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.
While question marks and doom do unfortunately surround the cloud gaming platform at the moment, Google will be hoping for big growth after confirming that all new Chromebooks will come with Stadia pre-installed.
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YouTube users on iPhone or iPad can again access picture-in-picture mode on all browsers when visiting the video-sharing mobile site when running the recent iOS 14.5 beta.
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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 upcoming OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro will undoubtedly be a landmark moment for the BBK-owned firm after major changes in 2020. A new leak suggests that the battery capacity of the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro will be a pretty sizeable 4,500mAh.
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Google Photos “Memories” section is a nice way of surfacing photos and videos that you might have captured, uploaded, and then completely forgotten about. A brand-new collection within Google Photos is now showcasing children-themed Memories called “Out to play.”
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After the mobile OS unofficially arrived on the portable console in mid-2019, Android 10 is now on the Nintendo Switch courtesy of another unofficial LineageOS 17.1 port.
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After initially launching in Australia, the brand-new Google News Showcase has officially launched in the UK and Argentina.
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Alphabet’s GV — formerly Google Ventures — has made a sizeable investment in Carl Pei’s fledging audio and hardware brand “Nothing” during a $15 million in a Series A funding round.
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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.
Coming as absolutely no surprise, the latest Samsung Galaxy S21 series is now officially joining the Google ARCore support list alongside over 20 other devices from various OEMs, including OnePlus, Xiaomi, HTC, and Oppo.
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One of the most popular third-party Android utilities — Barcode Scanner — with over 10 million Play Store installs has been outed as adware.
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Sending videos on WhatsApp is set to get a little bit less annoying as the latest 2.21.3.13 is rolling out the ability to mute videos before sending on to a contact or group chat.
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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 teases and hints, the Xiaomi Mi 11 has now officially launched globally with the flagship device packing in some true powerhouse specifications at an incredibly enticing price point.
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It appears as though Google is testing some tweaked icons within Gmail on desktop to more closely mimic the icons already seen on the Android and iOS apps.
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The OxygenOS 11 Open Beta 2 update is now rolling out for the OnePlus 7/7 Pro and 7T series with the update touting some serious software improvements and important performance boosts plus the widely anticipated Canvas AOD feature.
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The upcoming OnePlus 9 Pro looks as though it will provide a major step up in the camera hardware stakes with an alleged prototype appearing with Hasselblad branding.
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The latest OxygenOS 11.0.4.4 and 11.0.7.9 updates are now heading out for the OnePlus 8 and 8T series with a number of important usability tweaks and the January 2021 security patch.
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Back in 2016, Google embarked on a more prominent and marketable smartphone line in the form of the Pixel series. The direct successor to the Nexus series came with its own unique build of Android Nougat, something we have come to know as the “Pixel Experience” — not to be confused with the third-party ROM.
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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.
A sizeable update is now rolling out for the Galaxy Watch 3 with multiple new features that includes the SmartThings Find option.
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Samsung has increased the volume of Google app and service integration as of late, with the default Clock app now including integrations with the Bedtime mode and Digital Wellbeing.
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The OxygenOS Open Beta 3 update is now rolling out for the OnePlus Nord as the third preview of the Android 11 builds likely to arrive in the coming weeks.
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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.