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.
Despite not being officially available in the United States, the Pocophone F1 offers unbelievable value from a product so inexpensive. The software updates are often the first thing to be neglected on inexpensive phones such as this, but confirmation has come direct from Xiaomi that the device will receive updates at least until Android Q.
Considering we have reached ‘peak notch’ on all but a few select smartphones, the trend is now taking a weirder turn in terms of both placement and implementation. Leaked images of Asus devices — rumored to be the Asus Zenfone 6 — show a series of truly ‘out there’ approaches to the screen diminishing camera slot, with some honestly, disastrous-looking efforts.
Google Pay in the Scandinavian states of Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden is now officially available, opening up the service to millions within the Nordic nations who previously only had access to Apple Pay for mobile payments, having launched within the region earlier this summer.
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Fresh off the back of news that the Huawei Mate 20 series won’t be made available in the United States comes our review of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Personally, I think it is a massive shame that the device won’t be officially available in the US, as this device could be a serious contender for smartphone of the year. Huawei could be criticized for trying to throw all the ingredients into a smartphone and hope that it sticks, but in practice, there is so much here to love.
Make no mistake, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is an expensive handset at over $900, which means if you don’t want an equally expensive repair bill, then a case, screen protector or both might be top of your priority list. Since using the device I have had the opportunity to test quite a few cases and already compiled a list of my favorite cases for the Note 9, but this is all about protecting that exemplary display.
If you are a fan of Wear OS, then you might be interested in joining the Wear OS research study. Details about the opportunity were posted on Reddit (via XDA developers) and include a post by a Community Manager for Wear OS, known only as Alisha.
The world’s most popular messaging platform has finally added the ability to send stickers in conversations and group chats. Having been available in just about every other messaging platform, this will be a welcome addition to the millions who use WhatsApp daily.
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After some initial problems earlier this week, Razer has confirmed that it is now fully compatible with Verizon in the United States. However, the Razer Phone 2 still isn’t officially available from the carrier. Instead, if you have the phone, you’ll need to manually activate the device for use on the network.
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Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Xiaomi, might not be a household name in the United States, but they are definitely making waves in the smartphone market. That’s thanks to devices like the Pocophone F1 and now the — previously leaked — Xiaomi Mi Mix 3. The device features an almost all-display design with a non-motorised sliding camera module that houses dual front-facing cameras. Meanwhile, the rear-facing cameras borrow that Apple look and feel.
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Qualcomm’s announcement of Snapdragon 675 processors should provide a slew of high-end features to future mid-range devices. Using the new Kyro 460 architecture, the new SoCs are built around ARM’s Cortex-A76 cores which are actually designed for flagship devices but haven’t yet found their way onto a Qualcomm chip.
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Somewhat unsurprisingly, at the Qualcomm 4G/5G summit in Hong Kong, OnePlus officially announced the intention to be one of the first to market with a 5G smartphone.
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Spare a thought for one poor Google News user who, due to an application background refresh error, received a data bill for $240 having used 7.65GB of extra data whilst charging overnight.
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OnePlus is offering eager fans the opportunity to be one of the very first to own the OnePlus 6T with a series of pop-up shops opening across the globe on Wednesday, October 31st. This directly follows the OnePlus 6T keynote in New York on October 29th — which was pushed forward thanks to Apple.
As expected, the Huawei Mate 20 / Pro and Huawei Mate 20X devices will not officially be available in the United States. While Huawei may be the world’s second largest smartphone brand, it isn’t allowed to sell in the US due to government regulations. Perhaps making it even more impressive they’ve claimed the number two spot even without the US market.
HMD is doing an excellent job with the Nokia brand and that continues with the Android One powered Nokia 7.1. The handset doesn’t try to introduce anything majorly groundbreaking or particularly innovative, instead, it does a whole lot to a high enough standard that could make it a great purchase for a substantial subsection of the public.
Having had plenty of time to make a decision on the handset, I’m almost certain that this could be one of the best sub-$400 smartphones on the market. With the software update security net of Android One on top of a solid build and quality experience, anyone looking for a great backup or an Android device for a tech-fearing loved one, the Nokia 7.1 deserves some serious attention.
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If you happened to be one of the unlucky users who experienced the YouTube TV outage on October 16th, then you should be eligible for a free week of credit courtesy of the company. YouTube TV sent all subscribers an apology via email this weekend which contained a link to a form that, so long as you fill it in by October 24th, will enable you to claim a free week of credit towards the TV streaming service.
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The brand new Huawei Mate 20 Pro has an outstanding camera, so too does the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, but which is the better shooter? Without yet delving into the Night Mode capabilities of both cameras — that will come in a more in-depth test and feature the Pixel 3 — let’s see how each fair during the daylight hours.
The Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are officially available today, which means we’re going to start seeing a lot more ads for what our Stephen called “two of the best phones you can buy“. In this 30-second ad spot, Gordon Ramsay, Riverdale actress Madelaine Petsch, music producer Marshmello, and YouTubers Joey Graceffa and Eva Gutowski (MyLifeAsEva) all endorse the smartphones just like our own Mr. Hall.
More than a year after the company officially declared bankruptcy, Vertu has risen from the dead to announce their very latest luxury smartphone with a $5,000 price tag.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro throws together some of the most requested features that we hear Android fans clamor for on a regular basis, but one big downside is there is no word on US availability just yet. That said, I genuinely believe this to be an all-around great smartphone for many Android enthusiasts out there.
The Red Hydrogen One remained a mystery for a long period. Who is the target market? How will it differentiate itself as a device first and camera system secondly? Well at the very least thanks to a leak courtesy of Instagram, the entire device has been seemingly laid bare.
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So the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is slowly creeping up on being available for 2 months and that means that we have seen a few price drops. It also means we’ve got a wider array of accessories to choose from. I’ve been using the device as my main phone since release day and even since then I’ve had a literal box of cases to test, which means I think I’m fairly well placed to give you my opinion on 10 of the best cases for the Note 9.
At a London event today, Huawei officially unveiled its latest Android smartphones. The Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro are the latest from the Chinese brand and introduce a slew of new features which make them a worthy successor to the P20 Pro. Let’s take a look at what’s new.
The OnePlus 6T will become the most widely available OnePlus device ever released in the UK, with the company announcing partnerships with UK carriers O2, EE, Vodafone and retailers John Lewis and the Carphone Warehouse for even further purchase and contract options.
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