Ben Schoon is a Senior Editor at 9to5Google, working for the publication as one of its primary news writers since 2016.
In 2013, Ben helped start an independent tech publication where he learned the skills used at 9to5Google including writing, product photography, and videography. He is located in the city of Winston-Salem in North Carolina where he lives with his wife Melissa. Ben is an avid disc golf player.
He primarily covers Android products, including Google Pixel devices, Samsung Galaxy smartphones, as well as devices from OnePlus, Oppo, Motorola, and more. Beyond just covering news about these products, Ben also spends time using these products himself, speaking from experience with the articles he writes. Some of Ben’s most recent hands-on reviews include; Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel Watch 2, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Motorola Razr+, HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook, and more.
Ben is also a leading source for information about Google’s Android TV, diving deeply into important parts of the platform including its powerful Operator Tier, explaining future changes to the platform, and reviewing its products such as Chromecast with Google TV, Nvidia Shield TV, and more.
In 2019, Ben leaked one of the first in-person photos of the Pixel 4 before later revealing the Recorder and Pixel Themes apps months ahead of launch. In 2020, Ben also reported on multiple upcoming Pixel devices including Pixel 5a and the first report of Google working on a foldable Pixel smartphone. That same month, he was also the first to correctly report the $49 price point of what became the Chromecast with Google TV.
Ben Schoon is active on Twitter, @nexusben, but can also be found on Instagram and LinkedIn. For questions or tips, you can email him directly, and his portfolio is also available online.
Email: schoon@9to5mac.com | Encrypted Email: benschoon@protonmail.com
OnePlus is now rolling out stable Android 17 updates to OnePlus 15 and OnePlus Pad 4, marking the end of OxygenOS as these devices are just the first to transition to ColorOS.
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Good deals in tech are becoming a bit harder to find, but a solid offer on a Pixel Watch 5 with LTE has popped up, bringing $100 off.
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Samsung has a bunch of new foldables in store for next year, but also one more coming out this year, and it’s coming out in just a few days according to a new leak.
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Samsung has confirmed a list of Galaxy devices that are set to get its Android 17-based One UI 9 update in at least one region, which tells us what to expect globally in the coming months.
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RAMageddon sucks folks. Over the past few weeks I’ve been using the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max, a phone I’ve been pretty enthralled by, but its price tag really killed the hype on this one.
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In a post in its UK Newsroom, Samsung reiterates that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series has been a huge hit, including in Europe.
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As Canada makes changes around Daylight Savings, Google is explaining how to deal wiith the time zone change on your Android phone.
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Samsung’s latest Android 17-based One UI 9 update seems to be causing headaches for some Galaxy S24 and S25 owners, as battery life has gotten considerably worse following the “upgrade.”
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Well, that didn’t take long. As Apple’s iPhone Duo starts to land in the hands of early customers, copycat apps for the Duo’s most well-known features and apps are already landing on Android foldables – not that that’s a bad thing.
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Earlier this week a new method of Spotify Family plan verification came to light and, in its latest earnings call, Spotify says that it’s not a “crackdown,” but also something that doesn’t have an “end date.”
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As AI agents continue to get more capable, account credentials are becoming more of a hang-up. 1Password is today offering its solution – giving AI agents the ability to use your passwords without actually seeing them, all while leaving you in control.
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Samsung has a new Galaxy Fit 4 fitness tracker in the works, and it looks just a bit more like an Apple Watch this time around.
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A bug is affecting some Galaxy S26 phones that leaves them essentially useless due to a setup problem.
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Chicken, meet egg. Google has clarified why it didn’t include NFC and, in turn, Google Wallet support on the Fitbit Edge, and it just boils down to the fact that hardly anyone was using the feature.
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Reports of YouTube moving the dislike button behind a menu have been showing up lately but, according to YouTube itself, this isn’t the change you think it is.
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Following up on one of our favorite smart home gadgets of last year, the Wyze Bulb Cam Pan Color adds a more powerful camera and a color light bulb.
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Anthropic is today revealing Claude Duet, its new AI agent that rivals Muse, OpenAI Dots, but it’s not widely available just yet.
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Samsung is now selling its “Re-Newed Galaxy phones via Amazon, with over a dozen models now available starting under $500.
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Microsoft is sharing more details on added playtime costs for Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming which starts at around 40¢ per hour.
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A deal struck between OpenAI and Google will see OpenAI’s models coming to Google Cloud and even Antigravity.
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Apple’s first foldable has arrived, the better part of a decade after Android laid the groundwork for the form factor. iPhone Duo reviews are here and, while it sounds like a lot of the same problems that plague Android foldables still exist on Apple’s first-gen release, there’s certainly a level of polish there – and I’m not talking about the $9 cloth.
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OnePlus is dead. The enthusiast-focused brand turned Oppo for the rest of the world was shuttered, ironically only for the rest of the world, earlier this year and its memory loomed large over my past few weeks using the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max. For as great is this phone is, it’s a sad reminder that phones like these are going to be lacking in some parts of the world going forward, and that’s a crying shame.
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Google’s Face Unlock feature on Pixel phones works really well, until the lights go out. The company appears to be building out a new upgrade to this with “active illumination” which is… just turning up the screen brightness.
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Google won’t start charging for the Satellite SOS feature on its Pixel 9 series phones just yet, despite the timer having run out.
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