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 rumors turned out to be correct, even if most were styling it with a capital E rather than a lower-case one: the iPhone SE 4 is officially named the iPhone 16e.
One question is what the e stands for. Apple has often been vague about the meaning of suffices like S, R, and SE when appended to various iPhone models, but it did provide an answer this time …
Expand Expanding Close
Trump’s 10% tariff on all imports from China – payable in addition to any existing duties – is now in effect, and is starting to be reflected in US prices.
The tariff is paid by US businesses and consumers when goods arrive from China, with companies forced to choose between passing it on to consumers in the form of higher prices, or absorbing the costs and taking a hit to their profit margin …
Expand Expanding Close
Wireless reverse charging is a long-awaited feature which we know Apple has been working on for a long time, and which it partly implemented back in 2020. However, it hasn’t been fully activated in any iPhone model, despite widespread adoption in Android smartphones.
Our own sources have indicated that Apple is working on a more advanced version, and a new report says that the feature is currently being tested in prototypes of the iPhone 17 Pro …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently revealed that a product announcement will be happening today, and it seems 99% certain that’s the 4th-generation iPhone SE – which some reports have suggested will instead be named the iPhone 16E.
A leaker with a decent track record has added his vote to the iPhone 16E (or 16e) naming, though his post is effectively third-hand …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple’s plan to boost iPhone production in India from an estimated 15% of global production today to 25% by 2027 is being deliberately hampered by the Chinese government, according to new reports.
China is reportedly using a mix of three measures to make it harder for Apple’s manufacturing partners to transfer production to India …
Expand Expanding Close
We reported yesterday the launch of the Grok 3 chatbot, which is only available if you have an X Premium+ subscription. That cost $22/month at the time, but that’s now been more than doubled to $50/month – though X seems a little confused about its own prices …
Expand Expanding Close
A new render aims to visualize a potential iPhone 17 Pro design, with a full-width camera module replacing the current offset square.
3D artist and developer Asher Dipprey previously shared the renders in a video, which was restricted to his Patreon members …
Expand Expanding Close
Plans for a Reddit paywall of some kind have now been confirmed by CEO Steve Huffman, after hints about it last summer.
Huffman confirmed the plan for paid subreddits during a pre-recorded Ask Me Anything video shown during the company’s earnings call …
Expand Expanding Close
Social network X is blocking links to shared contact details on encrypted messaging app Signal. Links to signal.me are blocked even in direct messages …
Expand Expanding Close
A new report suggests that Apple and Meta could end up competing in the humanoid robots field. The social media company is said to be making “significant investment” in this product category, with a focus on household chores.
But if Apple does proceed with its own reported domestic robot plans, the Cupertino company could have a huge advantage …
Expand Expanding Close
The latest report on Apple’s plans for a larger iMac suggest that the company may still be missing something.
Apple did something almost unprecedented back in 2023 when it specifically confirmed there was no new 27-inch iMac on the way, but it did leave the door open for a larger iMac – perhaps something with a 32-inch screen. But a report from Mark Gurman yesterday threw something of a spanner in the works …
Expand Expanding Close
Adobe is today expanding access to its AI video generator, Firefly. Anyone can now create 5-second video clips in 1080p HD free of charge …
Expand Expanding Close
My colleague Zac Hall yesterday shared the Mac apps he currently uses, and it got me thinking about the Mac apps and utilities I couldn’t live without.
Some are major apps, like Final Cut Pro, but there are a bunch of utilities I use on a regular basis that I’d really miss if I didn’t have them …
Expand Expanding Close
It was discovered last year that location data for US military and intelligence personnel serving overseas was being sold by a Florida-based data broker, but the source of that sensitive data was unclear at the time.
It’s now been claimed that the data was captured by a variety of mobile apps with revenue-sharing agreements with a Lithuanian ad-tech company, and then resold by an American company …
Expand Expanding Close
While most of us are have welcomed Apple Intelligence and are impatiently waiting for it to do more, there are some who’ve opted out. Some of these users are reporting that the latest macOS and iOS updates have re-enabled the feature.
While it’s clearly a bug, it’s not clear at this point what causes the unintended behavior, nor how widespread it is …
Expand Expanding Close
TSMC agreed to build a series of chip plants in the US, with Apple a key customer, using subsidies provided by the bipartisan CHIPS Act. Trump has now called the Act “ridiculous” and wants to renege on the promised funding.
If he followed through on the threat, it could throw into doubt the viability of the US chipmaking plants, and lead to cancellation of TSMC’s expansion plans …
Expand Expanding Close
A supply chain report on Samsung Display confirms expectations that the first OLED MacBook Pro models will launch in 2026. It says that the company is currently working on the first samples of the displays, and expects to be in full production in 2026.
The report also suggests that we’ll have to wait even longer than expected for the first MacBook Air models with OLED screens …
Expand Expanding Close
A new accessibility program based on an app for deaf and hard of hearing users is being tested on the New York MTA system. It will provide riders with instant access to a live sign language interpreter when engaging with staff.
The approach means that any member of Metropolitan Transit Authority will be able to help with directions and other queries without the need for any ASL skills themselves …
Expand Expanding Close
The two biggest criticisms of Vision Pro have been price and the weight. We know Apple is working on a lower-priced model, and a new patent application describes a way to make the headset very much lighter.
Early reviewers commented on the fact that it starts to feel very heavy when you wear it for more than brief sessions, something I was able to confirm from my own experience of the device …
Expand Expanding Close
Apple Silicon chips have transformed attitudes toward ARM architecture, from being suitable mostly for power-efficient mobile devices to also capable of powering desktop processors which Intel behind.
ARM CEO Rene Haas has now weighed-in on the DeepSeek controversy in a new interview, expressing his skepticism about one of of the key claims and voicing his expectation that China’s AI chatbot will be banned in the US …
Expand Expanding Close
A growing number of people are wearing their Apple Watch on their ankle, according to a new report, with five different reasons cited.
The most mundane of these are people with tiny wrists who find that the Watch is too loose during workouts, even with the smallest of bands …
Expand Expanding Close
Neither Apple nor Google have returned TikTok to their respective app stores, and with very good reason: the supposed get-out-of-jail-free card offered by Trump is nothing of the sort. Both companies would be left exposed to hundreds of billions of dollars of liability.
As of the weekend, Android users who want to download TikTok do have another option – but it’s not one I’d advise them to take. Instead, they’d be better off using the workaround available to iPhone users …
Expand Expanding Close
If you’re looking for a way to stream the 2025 Super Bowl in 4K for free, Tubi will be showing the entire event – including Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show. The Tubi app is available for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Vision Pro, as well as on the web.
FOX Sports says that it will be doing a special takeover of Tubi for the game, with no sign-in required …
Expand Expanding Close
A Metropolitan Police crackdown on phone snatching in London has seen 230 people arrested and more than 1,000 phones recovered in the space of just one week.
The police service also reported that a gang found guilty of handling more than 5,000 stolen phones have been sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison …
Expand Expanding Close