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
Walmart has offered the most affordable ways to get Android TV OS for a while now, but the retailer’s cheapest Google TV streaming stick has unexpectedly gotten a price hike.
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The Asus Zenfone 10 is one of the last good small Android phones, and now, it’s getting its Android 14 update.
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Following the debut of the OnePlus 12 in China earlier this month, OnePlus is gearing up for its next big product launches in January, and that’s now confirmed to include the OnePlus Buds Pro 3.
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The Google Clock app added support for showing you a weather forecast when your alarm is turned off back earlier this year, but recent updates have delivered a new design for those forecasts which is simply delightful in the most Pixel-y way possible.
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After announcing the change in September, Amazon has today confirmed in an email to Prime members that Amazon Prime Video will begin showing ads alongside content unless customers pay an additional fee starting in January 2024.
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The OnePlus 12R is coming to the US, and new leaks suggest it’ll be a solid option with a huge battery.
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Samsung is pushing a new update to the Galaxy Watch 3, with the Tizen-powered smartwatch now picking up watch faces from Samsung’s latest Wear OS skin, One UI Watch 5, which debuted on Galaxy Watch 6.
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Ahead of its likely launch at MWC in February, more leaks detail the specs of Nothing Phone (2a), including its camera and display.
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Microsoft has just released a new dedicated app for Copilot on Android devices, with the free app available for download today.
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As Samsung has made its Android 14 update widely available, some Galaxy users have noticed that the update breaks wireless Android Auto on their devices.
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Seven years into the Google Pixel series, 2023 marked Google’s biggest year yet with six new devices released. It was a year where Google fixed a lot of mistakes, but also introduced some growing pains to the lineup. Let’s take a look back.
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The Google Home Mini brought hands-free Google Assistant to the masses thanks to its cheap price and attractive feature set, but a recent update left the Google Home Mini and the original Google Home bricked for some users, as Google has now confirmed.
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The Oppo Find N2 Flip debuted earlier this year with a cover display that, at the time, was the best we’d seen. But, fast forward a few months, and the Oppo Find N3 Flip has been released up against newer releases like the Motorola Razr+ and Galaxy Z Flip 5. While Oppo hasn’t really improved the cover display as needed, the Find N3 Flip does bring another big improvement, and that’s to the cameras.
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For over two weeks now, AAWireless has been missing from Amazon. The wireless Android Auto adapter switched to sales via its official website, but has now returned to the retailer.
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As the year comes to a close, we’re looking back at the Android phones that have debuted this year. As a part of that, we polled 9to5Google readers regarding their favorite smartphones of the year – here are the results.
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The longevity of our smartphones has become, more and more, a crucial talking point. As such, Android has started putting more emphasis on features that help manage your phone over time, and that will soon, apparently, include a section for battery health in Settings.
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Android Auto is rolling out version 11.0 to users, and it brings one major change: the ability to change the status and app icons to match what you’d find on a Samsung device.
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Beeper Mini was a huge deal in the fight to bring iMessage to Android, but Apple swiftly turned the reverse-engineered method into an inconsistent experience for users. Beeper’s current plan to restore service is using a Mac, but the company is now launching a new method that also uses jailbroken iPhones.
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Google unveiled a new “Find My Device” network for Android users that would allow trackers to be located using millions of Android devices. That network is currently waiting on Apple to be released, but things are finally getting closer as the industry specification that Apple is waiting on is nearing its release, and in turn support for Android “Find My Device.”
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Wireless Android Auto adapters have been one of the best new accessories of the past few years, but they launched with a pretty hefty price tag. For the holidays, though, the best wireless Android Auto adapters are still discounted, even though you can’t get one of them through Amazon.
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After offering the series in India over the past few years, OnePlus is officially bringing the OnePlus 12R to the US and Europe in 2024, the company has confirmed in a recent video.
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For quite a while, Fossil was pretty much the only name in the Wear OS game, but as Samsung and Google have reinvigorated the platform, Fossil seems to be falling behind, leaving more questions than answers about the brand’s future.
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Samsung is expanding its do-it-yourself repair program to add new devices, including its first foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
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One of the best parts of Wear OS is the flexibility in watch faces, with thousands of great options available for download. Pujie Watch Faces is an app that lets you create custom watch faces for Wear OS watches, and it’s now adding a clever ability to build tools like stopwatches and calculators directly into your watch face.
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