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
Movies Anywhere has been one of the best things to happen to digital movie ownership in quite some time, allowing purchases to sync between a variety of different platforms at no cost. But this week, the Disney-owned service announced that “Screen Pass,” the feature that allowed Movies Anywhere users to share a movie with friends or family, is being shut down.
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Passkeys are coming up soon as a way of using your phone and its biometrics in place of traditional passwords, and Android 14 is set to bring native support for passkeys to apps, including Dashlane.
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The Oppo Find N2 Flip’s key feature is a bigger cover screen, but that screen is a bit limited to just a handful of widgets. Oppo has committed to improving that selection over time, and confirmed that a Spotify widget is coming to Find N2 Flip next month.
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Following several recent leaks, Motorola has confirmed that its 2023 iteration of the Razr foldable is coming “very soon.”
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Following major layoffs throughout Google earlier this year, Waymo has cut more of its staff in a new round of layoffs.
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As the foldable market heats up, prices should eventually start coming down. At MWC 2023, the smaller smartphone brand Tecno announced the Phantom V Fold, a foldable in the same style as Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4, but at nearly half the price.
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Abode has today announced that its home security systems are adding support for Google TV and Wear OS, in an expansion of the company’s Android support.
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Apple’s killer chipsets and tightly integrated software has long led to iPhones being a bit faster than many Android phones over the years, but in a new speed test, Samsung’s new Galaxy S23 Ultra pulls off a rare victory.
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Google Wallet continues to expand, with the app now available on Wear OS in several new countries for a total of 60. Here are the latest additions.
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As a part of its effort to build out an ecosystem of connected devices, Samsung has put a lot into its Galaxy Book line of laptops. On the latest Galaxy Book 3 series, Samsung has upgraded its Multi-Control feature that, frankly, not enough folks know about.
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At MWC 2023 today, Nothing confirmed that its second smartphone, the Nothing Phone (2), will launch with an upgraded chipset in the form of a Snapdragon 8 Series chip.
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Some YouTube TV subscribers are seeing improvements in picture quality, the platform appears to be upping its bitrate slightly.
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The past couple of generations of OnePlus smartphones have proved to be structurally flawed, with the OnePlus 10 Pro and OnePlus 10T able to be broken in half with someone’s bare hands. But, finally, the OnePlus 11 has been able to survive a bend test.
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After many rumors and a pretty obvious teaser, OnePlus has confirmed that it will launch its first foldable smartphone in 2023.
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A report from The Wall Street Journal last week sounded the alarm on an obvious, but frightening issue on iPhone that would allow a criminal to take over your Apple account. But that’s not something exclusive to iOS. Your Google account could be compromised if a criminal stole your Android phone and its PIN, but there are ways to protect yourself.
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Google-owned Waze is removing its iOS widget for the left-most homescreen, with the feature being removed in the latest updates rolling out now.
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Smartphones have always been difficult to repair, but the tides are turning as more brands move toward making repairs more accessible and affordable. HMD Global, though, has just turned that up to 11, with the new Nokia G22 being designed around do-it-yourself repairs and affordable replacement parts from day one.
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The Galaxy S23 series launched earlier this month and brings some killer hardware and performance, but a few early buyers are running into problems with Wi-Fi.
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Google says that, finally, Fast Pair is coming to ChromeOS.
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eSIM has been around for several years at this point, but support and handling is wildly different across different Android devices and carriers. Today, Google is announcing a new tool that will help the future of eSIM on Android, with support for eSIM transfer.
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Qualcomm today announced that Snapdragon Satellite is coming to new Android smartphones from Oppo, Nothing, Motorola, and more, as well as coming to more Snapdragon chips in the future.
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Launching this May, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook is packing new MediaTek chips.
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Today at MWC 2023, Xiaomi has announced the global launch of the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro.
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MWC 2023 kicks off this weekend, with new smartphones and more. Here’s what to expect, and a look back at the top stories of the past week.
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