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.
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.
From 2022, Verizon will begin preloading Google Messages as the default SMS and RCS messaging app on all Android phones sold by the US carrier.
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OxygenOS 11.2.8.8 is now rolling out for the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro with a number of new features including Bitmoji AOD plus the bonus of the July 2021 security patch.
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After initially being spotted in testing, the latest Twitter beta update for Android now lets you log in using a connected Google Account.
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Android 12 Beta 3 signifies a milestone as the stable OS builds inch ever closer to a full launch later this year. We’ve already done a deeper dive into the “top” new features and functions, but we’ve unpacked a few more that you might have missed but should definitely still know.
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Google is examining a Scottish route often suggested within Google Maps that has been deemed “potentially fatal.”
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Realme looks to be entering the Android tablet space after renders of the Realme Pad showcase a new form factor for the BBK-owned firm.
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After evidence emerged last year of encrypted cloud backups, WhatsApp appears to be testing the features according to new findings in the latest Android beta.
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The ultra-lightweight Gmail Go has managed to reach an impressive 500 million downloads over on the Google Play Store.
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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 OnePlus Nord N10 5G appears to be getting Android 11 – the only OS upgrade that the affordable smartphone will ever receive.
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Google Drive on Android now supports the notification shade media player controls with the added ability to adjust the playback speed of your audio files.
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According to a new report, Xiaomi overtook Apple in the smartphone vendor rankings after huge growth throughout late 2020 and 2021.
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Launched alongside the Pixel 4 back in October 2019, the Google Recorder app is an excellent transcription app that leverages Google’s powerful voice recognition and AI language processing. After launching with just limited English dialect detection — read just US English — Google Recorder gained further regional recognition as part of the June Pixel Feature Drop.
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Samsung has very quietly launched the Galaxy Chromebook Go as what we can only assume will be yet another affordable Chome OS-based laptop for the masses.
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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.
YouTube looks to be taking game-streaming platform Twitch head-on with the addition of subscriber-only chat, viewer polls for all channels, while the Clips feature is arriving for channels with over 1,000 subscribers.
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After being confirmed by none other than Mark Zuckerberg, the long-awaited multi-device support for Whatsapp messenger is now rolling out to selected beta testers on Android.
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Back in Android 12 Beta 2, the Pixel 4 was shown a little love with a new animation signifying that your device has been unlocked. Not to be left out, devices with a fingerprint scanner have now received a new animation when unlocking in Android 12 Beta 3.
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The stable Android 12 release has inched ever closer, with Android 12 Beta 3 dropping just a month after the second build. Following our other deep dives, we’ve been spending time with Android 12 Beta 3 to find the best new features and changes that you can try right now.
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With the removal of the awesome Active Edge in recent Pixel devices, the corner swipe activation gesture was seen as the replacement. In Android 12 Beta 3, you’re now able to completely deactivate the Assistant corner swipe.
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One of the more frustrating elements of Android 12 Beta 2 was the removal of the ability to toggle Wi-Fi on or off quickly within the introduction of the “Internet” notification button. Android 12 Beta 3 is sort of fixing that problem with a “turn off Wi-Fi” button as part of the Internet pop-up.
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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.
Google Photos shared albums might be set to get even more collaborative with evidence of an “Ask friends for photos” feature that will allow you to request images directly from your friends and contacts.
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