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
Following some previous appearances, the entire library of Pixel 11 wallpapers have now made their way online, but they’re pretty subdued and, frankly, a little boring.
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Google cracked the code on making Android’s Quick Share feature work with Apple’s AirDrop, and the list of compatible devices continues to grow. Here’s every Android device currently compatible with AirDrop.
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With coding having emerged as one of the best use cases for LLMs, Google is reportedly looking to train its AI models with code from actual Android app developers, but is at least paying them to do so.
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Yet another Google Home update is now rolling out, bringing a Gemini-powered “Pet Memory” to Nest Cam owners, while also expanding on “Ask Home.”
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Motorola is gearing up to launch its new Edge (2026) mid-range device with a US release coming later this month for $599, a higher price for a device with a refreshingly smaller display.
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Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 8, the wider one, continues to shape up to be a great addition to the lineup, with a new leak revealing that it fixes another problem with foldables – weight.
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As rumored, Walmart has quietly debuted a collection of Onn-branded TV sets that are all powered by Google TV, with prices starting as low as $248.
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Google Photos is an excellent backup service for photos and videos, but it’s not necessarily the only thing you might want to use. Whether it’s mirroring your library on a local drive or anything else, Google Photos is adding a helpful new option to schedule exports, including only the exports of newly-added content.
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According to a new report, Meta has plans to release several new smart glasses over the rest of 2026.
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If there’s one app I’ve always been jealous of from the iPhone, it’s Flighty, a super-useful flight tracker that not only logs your flight history, but puts all of the information you might need in a single place alongside a UI that’s far better than anything your airline is offering up. But it’s never come to Android. The launch of “Aviate,” though, is as close to “Flighty for Android” as I’ve seen.
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Microsoft, Nvidia, and MediaTek are working together on “RTX Spark,” a new chip for Windows PCs that’s all about AI, but if you look beyond that, it sounds like it might still be a good chip in general.
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Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 8 is debuting a wider form factor we’ve not seen on Android in a few years and, ahead of its launch, the device has been spotted in the wild.
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Later this year, Samsung Gallery will be completely ending its integration with Microsoft OneDrive but, months early, the app is already removing support.
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According to a new report, Honor is trying to bring its Android phones to Canada, or at least it’s trying to find out if it can.
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Prototype devices find their way to leaking in a variety of different ways, such as the infamous iPhone in a bar. Now, though, there’s been the finding of what appears to be a Pixel Watch 5 that was lost… in the ocean.
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Further reflecting on Google’s practical focus for Gemini and AI in general at I/O 2026 last week, I still find myself struggling to find ways to actually make this technology useful in ways that actually matter. So, what are you doing with Gemini?
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A new leak shows off the difference, in person, of the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s wider form factor versus the “Ultra” one we’re already used to.
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An apparent bug on Pixel Watch is causing the Find My Phone and ECG apps to either not work or crash, leaving both functions useless for many.
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Disney apparently has “Project Gemini” going on behind the scenes and, according to a new report, that’s not to be confused with Google’s AI, but rather plans to kill the Hulu app.
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A new report claims that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 delivers a “significant” improvement to the display crease, on par with the current industry leader, Oppo Find N6.
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According to new code-based evidence, Samsung might be planning to launch back-to-back generations of its “Classic” style with the Galaxy Watch 9 series, as well as picking up the raise-to-talk feature from Pixel Watch.
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If you’ve noticed some problems with YouTube Music on iPhone in recent days, you’re not alone, but Google says those issues have now been fixed.
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Motorola has removed the first-gen Moto Tag from its website in the US, with Moto Tag 2 still not having a firm release date despite being available in other regions.
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Anthropic has today announced Claude Opus 4.8, the latest version of its AI model, with a focus on improving agentic capabilities.
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