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 Motorola Razr (2023) is a stripped-down version of the Razr+ we loved earlier this year, but it does that to become the foldable with the cheapest price available in the US. While the product has since lost its introductory price of $599, the Razr is still offering up some decent deals.
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Samsung has been rumored to be working on a mixed-reality headset for quite some time, with the reveal of Apple’s headset pushing the product back a bit. Now, the XR headset that Samsung is planning is reportedly coming at a date later on in 2024, several months after Apple Vision Pro debuts.
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Xiaomi just launched its new “HyperOS” skin for Android devices, but in a bit of a twist of the knife to enthusiasts, the company is not only disabling the option to unlock the bootloader but is also taking away system updates if the skin is installed.
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Soon, you’ll be able to turn off read receipts in Instagram direct messages (DMs), as a new test for the functionality is now underway.
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Following Google and Samsung, Sony has launched its Android 14 update for Xperia smartphones, starting with the Xperia 1 V.
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The S Pen has been a key selling point of many of Samsung’s products over the years, and the company is now debuting a “Creator Edition” of its iconic stylus for Galaxy devices with a couple of key benefits.
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OpenAI’s ChatGPT really blew the lid off of the whole generative AI game, and it seems the product’s initial success isn’t wearing off, as new features are incoming for over 100 million weekly users.
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Following in the footsteps of last year’s specialized Samsung-only chip, the alleged upcoming “Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy” is preparing a version of Qualcomm’s new flagship with a lot more raw power.
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New tweaks to the UI design of Android Auto come pretty frequently, with Google Maps now getting another facelift to the navigation screen.
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In what seems to be a test, YouTube is testing a new button that lets you start playing random videos on your phone or tablet.
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Samsung has officially unveiled a new camera sensor in its huge lineup of offerings, with the ISOCELL GNK serving as a technical successor to the ISOCELL GN1, and apparently being the camera found in the Google Pixel 8.
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Google’s Pixel Buds Pro debuted in 2022 largely to high praise, but as time has gone on, it’s become more and more clear where improvements can be made, including to ANC.
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After its debut in the Pixel 6 series, Peak Design’s “Everyday Case” has been one of our favorites for Google’s smartphones, with its stellar quality and mounting options, but there’s always been one complaint – the color. While gray is a good, neutral option, it’s always nice to have a splash of color, and that’s exactly what Peak Design has delivered with its Pixel 8 cases.
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After a few months of testing, YouTube has opened the floodgates to its blocking of ad blockers, and that’s led to a wave of uninstalls – but not of YouTube.
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Android Auto has lost support for the calling app Viber, which is supposedly only a “temporary” measure.
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According to a new report, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will follow the iPhone 15 Pro’s lead and adopt a titanium build.
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During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Exposure Notifications” were added to Android and iOS to help users know if they were exposed to the virus. But now, that feature is fading away.
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Multitasking on Android has always been pretty useful, but attempts to move beyond two apps at once have often proved a bit clunky. With the OnePlus Open, the “Open Canvas” multitasking system was launched with a truly powerful way to use multiple apps at once, and now that’s coming to the OnePlus Pad.
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To show off its new Pixel products, Google has launched a new pop-up “Pixel Experience Space” in Taiwan.
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Apple has made plenty of sly digs at Android over the years, but an internal presentation that has now surfaced sees the company proclaiming that Android is “a massive tracking device.”
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The Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel 8 are big improvements over their predecessors in a lot of ways, but as with basically even Google hardware product, they haven’t been without some hiccups in the weeks after launch. As more folks get their hands on Google’s new hardware, some Pixel Watch 2 owners are noting charging issues, while Pixel 8 owners are apparently seeing very bad battery life on mobile data.
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Earlier this week, Samsung announced its Android 14 update and confirmed a list of devices that would be updated. Surprisingly, the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 series were included on that list, but they’ve since been removed, confirming they likely won’t get Android 14 after all.
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YouTube is cracking down on ad blockers, which leaves users with a choice of how they want to use the product, if at all. But, if you could name your price to block ads on YouTube, what would that be?
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The Google Pixel Watch 2 has been suffering from heavy shipping delays at the Google Store since its launch, and it’s still taking weeks for the smartwatch to ship. But at Best Buy, all Pixel Watch 2 models are shipping pretty much immediately.
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