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
We first reported early this year that Xiaomi was working on a new smartwatch running Wear OS 3, and it seems that watch is finally around the corner.
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Taking notes from some other apps, Discord appears to be adding support for changing the app’s icon as a part of its Nitro subscription.
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In a confirmation of what’s been reasonably obvious for the past year, Google has now directly confirmed that, currently, there is no way to repair a Pixel Watch screen that breaks.
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Credits for the Google Play Store can come from a variety of sources, like gift cards, but if you’re trying to make a purchase right now, you might be left with nothing but an error message.
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Disney has today announced that Hulu, the streaming platform that maybe-probably shouldn’t exist anymore, is launching a new “Top 15 Today” list that will show the most popular shows and movies of a particular day.
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Earlier this year OnePlus entered the tablet market with the OnePlus Pad and, now, the company has started teasing an affordable entry into the segment, the “OnePlus Pad Go.”
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Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Samsung’s emoji design, but the company seems to be trying to improve the look and feel as of late. In One UI 6 Beta 3, Samsung is further refining its emoji.
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This week Sony announced an expansion of PS Remote Play that brings the console streaming app to Android TV OS, but many have been confused on where to actually start playing. So, if you’ve got a Chromecast with Google TV and want to stream your PS5 games, here’s the app you’ll need.
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While we still don’t know when Android 14 will make its formal debut, but Samsung is chugging along with new beta releases for its take on the update, One UI 6. Now, One UI 6 beta 3 is launching for Galaxy S23 devices with a bunch of a bug fixes and a tweak to Android 14’s media player.
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Emoji Kitchen debuted a couple of years ago as a part of Gboard for Android, introducing the truly delightful ability to mash together different emoji into a single sticker. Now, Emoji Kitchen is officially coming to the web (and, in turn, iPhone) by way of direct integration into Google Search.
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For the first time in over 20 years, NFL Sunday Ticket has moved its home from DirecTV to YouTube, and it seems that’s been a good move, as the package already has more subscribers through Google than it did before.
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Sony has just announced a series of new updates for PlayStation 5, including a major update for PS Remote Play which brings official support for streaming a PS5 to Chromecast with Google TV and other devices.
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We store a lot of sensitive information on our smartphones, which is why security is key. A loophole in Android, though, has allowed access to credit card details with the right NFC hardware, but Google is actively delivering a fix.
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It’s no secret that Samsung is working on a super-cheap pair of earbuds called the “Galaxy Buds FE,” but now a new series of renders have appeared showing off the design in detail.
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Ads on YouTube are a bit of a mess, with ad breaks often dominating the experience, which has driven some to using ad blocker tools. Lately, though, YouTube really seems to be cracking down on those users, with more aggressive blocking of ad blockers.
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Rolling out today, Spotify is launching a new “Daylist,” which has the goal of finding music to match your mood depending on the time of day.
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Google has quietly made an update to the Play Store on Wear OS, with app listings in search getting much bigger cards that show more information.
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Robot vacuums have gotten really good in recent years, but the arrival of auto-empty docks and mopping stations have also led to these machines getting bigger and bigger. With the new Yeedi Cube, the goal is to provide an all-in-one machine that’s still fairly compact, and after a few weeks testing it out, it’s certainly a solid choice.
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Google has confirmed a lot about the Pixel Watch 2 already, but a new report is laying out the watch colors, new band options, and a possible new charging speed boost.
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Clear cases are pretty much everywhere, but they all share one unfortunate aspect in common – yellowing. With its new “Ghost” case, Dbrand says that it’s developed a clear case that won’t yellow in your lifetime and that also brings MagSafe to Pixel 7 Pro and other Android devices.
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As Week 1 of the NFL season kicks off, Roku is rolling out a new “NFL Zone” on its devices with support for showing upcoming games and where to watch them, but it’s notably missing NFL Sunday Ticket through YouTube.
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Nokia is a brand that everyone knows, but HMD Global is actually the name responsible for the Android revival of Nokia smartphones. But, now, HMD Global says that it will start using its own brand for smartphones.
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Google Tensor has had a bit of a rough history, but things are looking brighter for the upcoming third-generation. Alongside improvements to Samsung’s manufacturing, a new rumor suggests that Tensor G3 will adopt a new packaging method to keep the chip from building up too much heat and running more efficiently overall.
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Tap-to-pay has been around for years, but for a long time it required merchants to own dedicated, often expensive hardware. Over the past couple of years, the ability for merchants to offer tap-to-pay through phones has become popular, and now Wix is offering that functionality through Android phones.
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