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
ADT is launching a new feature for its ADT+ service, with “My Safety” able to turn your phone into a portable security system, including a useful always-listening “Emergency Phrase.”
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ADT is expanding on its Nest-integrated security system, with a new “Live Light” that serves as an outdoor alert.
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Google Home has launched another set of updates for its new Gemini voice experience, addressing pain points in media playback and playlists, notes, and more.
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As the RAM/memory crisis continues, we’re seeing a major impact this week as Microsoft has just announced massive price hikes to the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro, products that launched roughly two years ago.
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Motorola’s new Razr lineup is shaping up in some interesting ways, with the new series starting to leak with updated colors and a familiar design, but the new Razr Ultra apparently won’t even get a chip upgrade.
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Not long after Apple CarPlay, Google Meet is now making its way to Android Auto, but it doesn’t support work accounts yet, which seems like a big oversight.
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While the Oppo Find X9 Ultra is still a little ways away from launch, the company has today shown off the design in full and, having used it myself, I can tell you that I’m thrilled to see this sort of hardware hitting the global market.
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Huawei has shown off its next foldable, the Pura X Max, which has a super wide form factor we’re expecting to see a lot more of in future foldables from Apple, Samsung, and many others.
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In a twist of events, Walmart’s upcoming 4K Google TV streaming stick might actually only cost $20, but it does make some cuts.
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YouTube confirmed this week that Premium prices are going up for the first time in around three years and, unlike every other streaming service, this is one price hike I’m more than willing to accept.
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2026 is going to be a bad year for smartphones, but Google Pixel continues to look like a bright spot, with a new report revealing that Pixel is already seeing growth this year as the rest of the industry struggles.
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Effective today, Amazon Luna is shutting down basically everything that’s not a single Stadia Pro-like subscription.
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Google is preparing a new “Tap to Share” feature for Android devices and, through the latest updates, we’re able to get a sneak peek as to what it looks like and how it functions.
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Following some of their latest updates, a number of Google Pixel owners are reporting bootloop issues, with Google “working to identify a fix.”
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Google is implementing a price hike for YouTube Premium plans in the US, with prices going up by as much as $4 per month.
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The “Android Bench” for ranking AI models used in Android app development has been updated, with OpenAI’s latest model now tied with Gemini for the top spot.
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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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