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.
Google Photos is arguably one of the most underrated services that Google offers. Now, the ability to make physical copies of your pictures is expanding to 14 further European nations (via Android Police).
That puts the total at 27 countries that can share a printed photo book directly from their Google Photos library with loved ones, friends and relatives.
In our review, we were full of praise for the Nokia 7.1. The Android One handset belies the price tag to offer a stellar build quality, whilst the lightweight OS means it flies through everyday tasks. That said, us European users were shortchanged somewhat with only the 3GB RAM, 32GB storage option available at retailers.
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Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ users have already had the opportunity to get on the Samsung One UI with the Android Pie beta, but now Note 9 users can register to get involved in this limited testing phase. The download isn’t yet available, but the registration process is now open to US users.
Hailing themselves as the ‘King of Speed’ is one way in which OnePlus has marketed the OnePlus 6T devices in recent years. Well, now the brand has partnered with a real ‘King of Speed’ in the form of British supercar brand McLaren to bring a likely limited edition McLaren OnePlus 6T model to avid fans.
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Originally spotted by Droid Life, the Moto G7 Play has essentially fully leaked courtesy of the FCC. The traditionally super-sized Moto G model includes that trademark Moto look and feel and comes in two colors, black and silver-blue. The bad news for the notch-fearing is that the Moto G7 Play looks set to feature a substantial display cutout.
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Thanks to some enterprising developers over at XDA, a modded Google Camera .apk file can be sideloaded onto OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T devices to give you a rudimentary experience of the Pixel 3 XL Night Sight on Oxygen OS. So with that in mind, we headed out into the freezing cold streets to see just how two of the newest specialist night-time camera modes fare against one another.
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Samsung really seems to make an effort to create some great looking handsets that aren’t available outside of Asian markets and that tradition continues with the Galaxy Note 9 “First Snow White” version — available exclusively to Taiwan.
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Perhaps like many of you, I’ve had to embrace the world of Bluetooth headphones and earbuds much sooner than I would’ve liked. Mobvoi makes some superb Wear OS smartwatches, but the IndieGoGo-backed TicPods Free finally give Android users a solid alternative to Apple AirPods.
Smartwatches come in an array of shapes, sizes, and styles. At the low-end, these are a utilitarian affair. Plastic dominates with quality not always top of the priorities list. That makes the Fossil-made Michael Kors Access Runway smartwatch all the more attractive to anyone wanting a more ‘high-end’ feeling wearable.
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A brand new update for the Oxygen OS beta program is rolling out. The OnePlus 6 Open beta 7 adds tons of new features for an incremental update including UI improvements, telephony extras and two major inclusions: OnePlus Roaming and Video Enhancer.
From January 7, 2019, SMS notifications from Google Calendar will cease to work for all users. Instead of SMS notifications, standard Google Calendar in-app notifications will be the main method of reminder for users regardless of device or wireless connection.
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LG doesn’t have the best track record with Android updates, but with the LG G7 One being part of the Android One program, this is set to change. The program does wonders for hardware that would otherwise chug under the weight of a heavy third-party OS skin. With this update, the G7 One becomes the company’s first device to run Android 9.0 Pie.
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We reported last week that popular Android automation app, Tasker, had been denied access to call logs and SMS send, receive and read functions. That meant the disabling of a multitude of app features due to Google’s policy to protect the privacy of users. Google has since restored Tasker access to these functions so long as the developers adhere to some rules and regulations.
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Anyone who has already bought or is planning on picking up the OnePlus 6T from T-Mobile will be pleased to hear that the first carrier OnePlus 6T Oxygen OS update is rolling out to users right now. Initially being available on launch day for those with unlocked devices, this release improves a few of the core features on the OnePlus 6T.
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While we’ve gone seriously in-depth with our OnePlus 6T coverage thus far, we still haven’t delved into one of the most obvious aspects of using the device on a daily basis: cases. In this week’s Friday 5, we’re going to take a look at a few great case options for the brand new OnePlus 6T.
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Changing your status bar icons on Samsung devices just got a little easier thanks to the updated Good Lock app. If you’re not a fan of the settings on your Galaxy S9 or Galaxy Note 9, then you can access this further customization tool right now and begin tweaking the navigation buttons to your heart’s content without needing to root your phone.
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The Moto Z3 Play could be considered a great phone. It has an improved design, an exceptional software experience, solid build, and the ability to increase functionality with the Moto Mod system. However, the phone becomes more of an issue when you see just what other devices are achieving at the same price point, making the Moto Z3 much harder to recommend.
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Google One might be the new all-in-one subscription package for Drive storage, online support for services and include other handy perks, but the system has so far been a US-exclusive. Now, this new system is slowly expanding beyond US borders with UK and Canadian users able to sign up to the service.
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Samsung has unveiled a brand new flagship SoC, the Exynos 9820, which we expect to be packed into global variants of the as yet unannounced Samsung Galaxy S10. This latest high-end Exynos CPU adds the ability to record up to 8K video and support for up to five cameras. One key omission though: no 5G modem.
Whilst we won’t actually see 5G services go live for devices until 2019, Verizon has completed the world’s first 5G data transmission on a smartphone. The device in question, the Moto Z3 with a 5G Moto Mod attached, is now officially the world’s first commercially available 5G device.
If you are a OnePlus 5 or OnePlus 5T user stuck on Android Oreo, then you need not worry about your piece of Android Pie. OnePlus has begun rolling out Android Pie beta builds to the 5 and 5T in China, with a worldwide download option likely coming imminently.
When Samsung released the DeX solution alongside the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ it seemed like a big stretch. Would people would want to tether their Android phone and create a pseudo-desktop experience that relied solely on the mobile OS? The announcement of Linux on DeX and subsequent beta for this might finally give the hardware a new lease of life.
The EU’s copyright directive, Article 13 has come under scrutiny yet again from national and international media. Now an official response from YouTube was recently published on the official YouTube Creator Blog. In the post, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki pushed back against these proposed European copyright legislation changes.
We covered a great deal of what makes the OnePlus 6T such a superb device in our full review, but that was only a minor dive into some of the extra features that have been brought about with the update to Android 9.0 Pie. Let’s take a look at some tips and tricks for getting the best out of your phone.
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