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 Galaxy Note is dead. Long live the Galaxy Note. Samsung just rebooted its popular Galaxy Note series by merging the design and signature S Pen into its new Galaxy S22 Ultra.
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Android 12’s rollout has been pretty quick on Samsung devices, but it’s been taking its sweet time to arrive on other devices. After announcing its commitment to Android 12 recently, Motorola has started rolling out the update, with the Moto G Pro first in line.
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The Oppo takeover of OnePlus has left a lot of questions over the past year, and software was the biggest concern for many. According to a new report, OnePlus and Oppo are due to fully merge their OxygenOS and ColorOS skins into one with Android 13.
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The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is our favorite foldable right now, but it turns out the device is having some network issues on T-Mobile following recent updates.
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Google’s Android TV OS is a new area of focus for the company, with the Google TV experience taking over on more TVs and heading to more brands. Thanks to new analyst data, we can see that Google’s efforts are paying off, as Android TV appears to be the fastest-growing TV platform as of Q4 2021, but its share in North America is still weak.
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While we remain huge fans of Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, it’s impossible to ignore that these phones have had their fair share of bugs and issues. Following some cellular problems late last year, Google’s latest Pixel 6 update seems to be causing Wi-Fi issues for some owners.
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Google’s sudden renewed focus on Wear OS has delivered more apps and long overdue updates to others. Now, the YouTube Music app that first made its debut a few months ago is confirmed to add the ability to stream songs to Wear OS watches including the Galaxy Watch 4.
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Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 made the switch over to Wear OS, but it remained an experience that was clearly Samsung’s more than Google’s. Now, Samsung is providing an update on Google Assistant for the Galaxy Watch 4, saying that the promised feature is still “months” away from its debut.
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Samsung’s Wear OS-based Galaxy Watch 4 series is getting another major update this week, with new features including custom interval training, sleep coaching, and more.
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Samsung is set to unveil the Galaxy S22 series on February 9, but the leaks have done anything but slow down. Just in the past several days, we’ve seen leaks regarding Galaxy S22 pricing, the phone show up in retail, and much more. Here’s the latest info.
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Google has been facing a lot of scrutiny over the past few years over its dominant positions in the market, and this week the company is facing yet another lawsuit. In the EU, a competitor to Google Shopping has issued a multi-billion dollar lawsuit over Search favoring Google Shopping over competitors.
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The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra was one of our favorite phones of 2021, but with its sequel around the corner, it’s a phone that’s going to start to fade away. Ahead of the Galaxy S22’s unveil, Samsung has just removed the Galaxy S21 Ultra from its website, seemingly signaling that the phone has been discontinued.
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Ahead of its Unpacked launch event later this week for the Galaxy S22 series, Samsung is teasing a new sustainability effort that integrates a new material into its products that is made from recycled fishing nets.
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Earlier this week, Alphabet’s quarterly earnings call confirmed that the Pixel 6 series had broken “quarter sales records” for the series. Now, data from a respected analyst first offers a bit more potential context on that record quarter.
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As cloud gaming continues its expansion, GeForce Now is celebrating the two year anniversary of its rebirth.
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Stadia’s start to 2022 has been without a goal, but that’s finally changing this week as Google has officially committed to bringing at least 100 new games to Stadia by the end of the year.
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The homescreen is one of the biggest selling points of Google TV, with the content-focused design surfacing recommendations and keeping everything in one place. Soon, it seems Google is planning to improve the Google TV experience with a new “Restricted Mode” feature and a watchlist for the Kids Profile.
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The Google Nest Doorbell got a refresh last year with a new battery-powered model and also the promise of new support. Now, the Google Nest Doorbell is getting a couple of limited-time ringtones for the Lunar New Year.
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Google TV is all about putting the shows and movies you want to see in one place, despite the ongoing streaming wars fracturing that content to dozens of different streaming services. This week, Google TV is expanding on that goal by rolling out a hub for 2022 Winter Olympics coverage.
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The brain-teasing game Wordle has taken the internet by storm in recent weeks, and today Google is again jumping in on the trend, this time with a clever little homage to the game made up of Pixel 6 smartphones.
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In the United States, carriers are the place where most smartphones are sold. Rather than buying these devices at their full cost, too, payment plans are usually the go-to for many. This week, Verizon has quietly done away with shorter payment plans, in favor of a new 36-month device contract.
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Motorola’s Moto G series was once the best of the budget space, but the market has evolved and created a lot more competition. Today, Motorola is officially announcing the Moto G Stylus (2022), with an updated design and spec sheet, and one bizarre omission.
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Officially available as of today, Vevo is launching its huge network of music videos to Google TV and Android TV in a new app.
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With the launch of its Pixel 6 series, Google killed off any hope that it would continue producing cases with a delightful fabric material. Outside of some shoddy recreations, it’s a concept that hasn’t been replicated. But since its October launch, there’s one case that’s managed to ease the heartbreak felt from the loss of Google’s fabric cases — Pela’s soft and comfortable Pixel 6 cases.
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