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.
According to some rumors, Android 12 is set to arrive today but while it is not technically official yet, we asked you what Android version you were running on your device and now we have the results.
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After leaking earlier in the month, the sustainability-focused Fairphone 4 has now been officially unveiled with some notable upgrades over the previous iteration.
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Android 12 has been almost a year in the making, but not all smartphones are eligible to get updated when it arrives. Which has us wondering just which Android version you’re currently running on your device.
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Listen to a short-form recap or roundup of all the top 9to5Google stories of the previous 24 hours. 9to5Google Daily is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon, iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Pocket Casts and other podcast players.
According to a new report from Korean media, Samsung is considering canceling the launch of the more affordable Galaxy S21 FE.
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OxygenOS 11.1.1.1 is now rolling out for 2018’s OnePlus 6 and 6T hardware with a few software tweaks and the latest September 2021 security patch.
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Listen to a short-form recap or roundup of all the top 9to5Google stories of the previous 24 hours. 9to5Google Daily is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon, iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Pocket Casts and other podcast players.
While we await the full release of Android 12 for Pixel devices, Developer Preview 2 is now available for the OnePlus 9 series with a number of tweaks and tuning in tow.
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After a long time waiting, WhatsApp introduced multi-device support earlier this year but with certain connected device limitations. However, it seems that a potential “multi-device 2.0” update could enable your secondary smartphone to use your “main” WhatsApp account.
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Renders of an affordably focused Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 have given us a glimpse at the Android tablet for the very first time.
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A fair few months after we first uncovered the feature, Google has added “Phone Link” to Stadia, allowing you to play games using your smartphone as a gamepad on your Chromecast, Android TV devices, and through a web browser.
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As smartphone charge speeds have increased, so have our charging habits. Which is why we had some interesting responses when we asked you how often you charge your smartphone.
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As we steadily edge toward the stable launch of Android 12, more first-party apps are gaining Material You tweaks including the Google Assistant.
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Listen to a short-form recap or roundup of all the top 9to5Google stories of the previous 24 hours. 9to5Google Daily is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon, iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Pocket Casts and other podcast players.
After a few rebrands over the years, the wireless payment and loyalty card manager Google Pay has now surpassed the 500 million download milestone on the Play Store.
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The number of apps that support Material You theming is growing slowly but surely, and we’re seeing more first-party and even a few third-party apps adopt the new Android aesthetic.
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Listen to a short-form recap or roundup of all the top 9to5Google stories of the previous 24 hours. 9to5Google Daily is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon, iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Pocket Casts and other podcast players.
Formerly a Pixel exclusive feature, the safety-focused “Heads Up” mode is now coming to more Android devices with an update to the Digital Wellbeing app.
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Smartphone fast charging should have completely altered the way in which we charge our Android devices, but it’s not clear just if that is the case.
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The upcoming Pixel 6 and 6 Pro passed through the FCC and with some interesting information on the duo and connectivity. However, a recently updated Google support page detailing 5G connectivity for Pixel devices only lists the smaller Pixel 6 with sub-6 5G support on all US carriers — which is likely in error.
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Listen to a short-form recap or roundup of all the top 9to5Google stories of the previous 24 hours. 9to5Google Daily is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon, iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Pocket Casts and other podcast players.
Although we’re almost ready for the stable Android 12 update to arrive on Pixel devices, the rest of the industry is just beginning to roll out their own flavors of the latest stable OS. Samsung is next with One UI 4.0, and although effectively Beta 1, we’ve been working out what the top new features are for intrepid Galaxy device enthusiasts.
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Listen to a short-form recap or roundup of all the top 9to5Google stories of the previous 24 hours. 9to5Google Daily is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon, iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Pocket Casts and other podcast players.
We’ve been waiting a long time for a major update to VLC for Android, and v3.4 might not seem like it at face value, but it adds a number of important tweaks and improvements to the popular multi-format media player.
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