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.
Android 12’s Game Dashboard could be a big addition for gamers, but if you’re already running the Beta builds on your device, a Play Games update is enhancing the experience with direct integration.
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We’re still finding new little tidbits and tweaks in Android 12 Beta 4, but one change that might be polarizing is in how landscape notifications are now handled.
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Android 12 Beta 4 has added a fair volume of new features and functions, but the lockscreen has seen a trio of tweaks that include the brand new Google Sans Text for the Now Playing feature, plus some improved icons for other existing features.
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Former Huawei sub-brand Honor has now officially launched a trio of Magic3 devices with a number of impressive internals but most importantly for global markets, Google Play Store access.
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As part of the regular subscriber benefits to the cloud storage service, Google One is offering selected accounts £4 of free Play Store credit in the United Kingdom.
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The call recording feature announced for the Google Phone app has had a slow rollout, but it is now coming to eligible Pixel devices across the globe.
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We are potentially just a month or so away from the actual full stable Android 12 release, and that means that the public-facing preview phase is not far off done. Android 12 Beta 4 has arrived some four weeks after the third, and following all of our previous deep dives, we’ve been spending time with it to find the best new features and changes that you can enjoy right now.
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With the release of the Android 12 Beta 4 build, new features are pretty thin on the ground, but the long-awaited Game Dashboard is now far easier to launch, with the in-game quick toggle also making an appearance.
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Of the newest Samsung Galaxy smartphones introduced at Unpacked, the Z Flip 3 is arguably the most important and, even after a brief hands-on period, the most impressive.
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Samsung may want you to think that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is a huge leap over the previous generation, but the brutal truth is that it’s a fine upgrade, but not the biggest we’ve seen.
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With the launch of the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic, Google and Samsung’s collaboration has come to fruition, and we’ve had some hands-on time to gather some initial thoughts.
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Samsung is set to unveil a number of brand-new products at Galaxy Unpacked 2021, but you’re probably wondering just how to watch the live-stream event.
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One of the best additions to Google Photos in recent years has — somewhat weirdly — been the Memories collections that add a bit of nostalgia to your day. While popular, it’s often hard to get to grips with where an image has come from, but an expanded menu now lets you quickly check all of the details and info of selected Memories within Google Photos.
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MediaTek has increased its portfolio of mid-range smartphone chips with the introduction of the 5G-enabled Dimensity 920 and 810.
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Disgruntled Hangouts fans and users have taken to review bombing the Google Chat listing on the Play Store as the phased migration to the service is now fully underway.
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Ahead of Unpacked, Samsung is lifting the lid on the highly anticipated Exynos W920 chipset, which is all but confirmed to power the upcoming Galaxy Watch 4 series.
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Our favorite video streaming service recently gained a neat new ability to scrub to a particular video point with a new drag gesture, but YouTube for Android now lets you skip video chapters with a two-finger double-tap.
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OxygenOS Open Beta 3 based upon Android 11 is now rolling out for 2018’s finest flagships, the OnePlus 6 and 6T.
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Amazon Prime Video might be the premiere video streaming platform from Jeff Bezos megacorp, but the slightly lesser-known IMDB TV that gives free access to selected movies and TV shows is now available on Android via the Google Play Store.
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Skipping to the most interesting portion of your favorite YouTube content could end up being a lot easier in the future with the Android version of the video-sharing app gaining a new drag and hold gesture for quickly scrubbing through a video.
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Xiaomi has hit a huge milestone in the firm’s quest to top the global smartphone rankings after surpassing Samsung and Apple in June 2021 sales.
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After an extended wait, the Android 11 update is now rolling out for the Nokia 5.3 despite HMD Global’s initial roadmap suggesting it would arrive in Q2 2021.
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With the Unpacked launch event mere days away, the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 have already seen a video unboxing over on YouTube.
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Google decided that we didn’t know enough about the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, and so we saw a soft reveal of the upcoming flagship duo ahead of a “full” launch later this year. It has us thinking about all the connotations and combinations that these devices are bringing and what portions of the Pixel 6 need to be explained.
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