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.
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.
Google has put a temporary suspension on paid Chrome Web Store extensions after a recent increase in fraudulent transactions using the paid extension system.
Sony is now rolling out the January 2020 security patch for the Xperia 1 and Xperia 5.
In previous years, we’ve seen Google target specific areas of its own “ecosystem,” but for its Super Bowl LIV commercial, the star of the show is undoubtedly the Google Assistant.
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.
OnePlus has vowed to enhance the video experience on all of its smartphones throughout 2020.
Motorola appears to be working on a stylus-equipped cut-price alternative to the popular Samsung Galaxy Note line according to new leaked renders.
A new Android 10 update roadmap now has the Samsung Galaxy S9 One UI 2.0 upgrade slated for a February 2020 release.
While Huawei and by extension, Honor face US trade sanctions, they are still plugging away with two of the most impressive smartwatches for Android in recent years. The latest update for the Watch GT and Watch GT 2 includes a series of optimizations and some new watch faces.
The long-awaited Poco X2 is set to launch on February 4th, 2020 in Dehli, India after being confirmed by the now-standalone company.
Google wants us to use our phones less, or at least curb our smartphone usage. This has led to a number of standalone Digital Wellbeing apps that all have weird and wonderful notions of how we should be using our phones in a healthy manner.
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.
After recently going solo and breaking free from Xiaomi, teases were dropped by Poco, but the company has now confirmed that the Poco F1 follow-up will launch as early as “this quarter.”
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 OnePlus Concept One may never come to market, but it’s a hint at some potential new tech heading to future OnePlus smartphones. The company has since shared some further details alongside some stunning early all-black prototypes of the OnePlus Concept One during development — yes, a prototype of a concept.
At launch, Mario Kart Tour was missing the key multiplayer component, but it was quickly added in follow-up updates.
In a bid to declutter notification drawers, Google decided that disabling Play Store update notifications was something that was needed, despite being pretty useful.
Finding a flagship phone in compact form is something that has become increasingly difficult as OEMs steadily move to building more oversized devices. However, Sony has persisted with their now-defunct “Compact” series, and more recently the Xperia 5.
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 first official-looking press renders of the upcoming Google-free Huawei P40 have appeared online, showcasing some of the upcoming features of the smaller P40 model.
The January 2020 security patch is now rolling out for the Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+ and the Galaxy Note 9.
The long wait for a dedicated WhatsApp dark mode is over, with the latest app beta now finally adding the native darkened theme to the messaging app.
HMD Global has unveiled its latest budget Android One smartphone in the form of the Nokia 2.3.
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.