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
Google’s password manager integrates wonderfully with Chrome on Android, but that becomes a pain if you choose to use any other password manager. Soon, though, you’ll be given the control to stop that.
Expand Expanding Close
The Google One VPN is an easy, fast way to protect your web traffic, but it was also breaking Android Auto for a little while. That’s since been fixed, however. Here’s what you should know.
Expand Expanding Close
The OnePlus Open is a stellar Android foldable, with OxygenOS really being its only sticking point with random bugs and quirks that really just drag the experience down. And, as if to pile on, it’s now been revealed that the OnePlus Open revives the Facebook/Meta bloatware that we thought the brand’s phones were rid of.
Expand Expanding Close
New updates to Google Photos appear to be preparing a new reminders functionality that integrates with Google Calendar.
Expand Expanding Close
Google has announced that it will pursue legal action against scammers attempting to mislead customers into trying to “download” Bard and other AI tools, with a lawsuit already underway.
Expand Expanding Close
When foldable smartphones first hit the scene, OnePlus was pretty hesitant to adopt the technology, but four years later, it was worth the wait. The OnePlus Open is, without a doubt, the best foldable on the market today, as long as you can ignore its one big flaw.
Expand Expanding Close
I love the Pixel 8 Pro, but there’s one element of the phone I just haven’t been using, and that’s the temperature sensor.
Expand Expanding Close
The OnePlus Watch was a product that, at its start, was not just a disappointment but a failure. It got better over time, but ultimately, it couldn’t get past the point of being a glorified fitness tracker. But, with the upcoming OnePlus Watch 2, which leaked earlier today, the company will apparently be using Wear OS.
Expand Expanding Close
Arlo, one of the best competitors of Google Nest, has announced a new lineup of security subscriptions that include the cost of the hardware, cameras, and more in a simple monthly fee with “Arlo Total Security.”
Expand Expanding Close
Foldable phones are quite expensive, and even a few generations in, those prices haven’t come down significantly from established brands. But, apparently, Samsung could debut a “mid-range” foldable sometime in 2024 to drop prices.
Expand Expanding Close
In a surprising move, Qualcomm and its partner Iridium have announced that Snapdragon Satellite is abruptly coming to an end of sorts, as the two companies have ended a deal that would have brought satellite connectivity to Android phones.
Expand Expanding Close
Google TV is a really solid platform for streaming, but one criticism that many share is how the platform’s homescreen minimizes app icons, with apps being smaller than most other elements of the homescreen. Soon, though, Google has confirmed a change that will make them even smaller as well as switching to a circular design.
Expand Expanding Close
The Nothing Phone 2 is a great smartphone with some neat but not very useful lights on the back. As Android 14 testing is underway, though, the Nothing Phone 2 is adding Google Calendar integration to its “Glyph” interface.
Expand Expanding Close
YouTube TV is rolling out a new, minor update for Roku devices which adds a clock to the live guide.
Expand Expanding Close
Amazon has been using “forked” versions of Android to power its products for years now, but the company is apparently planning to swap that out with a new web-forward “Vega” OS starting with new Fire TV devices.
Expand Expanding Close
Launching today, Spotify’s TV app is getting a major overhaul with support for more features and a much more familiar interface.
Expand Expanding Close
Whether you’re playing games locally or from a cloud service, Valve’s Steam Deck has really shaped the market in terms of gaming handhelds and, now, it’s getting a refresh with an OLED display and more.
Expand Expanding Close
Samsung is preparing a big AI push ahead of the launch of Galaxy S24, and in a new blog post, the company has confirmed plans to give Galaxy phones the ability to translate phone calls in real-time using AI.
Expand Expanding Close
One of the trademark features of book-style foldables like the Pixel Fold is that there are screens both inside and out but, for the most part, only one screen can be used at once. Soon, though, that may change, with expanded support for dual display mode for foldables in Android 14.
Expand Expanding Close
The saga of Fortnite on Android has had a lot of ups and downs as Epic Games tried to avoid paying the Play Store’s cut of in-app purchases, but things could have been very different if Epic Games had accepted a deal offered by Google which would have paid $147 million just to get the game on the Play Store.
Expand Expanding Close
In a move that went a bit under the radar, Fitbit under Google has stopped selling its products in nearly 30 countries around the globe.
Expand Expanding Close
Disney has announced that it will start testing a single-app experience for Disney+ and Hulu starting in December ahead of a wider rollout in 2024.
Expand Expanding Close
Launching later this month, individual YouTube channels will start showing a new “For You” tab which recommends videos on a channel for viewers based on their watch history.
Expand Expanding Close
Google Domains has technically shut down after the reigns were handed over to Squarespace, but existing customers can still manage their domains and such through domains.google.com. For those same customers, though, the price of adding Workspace email to Google Domains has gone up.
Expand Expanding Close