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
OnePlus has already confirmed that its first foldable, rumored to be called the “OnePlus Open,” will arrive in Q3, and now, new information is dialing in an August 29 launch date and a window for the OnePlus 12 too.
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Back at I/O 2023, Google announced a revamped Find My Device app for Android devices that would support trackers and more. Chipolo quickly jumped on board with Android’s new Find My Device standard, but the company has delayed its trackers slightly as it waits on Google’s network to go live.
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The Nothing Phone (2) is a smartphone from a company with huge ambitions and grand visions, and much of that narrative bleeds over into how people often talk about the device. After almost two weeks with Phone (2), though, I’ve really come away with just one conclusion – this is just a really good phone, nothing more.
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Wear OS has been getting better apps for a while now, and as of this week there’s a new option widely available to users. Pocket Casts for Wear OS has left beta and is now available for all smartwatches.
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Android Auto is delivering a new update to its version of the Google Assistant which comes more in line with the current design on smartphones, and it comes just as Android Auto v10.0 makes its way to users.
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The latest book-style foldable is the Honor Magic V2, and it’s pushing the market forward with what seems like an impossibly thin design that, even when folded, is only slightly thicker than a regular phone.
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Announced in a blog post, Google Flights is getting a new independent advisory group that will help direct the future of the product’s emissions tool.
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The OnePlus 12 apparently won’t look very different from the OnePlus 10 Pro or OnePlus 11 if a new leak is to be believed, but the design does change as the result of a couple of new additions.
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Starting today, The Roku Channel is coming to Google TV and Android TV devices as a free app.
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Back in Android 12L, Google added a new battery widget that showed the status of not just your phone but also many connected accessories. In Android 14, Google is now adding that battery widget to the Settings menu for easier access.
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The Fitbit Charge 5 fitness tracker is a great option for gathering insights on your activity without wearing a full smartwatch, but a recent update to the device is causing some units to break.
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Google is adding a neat little bit of information in Android 14, with the OS now able to show you when your smartphone was manufactured.
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PIN unlock is a fairly secure method of locking down your phone, and in Android 14’s latest beta release, Google is making it a bit easier for Pixel users as they’ll no longer need to confirm unlock when typing in a PIN on the lockscreen.
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Carl Pei’s Nothing is back with its second smartphone, the Phone (2), which is officially launching today. Here’s what it brings to the table.
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Wireless Android Auto adapters have become commonplace, and that’s great news for your wallet. As Amazon’s Prime Day event spins up, wireless Android Auto adapters are available with solid discounts, including AAWireless, which has hit its lowest price ever at jut under $65.
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Samsung’s new foldables are just a couple of weeks away from launch, and the leaks just keep coming. New live images of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 have just hit the web, along with a report claiming that both Fold 5 and Flip 5 will have a higher price tag.
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Earlier this year the alarm was raised on a practice called “juice jacking,” where malicious bad actors use public charging ports to steal your data. OSOM, the privacy-focused brand that was building the spiritual successor to the Essential Phone, has a solution in its new “Privacy Cable.”
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Google News is a powerful tool for getting stories from around the web, but a bug today is causing websites to not show all of their latest stories properly in News.
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Samsung is just a couple of weeks away from the launch of the Galaxy Z Flip 5, and the device has leaked countless times at this point. Now, another Galaxy Z Flip 5 leak shows off a dummy unit used for making accessories, which oddly still has a hinge gap.
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The Google Pixel 8 series is set to come out in just a few months and if a new rumor is to be believed, it may also come with a slight increase in price.
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Google Tensor has been a show of faith for the future of Pixel hardware, but it’s also been holding the lineup back. That’s set to change, hopefully, in a few years, but that wait is going to be rough on Pixel releases in the meantime.
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Google’s Nest Wifi Pro brings Wi-Fi 6E in a fairly affordable package that also fits well into the home. But now, TP-Link is offering a competitor in the Deco X55 Pro that’s fairly priced, well equipped and also has good looks.
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Meta’s Threads has seen explosive growth in its two days of availability so far, and while it’s a solid start, what the platform really needs is more features. On Android, you can now sign up for a beta version of Threads to access those new features early.
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We’re only a month or so away from the debut of the first OnePlus foldable, and one of the biggest questions around the product lies in its software. According to a new rumor, the “OnePlus Open” may ship with a special version of OxygenOS.
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