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
MWC 2024 has arrived and 9to5Google has coverage directly from Barcelona coming up this week. Here’s what you should expect from Honor, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and others.
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The Google Home app is slowly but surely getting better at handling Nest cameras, but some features are still missing, like the ability to schedule cameras. And, hilariously, Google had to work around that lack of support by setting up a complex automation when you port legacy Nest cameras to the Home app.
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Google debuted Gemini Nano last year as its on-device AI model, but it was only supported by select devices. It may soon expand to more, though, as MediaTek has announced that some of its chips are now “optimized” for Gemini Nano.
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Google Search has long supported filtering search results into categories such as images, but one of the most useful is the “News” tab. For the past few months, Google Search has been testing shuffling those tabs around, but the company has now confirmed that it’s just a test and that the “News” tab won’t be removed permanently.
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We’re just a few days away from the launch of the OnePlus Watch 2 but we still don’t officially know whether or not it runs Wear OS. If Oppo’s identical-looking Watch X is any indication, though, it most certainly will.
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After being announced earlier this month, Samsung has officially started rolling out the first update for the Galaxy S24 series which is set to bring a display improvement and some supposed camera fixes.
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After introducing “The Bot” last year as the updated Android mascot, a new mini collectible figure has arrived and, not only is it truly adorable, but it’s also a big improvement over older Android collectibles.
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Foldables have a reputation of being super expensive, but that’s slowly changing. Now, in Japan, ZTE is selling the “Libero Flip” as a super-affordable foldable flip phone that costs just over $400.
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Over the past couple of weeks Google has been teasing “a new look” for its sign-in page but, after finally revealing it, many have been underwhelmed. It leads to the question – why did Google so prominently announce this change?
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The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is set to hit the global stage in just a few days but, ahead of that launch, the company has fully revealed the device in China so we can get an early look at what it will offer.
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The Nothing Phone (2a) is set to debut next month officially, but on the company’s own forums, a collection of official-looking renders have appeared to show off what seems to be the final design.
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Amid backlash, Google has announced that Gemini will temporarily disable image generation of people while tweaks are made to the AI.
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Google launched Circle to Search earlier this year on the Pixel 8 series and Galaxy S24 series, but we haven’t heard much about it coming to other devices. Now, though, Samsung has confirmed that Circle to Search is coming to 2023 Galaxy smartphones next month.
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Samsung’s next big Android update, One UI 6.1, debuted on the Galaxy S24 series last month, but is getting ready to make its way to more Galaxy devices. Here’s what you need to know.
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Android introduced support for Seamless Updates quite a long time ago at this point and, while it’s seen adoption from most, Samsung stubbornly refuses to move its devices to the A/B system. Android is now moving towards a future where A/B Seamless Updates are the only supported update mechanism, but that may not be enough to stop Samsung.
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Google’s Pixel Fold 2 has already leaked, but now we’re getting our best look yet through CAD-based renders that show off the wild camera bump, reveal the bigger size, and also show the inner display bezels.
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Amazon’s free, ad-supported video streaming app Freevee is reportedly shutting down amid the arrival of ads in Prime Video.
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After launching its new Galaxy S24 series earlier this year, Samsung unexpectedly teased its new “Galaxy Ring” wearable and, according to a new report, it may arrive in July.
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Google’s Gemini AI chatbot has supported image generation since it was still called Bard, but Google is under fire for the output skewing away from historical accuracy when generating pictures of people. Google says it’s working to improve this.
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The OnePlus Watch 2 was partially announced yesterday, with a first look and some key details being provided. Now, an FCC listing has revealed the battery size of the OnePlus Watch 2, giving us a chance to compare it to other devices.
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Waze appears to be rolling out a long-awaited feature, as new alerts in the app give notice of upcoming speed bumps and particularly sharp turns.
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Samsung made a splash this year with “Galaxy AI” being the big selling point of its new Galaxy S24 series, but it seems the company’s efforts aren’t over, with plans to bring AI to wearables such as the Galaxy Watch “in the near future.”
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With examples such as the Oppo Find N3 (aka the OnePlus Open) out in the wild, it’s ridiculous to think that Oppo could throw in the towel and give up on making Android foldables. But such a rumor was making the rounds recently, and Oppo says that’s false.
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The Android TV experience has been replaced at this point, but it’s still getting feature updates (for some reason). This week, Google is launching a new “Quick Access” row on the Android TV homescreen.
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