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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
After leaking just last week, the new Chromecast with Google TV replacement from Walmart is already showing up in stores, kicking off the cycle of Walmart’s unorthodox launches.
This past weekend was the 5-year anniversary of the death of LG’s smartphone business, and yet, we’re just now seeing a new look at the company’s unreleased “Rollable” that makes it more clear than ever before just how ready this device was.
According to a new report, Samsung has plans for a fourth new Galaxy S27 series device in 2027, with the Galaxy S27 “Pro” packing specs from the Ultra, but without an S Pen.
We’re not due for any new Google Pixel phones in the near future, but a surprise teaser has just dropped with the reveal that an exclusive new model is hitting the market this week, and we might already have some idea of what that is.
Foldables have matured a lot since their debut less than a decade ago, and following last year’s big leap with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, there’s now a new king in the Oppo Find N6, but I’m not sure the market will follow this lead fast enough.
Nothing has really hit its stride with the whole budget smartphone thing, with two generations that really got the fundamentals right without breaking the bank. Throughout the company’s history, though, I’ve always felt like something was missing, and I think they’ve finally found it. The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is the “something” I’ve been waiting for and, as it turns out, the formula was really quite simple.