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
The OnePlus 10 Pro has now been available in China for well over a month, with no signals yet on when the phone is set to make its debut in global markets. However, OnePlus and Oppo have now expanded on the device, with a OnePlus 10 Pro “Extreme Edition” that comes in a “Panda White” finish.
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The battle for growth in the smart TV market continues to heat up, with 2022 expected to be a key tipping point. At this point, it’s up to smart TVs to determine how the market will go, and it seems Roku is going all-in on that, with plans to make its own TVs.
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Following the Super Bowl, we’ve got a bunch of new trailers, content announcements, and more, including the release date for Stranger Things 4 and Google TV’s selection of Valentine’s Day content.
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Google is adding another game to Stadia’s collection of free demos, with Chorus now offering a free trial on the platform. Here’s what else happened this week on Stadia.
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Between shortages and shipping delays, it’s no surprise when newly released products have long shipping times. However, just days ahead of their formal release, the shipping dates for Samsung’s new Galaxy S22 series are slipping quickly.
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Over cold Winter months, many owners of Google’s new battery-powered Nest Doorbell and Nest Cameras have found that severe battery drain and slow charging are commonplace as cold temperatures set in. Now, Google is clarifying how these products should work in low temperatures.
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Google Pay makes it really easy to handle payments in stores that accept NFC, and Wear OS has long supported the ability to make these payments. With Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4, it’s finally possible to install Google Pay, but some owners have recently been seeing errors including that Google Pay “couldn’t finish setup.”
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Samsung’s Galaxy Note series was a beloved lineup thanks to its standout feature, the S Pen. The brand officially died as of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, but Samsung wasn’t finished with its features. The Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 3 both adopted S Pens, and this year’s Galaxy S22 Ultra is the Note reborn under a new name.
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Over the past two years, chargers have disappeared from the box on most flagship smartphones. Now, the same is happening to tablets, as Samsung has stopped including a charger with the Galaxy Tab S8.
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It’s not uncommon for smart speakers of all kinds to fail once in a while, but it seems there’s a larger issue at play with some Google Assistant devices currently. If your Google Assistant device is suddenly saying “Sorry, I didn’t understand” a lot, you’re not alone.
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Nvidia’s GeForce Now has been steadily improving its integration with other gaming platforms and services, and the latest update delivers a useful new addition. Starting with the latest GeForce Now app updates, Discord integration has arrived.
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The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are Google’s first phones with an under-display fingerprint sensor, and to assist with repairs Google released a tool to calibrate that sensor in the event of a device repair. As it turns out, though, that tool has some ongoing issues.
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eSIM has the convenient ability to get you connected to a network quickly and without any additional hardware. Just sign into an account, and you’re good to go. However, only Google and Apple have really pushed this technology with Pixel and iPhone, but Samsung has been hesitant to really go all-in on the feature. Now, with the Galaxy S22 series, Samsung is making eSIM available out of the box.
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Samsung’s Galaxy Note line was one of the only ways to get a stylus with your phone for years, but that has certainly started to change. This year, it seems Motorola is ready to adopt stylus support on one of its flagship phones in the Edge 30 Pro, according to a new leak at least.
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Smartphone cameras have come to a point where it’s genuinely hard to find a truly terrible camera in today’s market, leading to differentiators being relatively small. As I’ve been using Samsung’s latest devices, I’ve really come to value the live HDR that Google’s Pixel devices offer.
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The Nvidia Shield TV series has easily become the collection of Android devices with the best update history, but the recent upgrade to Android TV 11 brought with it some major bugs. Now, Nvidia is rolling out the 9.0.1 update for Shield TV that fixes the most common issues.
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Super-affordable Android devices are not hard to find, but all too often they’re essentially abandoned immediately with very few updates. Last year, Walmart debuted the most affordable Android TV streamers ever under its Onn brand, and yet another update that delivers the latest January 2022 security patch.
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Google’s Pixel 6 series has been somewhat of a hit since launch, despite the phones being sold in limited regions. After expanding in Europe earlier this month, Google is now opening up sales of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro in Singapore.
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Android is already a flexible platform, but it seems power users will get even more flexibility in the next major update. Thanks to Android 13, phones such as the Pixel 6 are able to run virtual machines for Windows and Linux with better performance and fewer headaches.
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Connectivity is perhaps one of the most important parts of a smartphone, and as the landscape evolves with new 5G tech and more, it’s always interesting to see who reigns supreme. After the last major Android flagship, the Pixel 6 was a bit lacking when it came to connectivity, and it’s nice to see that Samsung’s Galaxy S22 is reaching even further for rock-solid networking.
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Android updates are getting faster and more regular, especially on Samsung devices. However, Samsung still hasn’t adopted Android’s faster and safer “Seamless Updates” feature that was introduced years ago, and the Galaxy S22 keeps up the streak.
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The Google TV homescreen makes it easy to find the content you want across your favorite streaming services, but it also has native access to shows and movies you’ve purchased from Google. Lately, though, the “Library” tab of Google TV seems to be having some loading issues for some.
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The new Google Pay app is a complete departure from the one that came before, with a heavy emphasis on peer-to-peer payments and rewards. With a new update, the Google Pay app has been tweaked to make it easier to access your NFC payment cards on the fly.
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Messaging on Android has been a mess for years, but the tide is finally changing. With Google Messages bringing enhanced RCS messaging to virtually any Android user that wants it, there’s finally a “default.” Now, RCS is getting a big boost as Samsung has finally adopted Google Messages as its default app in the United States.
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