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.
The last “true” Note has to be considered the Galaxy Note 9, as it had almost everything that hardcore fans desired and deserved. But Samsung’s old or previous update schedule means that the Galaxy Note 9 will never officially get Android 11.
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The OnePlus 9 Pro is not the killer Android that it may be marketed as, but it’s the best Pro-series OnePlus to date, but it doesn’t necessarily improve in quite as many ways as you initially thought.
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Yes, you’re reading that correctly. Fiat has released three actual 500-series cars with “Hey Google” branding and integration directly with the Google Assistant.
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ASUS has very quietly launched the brand-new Chromebook Flip CM3, with a fully articulating display and fairly small footprint.
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Google has announced that Maps will now offer indoor AR directions and can even favor eco-friendly navigation when pointing you from location to location.
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The OnePlus 8/8 Pro and OnePlus 8T are getting simultaneous updates — OxygenOS 11.0.5.5 and 11.0.8.11 respectively — that add a laundry list of fixes plus the March 2021 security patches.
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Files by Google has reached a fairly major milestone having just surpassed 1 billion downloads from the Google Play Store — and in super quick fashion we should add.
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Alongside the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, the Chinese tech giant has also unveiled the Mi 11 Lite, which offers a little taste of the latest series but with some notable compromises.
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The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra has now officially been unveiled, with the smartphone taking the Mi 11 DNA and adding in some seriously powerful added internals and camera prowess.
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After a complete from-the-ground-up rebuild, Lawnchair 11 has arrived in Alpha with support for that latest Android 11 release.
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Pebble may have shut down in December 2016, but the original smartwatches live on courtesy of a new app from the Rebble community called Sideload Helper that lets you open Pebble files on modern Android smartphones and sideload them for usage and installation on the basic wearable.
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The latest Google Photos AI-powered Memories collection is now highlighting gigs, concerts, and outdoor shows as part of the “In the spotlight” collection — as if the lack of festivals across the globe isn’t depressing enough on its own.
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A mere 24 hours before the release of the OnePlus 9 series, the stable OxygenOS 11 update complete with Android 11 is now finally rolling out for the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro.
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Google decided that the Chromecast needed its own unique flavor of Android TV to properly compete with the best streaming sticks on the market, which means quite a big shift in how you use the device. We — like many of you out there reading — have been using Chromecast with Google TV for a few months and have some tips and tricks that we think you really need to know.
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Motorola has officially launched a brand-new G-series duo in the form of the Moto G50 and G100, both of which could be the most interesting hardware from the Lenovo-owned brand in some time.
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Google Photos has gone through some serious alterations and edits over the years, but the latest minor but appreciated change is the addition of labels to each of the editing tool icons.
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The idea that Android smartphones can’t be updated long after their supposed “shelf life” is one that persists. However, not for sustainable smartphone brand Fairphone, as the firm is pushing the Android Pie update to the Fairphone 2.
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The OnePlus 9 is one of the biggest leaps over the previous mainline generation in recent years providing some major “core” improvements over the OnePlus 8, but we’re here to examine if an upgrade is actually worth it.
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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.
Despite having only just launched officially, the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are receiving an OxygenOS 11.2.1.1 day-one update to ensure everything is in order prior to the global releases, which vary from region to region.
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The affordable smartphone market is heating up in the EU with specifications usually reserved for high-end devices now trickling down to the budget segement. The latest such device is the Realme 8 Pro, which leverages affordabililty and some impressive camera specifications.
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You may already own 2020’s best OnePlus device and are casting an envious glance over at the latest releases. Is there enough of a difference to warrant switching from the OnePlus 8 Pro to the OnePlus 9 Pro?
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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.
Gaming phones still feel very much like an enigma, but we’ve seen more and more options hit the market in recent years. The latest duo to join the growing list comes in the form of the Xiaomi Black Shark 4 and Black Shark 4 Pro.
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