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
The Google TV Streamer is also bringing some new additions to Google TV, most notably including the new Google Home panel. While the device, and this new feature, won’t be available for a few more weeks, we’ve had a chance to check it out in action.
Expand Expanding Close
Google’s new Pixel Watch 3 is coming with a nice perk for LTE buyers, with each model getting two years of free LTE data with purchase.
Expand Expanding Close
In an unsurprising move, Google has discontinued the original Pixel Fold following the debut of its sequel, as well as pulling the plug on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.
Expand Expanding Close
The Google Pixel 9 series is here, and one of the biggest upgrades it delivers is the use of a new ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, and it’s the same one used in Samsung Galaxy devices.
Expand Expanding Close
Google is offering some of its highest trade-in values to date on the Pixel 9 series, with deals on the Google Store offering up to $760 depending on what you’re getting.
Expand Expanding Close
Trade-in values take the sting out of the cost of a new smartphone, but if you’re hoping to upgrade from last year’s Pixel Fold to the drastically improved Pixel 9 Pro Fold, you’ll be shelling out over $1,000 to do so.
Expand Expanding Close
Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a drastic update from the Pixel Fold that launched before it, especially when it comes to the aspect ratio of the two displays. The reason for the change, though, is a good thing.
Expand Expanding Close
The Qi2 charging standard is a big deal, but it’s seen very minimal adoption thus far. We thought that there was a good chance the Google Pixel 9 series would adopt Qi2, but that’s sadly not the case.
Expand Expanding Close
The foldable market is full of different approaches to the same core ideas, and that’s very evident just from a quick look at the competition the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will be facing. Here’s a quick comparison of Google’s new Pixel 9 Pro Fold to the OnePlus Open and Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Expand Expanding Close
Google says a big focus of Pixel design is now on ensuring the devices work well with cases, but looking back at last year, the official cases were the problem. For the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Google has fixed the biggest problem of its official cases.
Expand Expanding Close
Traditional smartphones are getting a little boring. After nearly a couple of decades of producing these devices, it almost feels like we’re running out of ideas to make everything feel different because the entire industry has reached a point of maturity. But, with the Pixel 9 series, Google is showing how to do that in all of the right ways.
Expand Expanding Close
When Google unveiled the first Pixel Fold last year, I was shocked that it was actually a halfway decent product, but it still had some fundamental flaws too. Now, Google is following up on that device with the drastically-different Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which learns from virtually every mistake Google made the first time around.
Expand Expanding Close
A little over a year after launching its first foldable, Google is back with a sequel in the drastically-improved Pixel 9 Pro Fold which will be available next month.
Expand Expanding Close
The launch of Google’s Pixel 8 series also came with the announcement that Google would start producing Pixel phones out of India directly. Now, that’s finally started as the first Pixel 8 phones made in India are coming off of the production lines.
Expand Expanding Close
Samsung’s “The Frame” TV is a popular option for a TV that looks better than the average set and, slowly, it’s getting some more competition. Following the launch of Hisense’s Canvas TV earlier this year, TCL has launched the “NXTFRAME” TV, powered by Google TV.
Expand Expanding Close
OnePlus has officially confirmed plans to launch the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 on August 20.
Expand Expanding Close
Google is hosting an event tomorrow to fully unveil the Pixel 9 series and more, but the leaks haven’t stopped just yet. A new post reveals a few more details about Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2, including the first new form factor for Tensor.
Expand Expanding Close
With the launch of the Google TV Streamer earlier this week, the wildly successful Chromecast was put to rest, with the company confirming the device won’t be made anymore. Google’s reason for doing so makes sense, but does it really align with reality?
Expand Expanding Close
One of the big perks of using a Samsung Galaxy smartphone alongside a Windows laptop is the ability to stream Android apps from your phone to Windows, but it can be a little messy. With One UI 6.1.1, though, Samsung has made a small, but impactful tweak.
Expand Expanding Close
YouTube is testing out a new sleep timer in its mobile app and on desktop that stops playback after a set period of time.
Expand Expanding Close
Samsung is offering a $300 credit alongside the purchase of a Galaxy Z Fold 6 which can be used towards the purchase of a Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Buds, among other accessories.
Expand Expanding Close
Virtually every TV sold today has the ability to run its own apps, and that’s Google’s reasoning for pulling the plug on the Chromecast series. That presents an obvious question. Do you actually use the apps on your TV?
Expand Expanding Close
A widespread outage of YouTube in Russia is preventing users from accessing the world’s largest video platform, and it comes amid rumors that the country intends to block Android and Google services.
Expand Expanding Close
ADT has confirmed a recent hack that exposed the home addresses, emails, and phone numbers of a “small percentage” of the company’s customer base.
Expand Expanding Close