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
Samsung’s Exynos chips have, for a while, led to issues with Galaxy phones from overheating to performance quirks and more. That’s why the decision to go for Qualcomm Snapdragon chips globally on the Galaxy S23 series was praised, but rumor has it, Exynos could return for Galaxy S24.
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OnePlus has today announced that it will launch OxygenOS 14, the brand’s skin on top of Android 14, on September 25.
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Google announced Wear OS 4 back in May, and the update saw its debut on Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 which debuted earlier this month. Now, Wear OS 4 is rolling out to its first existing smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro.
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If you have a Chromebook, you might also be able to score free access to Nvida’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service, as Google is teaming up with the company to offer a freebie.
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Samsung pulled the plug on its Galaxy Note lineup in 2022, pushing the best aspects of the beloved phones into its “Ultra” flagship, as well as giving the foldable Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip into the Note’s old release date. For anyone still hopeful the Note would return, though, those hopes have certainly been dashed at this point.
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Earlier this year Google announced that Search would start, by default, enabling a SafeSearch setting that blurs sexually explicit images and content that appears in search results. Now, the company is confirming that the change has been rolled out.
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Samsung launched its Android 14 beta program earlier this month with the Galaxy S23 series, and it’s now getting its second update as well as support for more countries.
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For quite a long time now, Google Chrome has supported a feature which allows users to send a phone number from their desktop browser to their smartphone to make a call, a very convenient feature indeed. But, in the latest updates, Google has removed the feature.
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Wireless adapters for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay have become incredibly common, but options that can handle both platforms are pretty rare. Now, AAWireless is adding support for wireless Apple CarPlay alongside wireless Android Auto through a new beta.
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The Fairphone has been one of Android’s most repairable and longest-supported smartphones, and with the latest generation, the company is once again upping the ante. The Fairphone 5 gets the better part of a decade in software support and even easier repairs, all for €699.00.
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If you’ve ever tried to use your phone for meal planning or finding recipes, you’ve probably come across the app Whisk. The popular Android and iOS app makes it easy to save and use recipes from your device but, in a surprising twist, Samsung has just acquired Whisk and will rebrand it as “Samsung Food.”
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Nvidia has confirmed plans to shut down GeForce Now, its cloud gaming service, in Russia.
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Believe it or not, we’re less than two months away from the launch of Google’s next Pixel products, and a brief leak on the Google Store this week shows off the Pixel 8 Pro as well as what is probably the Pixel Watch 2.
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YouTube allows for a lot of content but also has pretty strict policies regarding sensitive topics. Starting today, when creators violate those policies, YouTube will allow for a training course that can remove a violation warning from a channel.
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Wireless Android Auto was once a rare thing to have access to, but nowadays, it’s quite easy to get your hands on. One of our favorite ways to access wireless Android Auto is using the AAWireless adapter, and for the next couple of weeks, you can use our exclusive coupon to get a discount on the adapter.
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Apple’s iPhone continues to dominate the smartphone market, and when you look at individual models, it’s always the iPhone taking over, while Android’s most popular phones in 2023 remain a mix of Galaxy models.
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A new report suggests that Samsung will be launching its rumored Galaxy S23 FE and Galaxy Tab S9 FE later on this year, but not at next week’s IFA conference.
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Google Maps is said to be working on support for iOS’s Live Activities feature, just in time for the iPhone 15’s expansion of the Dynamic Island.
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For many, laptops are portable workhorses designed to get work done and handle meetings, but for many, all they need to be are machines good for browsing the web and handling simple tasks around the house. With the Flex 3i and Slim 3 Chromebooks, that’s exactly what Lenovo delivers, and it does so with style and an affordable price.
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After Oppo’s software and hardware have become more evident in OnePlus devices, there’s now an element going in the other direction, as the Oppo Find N3 Flip is the first Oppo device with an Alert Slider.
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Just a few months after the Find N2 Flip made it to the global market, the Oppo Find N3 Flip is going official with updated specs, a new camera package, and full apps on its outer display. But it’s only in China for now.
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Earlier this week a report out of Taiwan claimed that Asus would pull the plug on its Zenfone smartphone lineup after this current generation, but Asus says that isn’t true.
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The new Microsoft Edge has been around for a few years at this point, and in that time, it’s cemented itself as a solid browser option. However, Microsoft Edge is also rather packed with features, but a new update is purging some additions that you probably didn’t even know about.
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Nothing recently announced a sub-brand called “CMF” which would be the launching point of the company’s first smartwatch as well as some other products, and now a new leak is showing off the design that watch and more.
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