Damien is 9to5Google‘s resident Video Producer and has over a decade of UK media experience. He worked within the sports industry and with numerous sports-focused publications — including golfing publication National Club Golfer — prior to joining the 9to5Google team.
After completing a BSc in Computer Science at the University of Hull with a major focus on data analytics and UX, he joined the Press Association (now PA Media), developing growing sports data products for the Barclay’s Premier League. These’s data packages included the now-defunct ACTIM Index which eventually evolved into the EA Sports Player Performance Index.
While working with the UK’s largest media agency, he attained a MA in Journalism at Sheffield Hallam University after completing his studies in 2014. This is where a love affair with all things videography surfaced after a brief stint in student TV. A major interest and constantly growing know-how of technology and videography have seen Damien lead 9to5Google’s official YouTube channel since 2018. He previously hosted the 9to5Google Daily podcast from 2019 to 2021.
Damien’s expertise and focus area lie in a number of beats including Android and OEM software updates, mobile applications, smartphone and accessory reviews, and just about anything that makes a modern mobile nerd tick. He says that he is “platform agnostic” despite primarily using Android devices and attempts to regularly test the iOS waters to better understand the nuances of the tech he covers on a day-to-day basis.
Outside of the tech space Damien is an avid supporter of his boyhood soccer team Hull City and is even a fully qualified Barista — with 3 years of experience making speciality coffee. Be sure to follow him on Threads, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and Instagram for insights and upcoming video updates and tidbits. If you are interested, you can also check out just what video gear he is currently using on his dedicated Kit.co page.
In our COVID-19 existence, online classes are now part and parcel of education systems around the globe. However, “zoombombing” became a slightly hilarious but also big problem, an issue that Google Meet is mitigating by adding protections against anonymous users.
Expand Expanding Close
The Xiaomi Mi A3 has yet another problem as the Mexican firmware has rolled out globally causing severe issues with dual-SIM support.
Expand Expanding Close
Despite the fact that the standalone YouTube app has had the feature for quite some time now, the official YouTube Studio app now has its own dark mode switch.
Expand Expanding Close
Slide for Reddit has been unceremoniously torn from the Google Play Store over claims that the app violated Google’s “impersonation” policy.
Expand Expanding Close
Listen to a short-form recap or roundup of all the top 9to5Google stories of the previous 24 hours. 9to5Google Daily is available on Google Play, iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Pocket Casts and other podcast players.
New episodes of 9to5Google Daily are recorded every weekday. Subscribe to our podcast in Google Play or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they’re available.
Expand Expanding Close
The upcoming Galaxy Buds Live support pages have now cropped up on the official Samsung website that hints a release is coming sooner rather than later.
Expand Expanding Close
What do you consider fast for fast charging? 25W? 30W? 65W? Oppo has decided that its own super-fast SuperVOOC charging tech is not fast enough and has teased insane 125W smartphone charging speeds.
Expand Expanding Close
It looks as though Microsoft and Google are teaming up to improve the progressive web app (PWA) experience across devices — including Android.
Expand Expanding Close
Given the OnePlus 7 Pro launched back in May, we thought we knew pretty much all there was to know about one of the outright best smartphones on the market. That said, a new Fnatic Mode Easter egg has been found that unlocks some new exclusive wallpapers.
Listen to a short-form recap or roundup of all the top 9to5Google stories of the previous 24 hours. 9to5Google Daily is available on Google Play, iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Pocket Casts and other podcast players.
New episodes of 9to5Google Daily are recorded every weekday. Subscribe to our podcast in Google Play or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they’re available.
Expand Expanding Close
While US-trade restrictions hamper Huawei’s smartphone aspirations in Western markets, the ace up the sleeve is undoubtedly it’s growing wearable selection — of which the Watch GT 2e is another fantastic addition.
OxygenOS Open Beta 6 is now rolling out for the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro with the preview software bringing the July 2020 security patch, plus some other notable improvements.
Expand Expanding Close
The OnePlus Nord is highly anticipated even despite proposed limited global availability. Now thanks to leaked press renders, we have our best look yet at the OnePlus Nord ahead of a July 21 launch.
OxygenOS 10.5.10 is now rolling out for European owners of the OnePlus 8 Pro, with the update bringing a bunch of notable fixes including tweaking the Photochrom camera filter and June 2020 security patch.
Listen to a short-form recap or roundup of all the top 9to5Google stories of the previous 24 hours. 9to5Google Daily is available on Google Play, iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Pocket Casts and other podcast players.
The second phase of an outwardly “usable” version of Android 11 is now here with Beta 2. The second of three scheduled user-facing previews before the fully-fledged release in early September 2020. We’ve done plenty of digging since the preview dropped to find out just what new features you might be interested in.
As part of the latest Android 11 Beta 2, you can now prevent auto-connection to specific Wi-Fi networks saved to your device or account.
The Android 11 Beta 2 update introduces a number of refinements and tweaks but for Pixel 4 owners it is also bringing a frustrating display flicker bug.
As part of the Google Play Store “Deal Week” in the UK, you can now get £4 free credit toward an app, game, or in-game item when you next choose to spend on the digital store.
At GDC 2019, when Google unveiled Stadia to game developers, “State Share” was a very prominent feature touted as only being possible thanks to the cloud gaming platform.
Amazon Prime Video has now finally added profiles to the video streaming app, much like you’ll recognize from Netflix and various other services.
The Motorola Moto 5G Plus has now gone official with the mid-range smartphone offering 5G connectivity without the premium price tag.
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 has managed to leak in the flesh for the first time showing us just what to expect in terms of design.
If you’re a fan of shooting slow-motion video on your smartphone, you will no doubt have been left frustrated with the editing option removed from the OnePlus Gallery app in recent weeks.