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
Themed icons debuted in Android 12 and expanded to third-party apps with Android 13. Now, as Android 14 rolls out more widely, Meta is finally giving in and bringing themed icons to Instagram, Facebook, and Facebook Messenger on Android.
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As a result of the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza, Google Maps and Waze seem to have shut down traffic alerts and data as a safety precaution.
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AI is everywhere now, and becoming an especially important part of our smartphones. Now a new report is detailing how Samsung is set to put a bigger focus on generative AI for the upcoming Galaxy S24 series.
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One of the many new software features Google has delivered on its Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro is the ability for voice typing in Gboard to recognize multiple languages, being able to switch between them on the fly. “Soon,” multilingual voice typing will also arrive on the Google Pixel 7 series, too.
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“Fast charging is better.” It’s the same response OnePlus has had for years now when it’s asked about the lack of wireless charging on its flagship Android smartphones. And, now that we’re hearing it yet again about the $1,700 OnePlus Open, I’m just so tired of it.
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Foldable smartphones still feel rather new, but as Samsung prepares for its sixth-generation release, the company is setting its sights on selling 20 million foldables in 2024.
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Smartphone displays have been getting much brighter in recent years, with Google’s Pixel 8 Pro currently offering one of the brightest smartphone displays in the US market at 2,400 nits. But, next week, OnePlus will show off a device equipped with a 3,000 nit display.
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Meta’s Threads has been by far the most promising replacement for Twitter, but for me, the biggest downside has been that notifications barely work. Now, though, Threads seems to have fixed the problem, at least on Android.
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The OnePlus Open launched yesterday and is now available for pre-order, and as with any other modern smartphone launch, that means trade-in offers. Some of OnePlus’ deals are really good, but others are quite bad. Let’s break it down.
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Nearby Share is truly Android’s AirDrop and a super useful feature for transferring pictures and files between devices. However, Google is now blocking access to Nearby Share when Android users have work profiles enabled.
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Google’s latest batch of Pixel devices has arrived, and Pixel 8, 8 Pro, and Pixel Watch 2 are some of the most promising launches Google has ever had. So have you purchased any of them yet?
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Oppo and OnePlus have been sharing more and more in common over the past few years, and there’s nowhere that’s no apparent than the OnePlus Open and Oppo Find N3 foldables, which quite literally are the same device.
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Google’s Pixel phones have long been praised for their cameras, but the past three generations have all been using 50MP camera sensors. Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, though, are using a slightly newer sensor, and a detailed comparison offers a look at how the camera has changed.
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With the new Pixel 8 series, Google is adding a Fast Pair-integrated setup process that’s super quick and super easy, but there is one downside: it doesn’t let you use a cable, at least not easily.
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AI can be a wonderful tool, but it also has some dark sides. YouTube, though, is trying to help implement AI “responsibly,” and that reportedly includes a new tool that lets creators use AI to sing like their favorite music artists.
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The first foldable from OnePlus has arrived in the “OnePlus Open.” The $1,700 foldable doesn’t bring the lower price we were expecting, but it has absolutely stellar hardware and a multitasking system that’s unique and powerful.
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T-Mobile caused a panic over the past few weeks as customers heard of an upcoming forced migration to newer plans, which would have massively raised prices as well. Now, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert is claiming that these price hikes and migrations were only a “very small test.”
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Google has today announced that, starting next year, it will begin manufacturing Pixel smartphones in India.
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Netflix has announced another price hike that, effective immediately, will ask a whopping $23 per month just so you can stream content in 4K.
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After we spotted it in development earlier this year, Google has rolled out a new tile for Google Assistant that allows for custom shortcuts on Wear OS.
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Xiaomi yesterday announced a “new operating system” for its phones in HyperOS. But, as a surprise to no one, the new update basically looks identical to MIUI.
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On Google’s Pixel Watch series, the Wear OS 4 upgrade is now showing that the platform has a built-in internet browser, but it’s actually a bit more complicated than that.
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Google added a native QR code scanner tool to Android a while back, and it’s been a quick and simple way to reliably scan codes. Now, Google is taking things up a notch, by letting Android’s QR code scanner automatically zoom in on the codes it finds.
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The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are more expensive, which means good trade-in values are more important than ever. But, after some underwhelming initial trade-in values, the Google Store and Best Buy have only further lowered how much you’ll get toward a shiny new Pixel 8.
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