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
After hitting the scene last year with its well-received Ear 1 earbuds, Nothing seems to be moving quickly to its next product, an Android smartphone.
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Nearly five years after the smartwatch made its debut, Fitbit is recalling the Ionic due to concerns over potential burn risks.
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It’s pretty clear at this point that the long-overdue “Pixel Watch” is finally coming this year, and according to a new report, the Wear OS smartwatch will come in three colors and deliver a huge amount of storage.
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Google’s first two attempts in the massive wireless audio market didn’t go over super well, but its latest release in the Pixel Buds A-Series has been well received overall. Now, in line with a desire to “distinguish” its future first-party audio products, Google has been quietly buying up audio-related IP, including an entire team from Synaptics.
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For the past few months, Google has finally been showing a changelog for its monthly system updates that roll out to Android, Wear OS, Android TV, and other platforms via the Play Store. Today, the March 2022 changelog went live with updates to Play Games privacy and more.
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With Winter coming to a close, we’re all excited to get back outdoors. To help with the pesky mosquitos that will be coming back out in the coming months, Thermacell has just launched a new mosquito repellant system that works with Google Assistant.
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For years now, iPhones and even Samsung’s Android smartphones have supported the ability to adjust the brightness of the LED flashlight on the back of your phone. Now, in Android 13, Google is finally delivering this ability to adjust flashlight brightness natively, and we’ve been able to try it out.
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Valve has officially released its PC gaming-focused portable handheld this week, and the flexible machine has garnered a fair bit of praise for its performance on local games. However, if you were hoping to play cloud games from Google Stadia and similar services on the Steam Deck, it seems you’re in for a rude surprise.
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Google is starting to roll out a new feature to its Pixel lineup, with a “Fast Emergency Dialer” that puts local contact information for police, fire, and medical services at your fingertips.
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Amazon has long been testing out its cloud gaming service Luna in the United States, but only under an early access badge with invites needed to join in on the fun. Today, Amazon Luna is launching fully in the US, with a new higher price tag, more games on the service, and a new Prime gaming channel that offers free games every month.
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Google Play Pass is bringing a catalog of paid apps and games to India, nearly three years after launching in other countries.
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MWC 2022 brought the debut of a lot of new tech, and TCL arrived at the event with an updated Android portfolio of tablets, foldable concepts, and the rest of the TCL 30 series.
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After launching exclusively in China earlier this year, OnePlus has finally confirmed a launch date for the OnePlus 10 Pro in North America. The phone is apparently set to arrive within the next month.
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It’s been quite obvious for the better part of two years now that Samsung is killing the Galaxy Note name, but the company has officially put the final nail in the coffin, fully confirming that the iconic brand is dead.
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In a forum post today, OnePlus’ Pete Lau confirmed a few new details about the future of the brand, including that it has ditched plans to merge OxygenOS with Oppo’s experience. But just as exciting was the confirmation that OnePlus has a 150W charging spec coming later this year.
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The future of OnePlus under Oppo’s roof has been largely up in the air, but today OnePlus is finally offering some clarity. In a lengthy forum post, OnePlus’ Pete Lau announced that OxygenOS isn’t going anywhere, and plans to run OnePlus phones on a “unified” ColorOS and OxygenOS merger is no longer coming.
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Chromebook tablets have been growing in popularity over the past couple of years, and Lenovo especially has been doubling down on the form factor. After launching the Chromebook Duet 5 last year, Lenovo is today announcing the smaller, but equally specced, IdeaPad Duet 3.
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Google TV users are about to get some more free channels, as Pluto TV is preparing to add several new channels to its lineup.
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The Galaxy Watch 4 is the current king of the hill for Android smartwatches, and it just got a major update earlier this month with a bunch of new features. Now, Samsung is rolling out yet another update for the Galaxy Watch 4, though a very minor one.
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Subscriptions have become incredibly popular for gaming in recent years, and Xbox Game Pass has become king. Now, Sony is ramping up for its own version of Game Pass, with a subscription library and cloud games for the PlayStation. Now, some of the first details are coming out.
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Google’s Stadia platform didn’t debut any new games this week, but it did get the major Destiny 2 Witch Queen expansion, as well as some other big game updates.
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Google has given its password manager a lot more attention in recent months, and things just keep evolving. Coming soon, it seems Google Chrome is adding the ability to “send” passwords.
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Material You elements quickly took over various Google apps in the lead-up and following the rollout of Android 12, but it seems Google isn’t done. Hidden in the latest Google Phone update is a new dialer design that has some familiar Material You elements.
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Twitter dove into the subscription business last year with the launch of Twitter Blue, a pretty cheap monthly subscription that offers a few additional features for the service. Now, months after iOS, Twitter Blue is finally gaining the ability to change the look of the Twitter app’s homescreen icon.
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