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.
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ are at the very top of many “most wanted” lists ahead of its launch. We caught our first glimpse, courtesy of leaked press renders recently, but now we have some more solid Galaxy Note 10 pricing information to add.
While the EMUI 9.1 rollout is still in full swing, it appears that Huawei is set to launch EMUI 10 as early as next month.
We are inching ever closer to a full release of Android Q, which is why Beta 5 feels more like fine-tuning than a brand new OS. Sure there are some solid additions — which is why we’re here!
Listen to a recap of all the top 9to5Google stories of the day. 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.
You would think that given the failure of Google+ to really leave much of an indelible mark on the internet, Google wouldn’t be too keen to attempt to build another social networking site. How wrong you’d be, as Google’s more “experimental” Area 120 incubator is creating a hyperlocal social network called Shoelace (via TNW).
A report from a Belgian network, VRT, has uncovered how Google is using human subcontractors to help transcribe and improve its Assistant speech-recognition systems around the globe and how this could be a privacy concern (via BoingBoing).
Wimbledon is not only just one of the most classically British events, but it’s also one of the biggest sporting events on the planet. Which is why Google has added a neat little 8-bit Wimbledon Easter egg game that you can play right now in Search.
WhatsApp hasn’t added a ton of new features to the popular multi-messaging application in recent months. That said, WhatsApp looks set to get a ‘Quick Edit Media’ shortcut in a future update after being unearthed via the latest beta testing platform.
The latest OxygenOS open beta 22 for the OnePlus 6 and open beta 14 for OnePlus 6T are rolling out with a host of bug fixes plus a few brand-new features and functions.
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It appears that some OnePlus 7 Pro owners are having intermittent issues with random shutdowns. For the relatively small number of affected owners, their OnePlus 7 Pro’s appear to be randomly shutting down even when they are in use.
While it’s common for carriers to launch their own branded devices, they often don’t grab much attention due to lackluster specs and end up being horrible. T-Mobile is looking to change that after announcing their own-brand Android-powered Revvlry smartphones.
Listen to a recap of all the top 9to5Google stories of the day. 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.
Despite being part of the Android One program in some regions, the LG G7 ThinQ hasn’t had quite as much love as it should have in the software stakes. The device is still stuck on Android Oreo but that is about to change as the long-overdue Android Pie update for the LG G7 ThinQ is now rolling out (via Reddit).
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While the budget phone category continues to grow in the United States, the rest of the world already offers a wealth of options for affordable, high-quality hardware. The Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is another such device that is genuinely superb for the money, yet lacks wide North American availability.
One of the biggest improvements made to the Android Q Beta program is the “fully gestural navigation” method. It takes the half-baked Android Pie semi-gestures and adds a little of what makes the iOS gestures so fluid. But if you plan on using a third-party launcher in future, it appears that you won’t be able to use full gestures on Android Q Beta 5.
Listen to a recap of all the top 9to5Google stories of the day. 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.
While dark modes are en vogue, they do offer less eye-straining bonuses as well as potential battery life extensions. Google is slowly and steadily increasing its core apps to include proper dark themes, but it appears that has extended to the Pixel boot animation with Android Q Beta 5.
Music streaming platform Spotify has launched a Lite version of its Android app to help those using low-powered devices stream music on poor connections.
According to a report presented at PrivacyCon 2019, there are over 1,000 popular Android apps on the Google Play Store that still take your personal data, even despite not having the correct permissions to do so.
Despite only offering updates via official channels, over 10 million Samsung owners installed a scam app claiming to offer OEM builds of the latest Android OS. The “Updates for Samsung” app masqueraded as a one-stop shop for OS updates. Instead, it redirected you to an ad farm that would then charge real money to download firmware updates.
Listen to a recap of all the top 9to5Google stories of the day. 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 appears to be testing global media controls on the Chrome browser, which would allow you to control videos or music right from your browser toolbar.
Just over a month ago we caught a glimpse of our first credible Pixel 4 renders, and now we’ve got our first credible Pixel 4 XL renders and even a 360-degree video.
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The OnePlus 7 isn’t officially coming to the North American market and that is a disappointment because this is a fantastic follow-up to the OnePlus 6T, even if it feels very much like a retread.