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.
Although still technically running Android 10, the Chromecast with Google TV can get a taste of Android 11 via an unofficial LineageOS 18.1 port for the streaming dongle.
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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.
OnePlus has confirmed that not only is any potential 9T off the table for 2021, but that the firm’s 2022 flagship will run a merged ColorOS and OxygenOS.
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Last week and ahead of the Pixel 6 series set to come (hopefully) very soon, we asked you just what you think the “best” Google Pixel device has been so far. Well, the results were not too unsurprising overall but interesting nonetheless.
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YouTube on Android has gone through numerous changes and tweaks, and has plenty of ongoing UI tests. The latest looks to be a floating window for YouTube comments section when viewing videos on Android.
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Google’s upcoming Tensor chipset may end up lagging behind the current top-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and even Samsung’s own Exynos 2100 chips and that is absolutely fine. The idea that Tensor needs to rival the best in the business is at best a fallacy.
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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.
The high-profile partnership with Hasselblad made a big difference to the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro camera setups, but with the latest OxygenOS 11.2.9.9 update, the device duo is gaining XPan mode.
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The Pixel exclusive “Hold for Me” feature that allows you to utilize the Google Assistant to hold the line until you are ready now appears to be expanding into Canada.
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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.
The Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro could very well be the best Pixel devices to date, but we’re still waiting to see them unveiled — and then get our greasy mitts on the duo when they launch (hopefully) soon.
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Just over a year after being officially announced, Google’s Grace Hopper undersea cable has now officially arrived in Bude, Cornwall, UK.
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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.
Xiaomi’s recent surge to second in the global smartphone manufacturer charts has been built upon the back of devices such as the 11T Pro and Mi 11 Ultra — but which is the better device?
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Xiaomi has now officially unveiled the 11T Pro and 11 Lite 5G NE, which continues the Mi 11 series without the “Mi” branding.
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Based upon Android 11, custom ROM LineageOS 18.1 has added support for more devices including the ASUS ZenFone 8.
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YouTube for Android and iOS is now testing instant comment translations for comments, provided you have a Premium subscription plan.
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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.
Sustainable smartphones are few and far between, but after discontinuing the Fairphone 3, a new leak is giving us a glimpse at the follow-up Fairphone 4 in renders with some of the proposed specifications.
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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.
The hype train for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro is really starting to gain momentum as Google kicks the marketing team into gear for what will be the biggest campaign in the history of the smartphone series. A soft series reboot and a host of new features means the Pixel 6 will be highly anticipated — at least by fans.
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Foldable smartphones are starting to build up a head of steam, and with a new form factor there are bound to be some teething problems. Luckily, apps like the popular third-party launch Niagara are now slowly adding support for foldable smartphones like the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip series with the v1.4 beta.
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It appears that for many people out there, the scheduled alarms feature on the Google Clock app is flat-out broken with the bug preventing preset alarms from going off. On the back of this issue, the Play Store listing has now seen a deluge of 1-star ratings from disgruntled users.
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YouTube is set to slash the subscriber count requirement needed to access and make Community posts on creators’ channels to just 500 from October 12.
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