robot product have been accelerating, in the form of a hybrid iPad/HomePod product.
A supply-chain report now says that Foxconn has been commissioned by Apple to make the robot arm and casings for the device …
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Thieves are increasingly stealing AirPods Max headphones by simply snatching them from people’s heads in the street, according to a video report. Drive-by thefts from mopeds is reported to be one of the main methods used, with police in London responding robustly …
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The court ruling that Google is no longer allowed to pay Apple $20B+ a year to be the default search engine raises the question: What now? One potential answer being suggested is that the iPhone maker create its own Apple search engine.
But much as many of us might like to see that, it seems like an unlikely prospect – and just not worth the potential risks …
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The project to replace Qualcomm’s radio chip with an Apple modem is taking a huge amount of time and effort, and some have questioned whether that investment makes sense just to save a few dollars on the cost of an iPhone.
The question becomes even more pointed when even company insiders admit there will be no benefit to customers when the switch first happens – but Apple is hoping the move will pay off for customers too, in the longer-term …
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Video dominates mobile app revenue, according to a new report. Of the total $3.8B smartphone owners spent on entertainment apps last quarter, three billion of it was spent on streaming and short video apps.
The most dramatic growth in earnings was seen in short video apps, with TikTok coins credited with generating the bulk of this money …
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ByteDance’s appeal against a US TikTok ban is underway, and the company has accused the Department of Justice of factual errors in presenting its case – intended to force the sale of the app to an American company.
The DOJ says the app’s feed can be manipulated by the Chinese government for propaganda purposes, but Bytedance said that recommendations are actually generated in the US …
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If you want to try out a new iPhone, you might not have to leave your home in future. Apple has applied for a patent which illustrates a virtual try-out of a new phone from within a Vision Pro environment. The company describes its use for iPads and Macs too.
For example, you could hold up a virtual iPhone in front of a virtual landscape, and see the images you’d capture with the different cameras …
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The JD Power 2024 US Credit Card Satisfaction Study has found the Apple Card to be the best co-branded credit card with no annual fee …
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