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.
Digital artist and developer Kabel Cadle has spotted a handy new feature in iPadOS 18. For the first time, you can format external drives on an iPad, choosing between three different format options. Update: The same option is also available on the iPhone in iOS 18.
This brings the device closer in line with the Mac’s Disk Utility app, though it doesn’t yet offer the Restore and First Aid features …
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It’s been consistently reported that Apple has been struggling to develop a lower-cost version of the Vision Pro, and that the solution might need to be a tethered Apple Vision product – with either an iPhone or a Mac providing the required processing power.
While some may see that as a big deal, there are three reasons why I’d consider it an acceptable compromise to bring the price down to a more affordable level …
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Apple has fixed a Vision Pro bug which would have allowed a website to fill your room with an unlimited number of virtual 3D objects. Those objects – flying bats in the proof of concept – would then persist even after you quit Safari.
The bug was discovered by a cybersecurity researcher who says Apple took a lot of care to protect against this type of exploit, but it forgot one thing …
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When Apple first launched AirPods back in 2016, it also introduced a whole new accessory setup process, designed to avoid the usual pain point of Bluetooth pairing.
For almost eight years, it seemed like the company wanted to keep this exclusive to its own headphones, with competitors unable to take advantage of it. But all that changes in iOS 18 …
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Both the EU and Australia have backed down on separate proposals to force tech companies to carry out CSAM scanning within messaging apps, which would have meant breaking end-to-end encryption.
It’s the latest development in the ongoing battle between tech companies and politicians who don’t understand how encryption works …
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The possibility of a smartphone ban in schools in Apple’s home state of California looks increasingly likely after Governor Gavin Newsom added his support.
The move follows an opinion piece by the US Surgeon General proposing a warning label on social media apps, given the mental health risks they pose to adolescents.
Update: New York’s governor has signed into law two bills restricting social media for kids
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Apple has applied for a patent on a swappable hi-tech rear cover for a smartphone, with an iPhone rear display and additional cameras among the potential applications listed by the company.
The application also appears to describe a way to offer case-like protection without the bulk of a conventional iPhone case …
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I’ve tried a lower-end headset, and I’ve tried a higher-end headset, but the US-only launch of Vision Pro meant I was having to wait impatiently for my chance to go hands-on with Apple’s spatial computer here in the UK.
I wasn’t going to have very much longer to wait, with walk-in demos likely available on June 28, but UK-based developer Maze Theory offered me a chance to try one a little earlier …
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The Apple versus Qualcomm battle was fought fiercely for years, before circumstances forced the iPhone maker to agree a last-minute settlement.
But some Qualcomm shareholders were as unhappy as Apple about the chipmaker’s business practices, and they’ve finally managed to persuade the company to pay compensation …
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How Apple Intelligence will work in China remains unclear, as the company has to navigate the country’s generative AI regulations.
A new report says that Apple concluded it was unlikely to get approval to use a system developed outside of China, suggesting that more of the off-device AI will be powered by Chinese companies …
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We got a partial look at the outside of the Apple Store TRX in Kuala Lumpur a few weeks ago, and the tiered pyramid design looked pretty spectacular.
Apple has now shared photos of the inside of the store, ahead of Saturday’s opening, and it doesn’t disappoint …
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We speculated at the time that the decision to withdraw Apple Pay Later was probably driven by a desire to get ahead of upcoming legislation, and a piece today suggests that it’s actually a new interpretation of a very old law.
The Truth in Lending Act was passed in 1968, and grants consumers a number of protections when it comes to credit cards – and Apple Pay Later seemed set to fall within scope …
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If you’ve got an Intel Mac of up to six years old, there was mixed news for most when Apple announced macOS 15 Sequoia. Most Macs that can run macOS 14 can still run this year’s version – but Intel models unsurprisingly won’t get the headline Apple Intelligence features.
A historical analysis of how long Macs continue to support the latest version of macOS shows that – with a couple of exceptions – not much changed this year on the surface, but it does still leave the question of Apple’s future plans for its Intel-chipped machines …
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Apple has added a new tool to its website, to help you choose the best Mac for your needs.
The tool asks you a number of questions – including your desired maximum spend – and then makes recommendations …
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Apple’s decision to block iPhone PC emulators has been criticized by developers, who have variously said that it is confusing, inconsistent, and probably illegal.
One even said that not even Apple’s own app reviewers appear to understand the company’s policy, because they took two months to reach a decision …
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Apple battery supplier TDK has announced the development of a technology it says could be used in next-gen solid-state batteries to offer one hundred times the energy density of existing ones …
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BBB National Programs – which grew out of the Better Business Bureau – has said that the T-Mobile price lock guarantee is no such thing, and called on the company to stop advertising it.
The move follows the company increasing the prices of some older mobile plans by either $2 or $5 per line …
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A years-long Apple Pay antitrust investigation is about to be settled, according to a new report this morning.
It says that while there are still ongoing discussions about some of the finer details, the European Union is set to agree to the latest changes proposed by Apple …
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Apple hasn’t had much luck persuading car makers to adopt its next-gen CarPlay, in which its own UI takes over all or most of the vehicle’s displays. But a feature known as punch-through might be the compromise which gets the company at least some of the way there.
Punch-through was initially designed to allow the car’s own UI to take over in very limited cases, like automatically engaging backup cameras when reverse gear is selected, but it could be applied more generally to keep everyone happy …
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An interesting piece suggests that Apple’s AI logo* – along with the new Siri icon – is intended to look friendly, unthreatening, and is deliberately non-anthropomorphic.
*Yeah, that could be Apple Artificial Intelligence, or Apple Apple Intelligence. Thanks, Tim.
Other companies appear to have set themselves the same goals with their AI offerings, hence all the simple, colorful graphics …
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The Apple podcast transcription feature was officially launched in iOS 17.4, but the company says that it actually introduced a very limited version way back in 2018.
Apple says that it took so long to launch as a fully-fledged accessibility feature because the company wanted to make it universal, and to incorporate learnings from Apple Music lyrics …
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Leaked images have revealed that a new Philips Hue Twilight bedside lamp is on the way. In addition to a standard angled lamp, there are separate LEDs at the rear which can be used to simulate sunrise and sunset.
Philips already released the Philips Hue Signe gradient lamp back in 2022, with bedside tables one of the suggested uses, but the Twilight appears to take a more focused approach to bedroom use …
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The iOS 18 beta 1 has brought some of the promised new changes, but it doesn’t include Siri improvements, ChatGPT access, or many of the Apple Intelligence features (though there are a few exceptions).
Apple hasn’t revealed a precise timeline for each of the new features, likely wanting to avoid making promises it can’t keep, but there are some indications of what we can expect when …
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Three new WhatsApp video call features are aiming to make the app more competitive with FaceTime – including the company’s own take on SharePlay.
The company also emphasized the recent improvements it made to both audio and video quality …
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