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.
The saga of a mandatory government security app which Apple and Google had to preinstall on their phones didn’t last long after Apple refused to play ball.
The Indian government had already backed down on preventing iPhone owners from deleting the “security” app, and has now made a complete U-turn in the space of just 48 hours …
Expand Expanding Close
Saturday’s Major League Soccer championship match between Inter Miami and the Whitecaps will incorporate footage from four iPhones. Apple previously used iPhones to capture live game footage during two Friday Night Baseball broadcasts.
MLS said that the weekend telecast will involve the league’s largest ever set of cameras, giving fans access to an unprecedented range of angles …
Expand Expanding Close
Most of the major streaming music services now offer their own version of the annual Spotify Wrapped feature, providing insights into our most listened to songs and artists.
Yesterday saw the unveiling of Apple Music Replay 2025, after YouTube Music rolled out its own take, and now Spotify Wrapped 2025 has landed – this year with a new party feature …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple has frequently used small variations on the same one-sentence justification when giving in to government demands that conflict with the company’s stated values: “Apple complies with the law in each of the countries in which it operates.”
However, there are occasions on which the company has instead chosen to stand up to unreasonable government demands, and we yesterday saw the latest (and highly successful) example …
Expand Expanding Close
A well-known security researcher reports that Apple has slashed its bounties for finding vulnerabilities in macOS. Many have been halved, with one of them reduced from over $30k to just $5k, despite a growing problem with Mac malware.
Csaba Fitzl, principal macOS security researcher at Iru, says it suggests Apple doesn’t really care about the Mac, and increases the likelihood that vulnerabilities will be sold on the black market instead of reported to the company …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone is intended to offer the ultimate in convenience and affordability for small businesses looking to accept contactless payment from both mobile wallets and physical cards.
The feature is today continuing its global rollout, with Singapore the latest country to get the technology …
Expand Expanding Close
As Apple loses its AI head and reboots its work with a restructure, OpenAI is ramping up the pressure by declaring “code red.”
Concerned about being overtaken by Google’s Gemini, CEO Sam Altman has said that all of the company’s efforts will be devoted to improving the quality of ChatGPT …
Expand Expanding Close
Buying a Mac Pro makes absolutely no sense at the moment given that the Mac Studio is more powerful while also being substantially cheaper.
But if you secretly lust after one anyway, then a cute $50 case can make an M4 Mac Mini look just like a miniature Mac Pro – with a couple of practical benefits thrown in …
Expand Expanding Close
There’s been growing pressure to protect children from age-inappropriate content in both apps and websites at both state and federal levels.
Moves to shift the responsibility from individual developers to app stores is gaining momentum, and that’s reflected in a new proposed law: the App Store Accountability Act …
Expand Expanding Close
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman once described the idea of embedded ChatGPT ads as “unsettling” and “a last resort,” but there are now multiple indications that they are on the way.
It had been previously reported that the company was considering ads appearing in the AI chatbot, at least for free users, and code has now been spotted which points to preparation for this …
Expand Expanding Close
The Indian government has ordered Apple and other smartphone manufacturers to pre-install a state-owned “security” app on all phones before they are sold to users. Update: As we predicted, Apple has pushed back, but more aggressively by stating outright that it will not comply.
Adding fuel to the privacy fire, the government is also requiring smartphone makers to ensure that the app cannot be removed by users …
Expand Expanding Close
The iPhone Air was arguably the biggest innovation in iPhone design since the iPhone X. The iPhone Fold we’re expecting to see launch next year will be an even bigger shift.
All the signs point to the iPhone Fold being the best foldable smartphone launched to date, but there is one big problem with it – and it’s almost the obvious one …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple has had quite the rollercoaster ride over plans to scan devices for the presence of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).
After announcing and then withdrawing its own plans for CSAM scanning, it appeared that it might be legally required to do it anyway. The EU has now backed down on this, but that doesn’t necessarily let Apple off the hook …
Expand Expanding Close
If you receive a notification from ChatGPT provider OpenAI that one of its partners has suffered a data breach, it’s likely that your own data is safe. Only those who have an API account may have been affected
The company says it is being transparent by notifying all subscribers, even though only a small subset of them will have been impacted …
Expand Expanding Close
The Plex personal media server had long allowed remote streaming for free users. The company announced back in March that this would in future require a paid Plex Pass subscription, which was set to come into effect from the end of April.
The company initially hadn’t appeared to enforce the new rule, but it appears that it is now starting to do so, with the Roku app first in the firing line …
Expand Expanding Close
It’s widely believed that sales of the iPhone Air have been disappointing and that Apple has either massively reduced or even suspended manufacturing altogether.
A new report says that several Chinese brands have responded by canceling their own plans for similar ultra-slim phones …
Expand Expanding Close
The contract that founded the Apple Computer Company (now Apple, Inc) is set to be auctioned and is expected to sell for between $2 million and $4 million. It will likely be the most expensive Apple collectible ever sold.
Auction house Christie’s hasn’t yet added the document to its website, but it is reportedly offering the contract in an auction taking place on January 23 …
Expand Expanding Close
A new ChatGPT voice update has made interacting with the chatbot far more flexible than it used to be, and I think is an example of one of the key things we can eventually expect from the new Siri.
While OpenAI’s change might seem like a relatively small one on the surface, I’m already finding that it completely transforms the experience of using ChatGPT …
Expand Expanding Close
Two websites intended to help software developers format and structure their code have exposed thousands of login credentials, authentication keys, and other highly sensitive information.
Cybersecurity researchers found that this sensitive data belonged to organizations in many high-risk sectors like government, banking, and healthcare …
Expand Expanding Close
The iPhone Pocket is probably unchallenged as the weirdest accessory the company has ever sold, beating out the iPod sock. But if you were, for some reason, planning to buy one, you may now have missed your chance …
Expand Expanding Close
IKEA has been combining speakers with lamps for some time now, and its latest lineup includes new versions of these as well as round speakers with eye-catching graphics.
The company says its latest models with graphics created by local designer Teklan will add form, color, and character to a room …
Expand Expanding Close
Both mobile and desktop versions of the Pocket Casts app have introduced a new playlist feature designed to help you organize your favorite podcasts.
You can manually create your own playlists by hand, while a Smart Playlists option can apply your own rules to do the job automatically …
Expand Expanding Close
The iPhone Fold has entered the next stage of production after what is said to be a “breakthrough” in eliminating the crease normally seen in folding phones when they are laid flat.
Although the display is being made by Samsung, several elements are said to have been designed by Apple and will be unique to the device …
Expand Expanding Close
A competition regulator has accused Apple of misleading users about the level of privacy offered by the App Tracking Transparency feature. That accusation, while made in good faith, is based on a misunderstanding.
The iPhone maker has responded by saying that it may be forced to withdraw the privacy protection from EU users …
Expand Expanding Close