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
Sideloading is one of the things that makes Android what it is, but it can also easily be abused. To help protect users, Google is making some adjustments in Android 15 that further restrict what a malicious app could do when sideloaded onto a device, but also what users can do with these apps too.
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A strange bug is causing the Google Home app to not send notifications on Google Pixel 9 series devices for some users.
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Running beta software is always opening the door to random bugs, and one of those seems to be leaving Android Auto partially broken as some Google Pixel 9 owners have found.
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YouTube is adding a new format for ads on your TV which shows up when you pause the video, and that’s starting to roll out to users.
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Rolling out starting today, Google Search results will now directly link to The Internet Archive to add historical context for the links in your results.
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An updated API available to Android app developers can force users to download the app from Google Play, blocking the app from working if it is sideloaded.
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The Galaxy Store is a Google Play Store alternative, or even companion, for Samsung Galaxy devices, but soon using it will require you to make a Samsung account.
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The Google Home app is preparing two very overdue additions in the form of a search bar for your devices as well as Material You theme support.
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Google TV continues to build on its library of free streaming channels, with the platform now supporting 150 free channels that you can access directly on the homescreen.
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Less than two months after their launch, Samsung is offering cash discounts on the Galaxy Buds 3 series and its latest Galaxy Watch models.
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Motorola is preparing to launch the Edge 50 Neo in India and, ahead of its full debut, the company has announced that this will be its first smartphone to get five major Android updates, but there’s an obvious question with that.
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Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab S10 series is right around the corner and while leaks point to familiar designs, the duo of slates will apparently feature anti-reflective displays.
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Samsung is preparing to launch the Galaxy S24 FE soon, with its latest “Fan Edition” device reportedly coming with a price hike.
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Back in 2017, courts in the EU slapped Google with an unprecedented multi-billion euro fine over anti-competitive practices. After years of appeals, Google has officially lost in that case.
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Huawei has just launched the world’s first tri-fold smartphone in the Mate XT, with the device arriving in China for a cost of just under $3,000.
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Google has started rolling out a “Lite” plan for Google One that has a small storage bump, and an even smaller cost.
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After launching a dual-pane design for tablets and foldables, Google Keep for Android now allows you to manually resize the layout for those panes to better take advantage of the screen space.
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One of the things that’s annoyed me most about the iPhone for years now has been the lack of hardware access to the camera app, something that Android phones have been doing for around a decade now. Finally, that’s changing with iPhone 16, and in Apple’s classic fashion, it arrives with some meaningful improvements.
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Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab S10 series is right around the corner and, ahead of the official reveal, new details reveal pricing and more focus on AI.
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Google’s Pixel Watch series has always had a solid foundation, but it’s taken a while to find its footing. With the new Pixel Watch 3, Google is delivering a long-awaited hardware upgrade, welcome software improvements, and more. True to the expression, third time’s the charm.
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According to new rumors, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra will be getting a very overdue camera upgrade while also being smaller than past Ultra models.
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Samsung is preparing to launch the Galaxy S24 FE and, ahead of its launch, we can confirm its design as well as its wireless charging capabilities.
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OnePlus has confirmed that its next flagship, the OnePlus 13, is launching in October and will have “unprecedented” performance courtesy of Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
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The Google TV Streamer 4K is set to make its debut in a couple of weeks, replacing the Chromecast with its launch. Ahead of that, Google has made it harder to find the Chromecast in its store as the discontinued product continues to make its way through remaining stock.
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