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
Apple Vision Pro shows off a tremendous idea for the future of mixed reality, but it seems like making the product a reality is a struggle, even for Apple. As Vision Pro is seeing production cuts, Samsung’s competing mixed reality headset is also apparently being delayed by a few months.
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Google’s Gboard on Android is full of useful keyboard features, and it seems like there’s always something new around the corner. Now, it looks like Gboard is adding an “undo” button for bringing back text you’ve deleted.
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Foldable smartphones are a really fun new technology, and one that Samsung and others are betting big on. In the latest teaser for the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung mocks iPhone users who are scared of switching in a way that’s both quite fun, and really weird.
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Google’s Pixel phones have slowly but surely been gaining traction in the smartphone market, and, according to a new report, much of that sales growth is now coming from Japan in 2023.
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The first exclusive available on Google Stadia back in 2019 was Gylt, a horror adventure game from Tequila Works, which was actually a ton of fun. But, when Stadia died earlier this year, it took Gylt and some other games with it; but thankfully, Gylt is now back with a release on PC and consoles.
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The Google Pixel Fold started shipping to early buyers last week, but carriers have been a bit delayed. T-Mobile is now revealing its Pixel Fold offers, though, with the foldable coming in just under two weeks and with up to $1,000 off.
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Nothing Ear (2) landed earlier this year with a pretty solid overall package, and now they’re launching in a limited black color variant.
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Meta Threads launched just last night and, already, it’s a behemoth in the social space with the Twitter clone surpassing 20 million users and counting barely 12 hours after its launch.
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OnePlus is set to unveil its first foldable smartphone in just over a month, and apparently, that device might be called the “OnePlus Open.”
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Announced today for the UK, Europe, and other regions, the OnePlus Nord 3 is a midrange phone with a fair price, solid specs, and the promise of at least three major Android updates.
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The Nothing Phone (2) is just a few days away from its formal launch and, following some early camera samples being shared, a new leak is now detailing the exact camera specs of the new device.
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Meta has been working on Threads, its Twitter competitor, for some time now, and the company has now silently moved up the launch timing by several hours.
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Gaming phones often push the ceiling when it comes to performance and specs, and that’s especially true of the latest device from RedMagic. The new RedMagic 8S Pro is the first Android smartphone to offer up to 24GB of RAM, and it’s got a killer package alongside it.
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Developer hardware is important for any software platform, and Android TV has been failing here for a bit. After ADT-3 was discontinued, Google hasn’t yet released a new Android TV developer device, and it seems the ADT-4 box that will serve that role won’t even be available to the public.
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The TiVo Stream 4K, launched in 2020, is an Android TV stick with some useful features and a great price, but it seems to slowly be losing its touch. Not long ago the software lost support for a key integration and, now, TiVo has itself broken the software needed to activate the TiVo Stream 4K, leaving new users unable to set up the Android TV device.
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The Pixel Fold is a solid first attempt at a foldable, but it seems it might not be able to hold up to the same durability standard. In a new durability test, the Pixel Fold fails spectacularly, quite literally snapping in half.
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Samsung’s new foldables are just a few short weeks from launching, and now we’re getting our best look yet at the Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Flip 5, and also Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S9 series too.
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Google is working to bring better support to Android Auto for electric vehicles (EVs) equipped with the infotainment experience.
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Wear OS’ battery champ returned last month with the debut of the TicWatch Pro 5, and now that smartwatch is getting one of its first updates.
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Google appears to be preparing a considerable update to ChromeOS which brings support for rounded corners to UI elements throughout the system.
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Carl Pei’s Nothing is just a week or two away from the full launch, and after showing off the camera earlier this week, a new video and an official image reveal the design of Nothing Phone (2) in full.
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Last week Twitter took drastic measures to cut down on its server bills. Now, it’s also been shown that Twitter is blocking content from appearing in Google Search, though it’s more of a side effect than a direct action.
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AI is a bigger focus for Google than it ever has been, and in an update to its privacy policy, Google is doubling down on its ability to use data for training AI models.
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Samsung is preparing for its next big update, and while that’s not Android 14, One UI 5.1.1 is bringing a bunch of new features, and it’s now in beta for select devices.
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