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
Last month, Nothing’s CMF brand launched a new pair of $25 earbuds in the CMF Buds Neo. Too good to be true, I figured, but after getting my hands on them, I’m pleasantly surprised by what they bring to the table despite some expected downsides.
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Android Auto users are reporting an issue where the Google Maps speedometer, available for mere months, is randomly vanishing.
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Arm has announced its new C2 CPUs for future Android chips as well as upgrades to its Mali GPUs that will take everything up a notch.
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Pebblebee is launching its latest batch of Android Find Hub trackers, with new “Hotline Pink” and “Techno Lime” colorways that are available today.
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The internet is mad. Shocking statement, I know, but this time it’s about a perceived quality control issue on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 that sees the display corners able to bend or flex inward, but that Samsung says is part of the design.
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As it gears up for launch later this month, Oppo has teased the Find X10 Pro Max with its new addition to the lineup and a triple 200MP camera setup that sounds a bit insane.
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Google Photos has updated its trash bin timeline, cutting the time from 60 days to 30 days as of September 2026.
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Following an appearance at IFA 2026 last week, Xiaomi has posted the full details of its new wide Fold, while it’s also been directly compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 8.
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Huawei has unveiled its new Mate XT2 foldable, offering a tri-fold design that also implements Samsung’s Privacy Display feature from the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
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As rumored, Sony is reviving its WH-1000XM4 headphones with a new WH-1000XM4C reboot, bringing some new colors to a much more affordable entry to the market compared to the company’s flagship.
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Samsung is shutting down two long-available augmented reality (AR) apps on Galaxy phones, with “Quick Measure” and “AR Doodle” both going away later this year.
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Samsung’s smash-hit Galaxy Z Fold 8 is popular enough to the point where the company can barely keep up with demand, but it’s not stopping the first actual discount on the wide foldable which takes the starting price down to $1,650.
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A bug in Google Messages is causing the app to randomly send old text messages to other random people and, while it’s still happening, a fix is slowly on the way.
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As the debut of Googlebook quietly approaches, a week full of new laptop launches at IFA continues to make me wonder why literally anyone should be even a tiny bit interested in Google’s new platform.
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Motorola’s latest Android Find Hub tracker is arguably the best option on the market today and, right now, it’s also the best deal at just $70 for a 4-pack – that’s around $17 per tracker.
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Yet another patent dispute with Disney+ is causing the app to lose Google Cast support in select countries.
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Following a prior teaser that was the better part of a year ago, Microsoft has finally acknowledged its work on a Google TV app for Xbox Game Pass on TCL TVs, but it’s still “months” out from the sound of it.
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IFA 2026 is delivering a pretty wild new Android phone that’s not only rugged, but has a GoPro-like action camera built-in which can be detached and used for capturing footage on the fly.
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Samsung has fully restocked its smash-hit Galaxy Z Fold 8 while also discounting the usually-more-expensive Galaxy Z Fold 8 UItra.
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Following an outage earlier today, OpenAI is launching GPT-6 Astra, it’s latest model which is “the world’s most intelligent.”
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The latest Google Home update is fixing issues with alarms that some users were experiencing while also improving media and smart home voice controls in Google’s continued effort to address pain points in Gemini for Home.
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Microsoft is making a change to Xbox Cloud Gaming that will place a limit of 15 hours a month or less on players before they have to pay more for cloud gaming.
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Alongside new superpowered laptops and a MacBook Neo rival, Lenovo has new flagship Yoga Android tablets launching that don’t hold back.
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IFA 2026 is underway with Lenovo’s Innovation World event seeing the debut of the company’s first RTX Spark laptops as well as a flagship Android tablet and more.
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