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
Repairing a Pixel Watch was impossible, and it seem that repairs still won’t be an option for the new Pixel Watch 2. Google will, however, replace your watch with an insurance policy.
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Google this week debuted the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, which, on paper, look fantastic. But as we mentioned in our hands-on coverage, it all depends on Tensor G3, which literally just needs to pass the bar of being not terrible.
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Google is launching the Pixel Watch 2 with support for Wear OS 4 out of the box, as well as several new watch faces. Here are all of the new ones.
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Google Pixel is still a minor player in the global smartphone market, but the brand continues to move along. As the Pixel 8 series launched this week, updated figures reveal that Google Pixel has shipped around 40 million phones so far, which is a pretty big leap in the last year alone.
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A few months after initially being announced, Audible has now launched on Wear OS.
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After launching its first tablet earlier this year, OnePlus has now officially unveiled the OnePlus Pad Go, a budget-focused version that, sadly, probably won’t be available outside of India.
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The 50 MP main camera sensor on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro has been a bit of a mystery, but it seems we might finally have an answer.
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Back in 2021, OnePlus launched its first smartwatch, which, ultimately, was a bit of a train wreck. But the company may not be giving up, as a new OnePlus smartwatch is reportedly coming in 2024.
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Google just launched Android 14 for Pixel devices this week alongside the launch of the update in AOSP, and that’s opening the floodgates for more OEMs to release their implementations. Xiaomi is among the first, with the company starting its rollout of Android 14 this week with select devices.
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Amazon Luna has been struggling to some extent with big library shuffles, but the cloud gaming platform is now introducing a big new feature – the ability to buy games.
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RCS has grown massively thanks to Google’s heavy push of the standard in recent years, and Google is also the one running RCS for a lot of carriers around the globe. Announced this week, UK carrier O2 is handing over the reins on RCS to Google ahead of some potential upgrades from Google.
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The Exynos name carries a not-so-great reputation, to the point where Samsung even opted to start using Snapdragon chips from Qualcomm globally in the Galaxy S23 series. Now, though, Samsung is teasing the Exynos 2400, and it’s looking like the Galaxy S24 series will use it.
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The Pixel Watch 2 is set to start shipping to customers next week, but if you didn’t get in early, you might see estimated delivery dates slipping into November for select models, or are even going out of stock.
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Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro don’t support the new Qi2 standard’s magnetic tricks just yet, but you can still add it with a case from Peak Design and, now, those excellent cases are finally available with a splash of color.
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Google’s design for the Pixel Watch is truly gorgeous, but protecting it is something that many will absolutely want to do. However, despite the similarities, cases for the original Pixel Watch won’t support the Pixel Watch 2.
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Keeping a good diet is never easy, but apps can help you to track of your intake. Launching this week, MyFitnessPal, a very popular app for keeping track of calories and more, is getting a Wear OS experience that can track meals and more.
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Just in time for Google’s major expansion to software updates on future Pixels, Android 14 QPR1 Beta 2 is bringing a new software update dashboard to Pixel devices.
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Some Android Auto users are encountering an issue that causes the navigation bar to disappear, which puts them in a pretty tough spot functionally.
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The default band for the Google Pixel Watch is the “Active” band, which has a silicone-like material and is good for workouts or just casual wear. With the launch of Pixel Watch 2, Google has refreshed the Active band, among others, with new colors but also a slightly updated design.
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One of the biggest new features of the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro is the new update commitment – seven years of software support including Android OS upgrades. And, to further sweeten that commitment, Google also says that it will provide spare repair parts for Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro for seven years.
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Wear OS 4 is seeing its formal launch with the Pixel Watch 2, but Google has confirmed that the original Pixel Watch will also see the update in the very near future.
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For years now, Google has had a relatively regular schedule of releasing Pixel updates on predictable dates, but that schedule has seen lots of delays in recent years. This week, Google has confirmed that, starting with Pixel 8, updates for Pixel phones will just come out when they’re ready.
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As the smart tracker market waits for Google to shake things up on the Android side of things, Samsung has today unveiled the Galaxy SmartTag 2, which has a revamped design and a $30 price tag.
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Trade-in deals are often one of the best ways to get a good deal on a new phone, but if you’re looking to trade-in your existing device for a Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro, you’ll either be quite happy, or almost offended by some of the Google Store offers.
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