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
As pre-orders have come to an end, Samsung’s Galaxy S24 FE is now available with a minimum $200 trade-in credit for any other Samsung smartphone, making for a pretty enticing upgrade if you’re on an older device.
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Samsung has gotten a lot better about quickly releasing new Android updates, but it sounds like Android 15 will break that streak as the company has confirmed that the update won’t arrive until 2025.
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At its annual Samsung Developer Conference, it’s been confirmed that the long-awaited One UI 7 beta update, based on Android 15, is coming “before the end of this year” with no firm release date yet available.
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In an effort to cut down on scams and fraud, Google is expanding a Play Protect feature which would block sideloading for some Android apps in India.
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Following an early Pixel 9 series launch in August, it’s now being reported that the mid-range Pixel 9a could launch as soon as March 2025, the earliest release date in the lineup’s history.
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An update rolling out from Samsung to older Galaxy devices including Galaxy S10 and Note 10 is reportedly bricking devices, requiring a factory reset to fix the problem.
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Google is rolling out an update to Quick Share for Windows which fixes a handful of issues, improves performance, and strangely removes the desktop shortcut.
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Pebblebee just introduced the first item trackers that support both Android and iPhone finder networks, but how do they work? Here’s how to set them up and, more importantly, how to switch between the two platforms.
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Google has finally brought its useful incident reporting feature from Maps to Android Auto, but if you’re not seeing it yet, it might be due to a frustrating design constraint.
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Google’s new Pixel Buds Pro 2 have an upgrade that you won’t find in Google’s advertising, with support for the new Auracast standard hiding just beneath the surface.
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The hit game Palworld may be making its way, in some form, to Android and iOS in the future, assuming a certain lawsuit doesn’t end the game first.
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One of the more useful aspects of Gemini is the ability to use an image alongside your text prompt, but adding an image takes a handful of taps. Gemini’s Android app has just made this a bit easier with the ability to share an image directly from another app.
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Phone-projected car platforms have become essentially a requirement for many drivers nowadays, and being able to use that without a wire is handy. However, wireless Android Auto and CarPlay aren’t available in all cars, and adapters that add the feature usually only work with one or the other. With an upcoming release, AAWireless will be able to use both Android Auto and CarPlay.
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Microsoft has just made a host of big Copilot announcements including new AI features for Windows, updated branding and designs, and more.
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Following render leaks that showed off the design yesterday, another Pixel 9a leak reveals the dimensions of Google’s upcoming mid-range device as well as the four colors it might come in.
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Most trackers for the Android Find My Device network and the Apple Find My network are locked in to a single network, but Pebblebee wants to solve that with new “Universal” trackers that work with both.
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After a patent dispute between Oppo and Nokia (affecting OnePlus) was resolved earlier this year, OnePlus will be forced to stop selling smartphones in Germany yet again following a second patent dispute.
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One of the best, if not the best adapter for wireless Android Auto has been the original, AAWireless. Now, it’s getting a sequel in AAWireless “TWO,” which launches on October 20.
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Google Maps makes navigating to your destination easy, and Android Auto makes that even easier while you’re behind the wheel. But if you’re trying to look ahead, there’s a handy little trick that lets you see upcoming directions while en route.
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Google Flights has started showing “trains to consider” alongside flights in a new partnership with Amtrak.
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If you’ve just picked up a Google TV Streamer and found that the remote is not pairing correctly, it’s because the set-top box might have instead taken over another random remote in your house. Here’s how to fix it.
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Google’s Pixel 9a is changing things up in the design department, as new renders have just leaked with a flat camera module that ditches a now-iconic part of Google’s smartphone designs.
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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Epic Games has opened a lawsuit over the difficulty of sideloading apps on Android, this time against both Samsung and Google over a new feature in One UI that adds another layer to blocking sideloading.
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There are a lot of Android features that go unused because they’re difficult to access, but there are often handy shortcuts that you simply don’t know about. One of those on Google Pixel devices is a shortcut for notification history that’s quickly become my favorite trick.
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