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
A new report out of Korea reveals that Samsung is boosting production of the Galaxy S26 series due to demand, with a particular focus on the smallest model.
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Samsung has opened sales of its new budget-focused Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57 in the US, with a free case for early buyers too.
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As its launch approaches this month, Oppo is continuing to tease its upcoming camera-centric Find X9 Ultra which packs a pair of 200MP sensors, as well as a 10x periscope zoom lens.
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Samsung is gearing up for the possibly-final Galaxy Z TriFold restock this Friday but, a little under 24 hours early, orders appear to be live.
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A new report claims to reveal the launch date for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 and “Wide” foldable in July, while also claiming that the S Pen might be returning to the series.
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Following an initial expansion last month, Samsung is once again expanding its One UI 8.5 beta program to more Galaxy devices, including some more affordable ones too.
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According to a new report, Google’s upcoming Pixel 11 series will be among the first – perhaps even the first – to get Samsung’s new flagship M16 OLED display panels, beating out iPhones to the switch, and Samsung’s Galaxy series too.
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Samsung is officially expanding AirDrop over Quick Share support to more Galaxy devices, but it requires a specific software update first.
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TCL is launching a new, surprisingly cheap phone this week in the NXTPAPER 70 Pro which, on paper, looks like a really good bang for your buck.
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A new report calls out the top smartphone makers in the US for their poor device repairability scores, but Google Pixel did come out ahead of Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy devices.
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Samsung will restock the Galaxy Z TriFold, presumably for the final time, on April 10 in the US both online and in stores.
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Motorola is gearing up for its next Razr launch, with new Razr Ultra renders surfacing this week to spoil the surprise, and also show off some crazy new color options for the upcoming release.
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According to a new report, Apple is cutting back on expected shipments for its upcoming foldable iPhone, but that number still might beat Samsung’s own projections for Galaxy foldables.
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WhatsApp has started rolling out, to a limited number of users, the ability to use a username in the app, finally ditching the long-standing requirement to use your phone number.
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Following a US debut late last year, Google is now rolling out Gemini for Home to over a dozen new countries globally as it details some of the latest improvements to its replacement for Google Assistant.
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Smart TVs have been relatively static in terms of big new features for a while. Screen quality keeps getting better, software keeps learning new tricks, but it’s pretty uncommon to get a new hardware feature. That’s why I was pretty excited to check out TCL’s QM9K series and, after a few months using this flagship-tier Google TV set, its unique presence-sensing tech that turns on the TV whenever I walk in the room is still a mix of really cool, and perhaps a little pointless.
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After years of back and forth, Samsung Messages is officially shutting down for good in July and, while most were already on Google Messages, the switch is frustrating to some. Why were you still using Samsung’s app?
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Pebblebee’s newest Android Find Hub tracker does a lot more than find your wallet, with the Halo able to double as a surprisingly bright flashlight, but more importantly, a safety alarm.
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Motorola is launching its first new Android tablet in years (in the US) with the Moto Pad set to go on sale later this month, but pricing is a mystery for now.
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The Moto G Stylus is getting a big update for 2026, with a new pen that behaves more like a Galaxy Note’s S Pen than ever before.
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Spotify is once again expanding its AI-powered “Prompted Playlists” to bring podcasts into the mix.
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Anthropic has tonight announced a major deal that will see Google and Broadcom powering Claude through next-generation TPU capacity starting as soon as next year.
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The Pixel 10a launched about a month ago in most of the world, but has been absent in Japan despite prior success for the Pixel in that region. That’s finally changing, though, as the Pixel 10a is now available for pre-order in Japan and, on top of that, it gets a special “Isai Blue” color that’s exclusive to the region.
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Google is rolling out some updates in the Play Store, with reviews now featuring a handy option to search, but losing the useful “device model” filter.
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