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
There are a few new software perks on the Galaxy S23 series, but one that seems like it might be exclusive to the company’s latest smartphone is the ability for Samsung’s software to pull objects out of photos, leaving the background behind.
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Google Chrome for Android is laying the foundation for removing its custom sharing menu in exchange for Android’s native sharing menu, a win for consistency across apps.
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One UI 5.1 is the latest version of Samsung’s skin on top of Android, and it’s now making its way to more and more devices. Alongside older Galaxy S flagships, Samsung is also now bringing One UI 5.1 to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, Fold 3, and Flip 3.
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Minecraft is one of the most popular games on the planet, and it’s available on a lot of different devices, too. Chromebooks, though, have never had official support for Chromebooks, with many turning to hacky methods to run the game instead. But it seems that, soon, that will change, as an official “trial” is now underway for testing Minecraft on Chromebooks.
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The saga of Android Auto’s weather icon continues, now with Google considering reviving the icon on the “Coolwalk” redesign after removing it from the previous look.
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NFL Sunday Ticket is coming to YouTube and YouTube TV with the 2023 season, and ahead of that launch, it’s been confirmed there will be “special offers” for TV subscribers, as well as the first date the package will be available.
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ChatGPT made a huge impact when it debuted in late 2022, and as 2023 has begun, AI has been a big deal for Big Tech. And now, it’s also restarting the browser wars, as Opera is adding direct integration with ChatGPT, challenging both Microsoft and Google.
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Google Voice is a service that allows you to have a free phone number attached to your Google account and usable across many devices, but an issue today has left SMS and MMS messages on voice heavily delayed and/or arriving out of order.
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Android Auto is already a convenient way to use your smartphone’s most important features while behind the wheel, but wireless support just makes it even better. Years later, wireless Android Auto is finally making its way to the last country it wasn’t supported in – Japan.
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Wireless Android Auto is easier than ever to get, with AAWireless being one of the best options available. After a few weeks missing from Amazon, AAWireless is back in stock.
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Google pulled the cover off of its ChatGPT rival, Bard, earlier this week, but Google employees say that the debut was “rushed” and “botched,” and point the blame at CEO Sundar Pichai.
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YouTube’s deal with the NFL for Sunday Ticket has huge potential for fans, but it’s still set to come at a hefty cost. Apparently, though, the NFL is considering a “lighter” and cheaper Sunday Ticket offering through YouTube and YouTube TV.
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Samsung is getting some competition in the foldable space, with Oppo set to launch the Find N2 Flip globally on February 15.
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While Google is still a little ways out from the public debut of Bard, Microsoft this week showed off its AI-powered Bing, integrated with ChatGPT. And as it turns out, quite a few folks are interested in giving it a shot, with one million people on the “new Bing” waitlist in just the first couple of days.
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Microsoft unveiled its ChatGPT-powered “new Bing” this week, and it certainly has the attention of many. But “new Bing” is also Microsoft’s latest way to try and get you to switch from Google Chrome to Microsoft Edge.
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The first developer preview of Android 14 doesn’t contain a huge number of changes, but one notable tweak comes to Health Connect, which is now baked into the system settings.
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Starting later this year, 1Password will launch support for passkeys as a more secure and more convenient alternative to traditional passwords.
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Amazon’s cloud gaming service Luna doesn’t seem to be really pulling in subscribers, but the platform is still expanding what it can do. Recently, Amazon Luna has opened the door for buying game add-ons.
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The first developer preview of Android 14 dropped yesterday, and it brought a handful of new features along with it. Under the hood, though, there’s more on the way, including the ability for Android 14 to show apps that were installed in the background by your smartphone manufacturer or carrier – or by potentially a malicious party.
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For years, Google’s Pixel smartphones have always seemed to have at least one “quirk” or flaw with the hardware, but last year’s Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro were free of most glaring issues. Over time, though, some Pixel 7 Pro owners have noticed that the volume buttons fall off relatively easily.
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To kick off 2023 Google announced that Android Auto would be rolling out a redesign to all users, but a month later, “Coolwalk” still isn’t widely available to everyone.
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Dual-SIM has been around for years, but it has always required users to manually switch their active choice for mobile data and SMS. But with Android 14, Google is adding the ability for Dual-SIM to automatically switch to the best mobile data option.
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With the first developer preview of Android 14, Google is bringing back the ability to see screen time in battery usage stats.
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The Pixel 4a is coming up on its three-year anniversary, which is also when software support for the device will end. However, it seems the device might lose out on the next version of Android, as the first Android 14 developer preview is not available for Google Pixel 4a.
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