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
Google has filed a lawsuit against a cybercrime organization that was using Gemini to power its financial scams, while Google is also pushing for stricter laws that are more relevant to an AI era.
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Nothing has officially announced a partnership with Best Buy that will bring Nothing Phone devices as well as the company’s audio products into Best Buy stores in the US, as well as online.
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If you’re on the hunt for a wireless Android Auto (or CarPlay) adapter, one of our favorites is now on sale, with the AAWireless TWO series currently seeing an increasingly-rare discount of as much as 20% off the usual price – with one tiny little catch.
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In testing for several months now, Waze is starting to roll out traffic lights more widely in navigation, but it’s still not available to everyone.
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Five years after killing its Wear OS app, Telegram is reviving support for Android smartwatches with its latest update.
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Mint Mobile is already well known as a budget-oriented carrier, but it’s now an even better deal as Mint is boosting all of its plans with even more data per month at no added cost.
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Google TV is rolling out a new update starting which, on the homescreen, will showcase live matches, highlights, and more, all in one place.
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The Galaxy Z Fold 7 may be last year’s foldable flagship, but it’s still getting features from the Galaxy S26 series. With the latest update for Galaxy Z Fold 7, two new features are available, both part of the Galaxy AI suite.
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Announced earlier this year, Google TV is now rolling out a Gemini update that lets you adjust TV settings with voice commands, but only on TCL models at first.
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Colored lighting is a really fun way to expand what lighting in your home can do, and Philips Hue is arguably the best in the business. Now, Philips Hue is rolling out “Sports Live” as a new experience that can integrate with sporting events such as the upcoming World Cup.
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Oppo’s Find N6 is arguably the single-best foldable on the market today, but there’s more in the pipeline. According to a new report, Oppo Find N7 might get a wider display and further crease improvements.
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Some Google Pixel phones have been hit with bootloop issues, but a fix is now available, sort of.
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As the streamer ages, a growing number of Chromecast with Google TV owners are noticing that their remotes are failing to stay paired, presenting some serious usability problems.
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Announced earlier this year at MWC 2026, the Lenovo ThinkTab X11 is now available in the US as a rugged Android tablet with a removable battery, and it costs $499.
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According to a new report, Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will be getting a massive battery upgrade that will result in a power pack roughly twice the size of a normal Wear OS watch.
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The first big Google TV Streamer of 2026 is here – yes, six months into the year. Timing aside, though, one of the bigger improvements here is support for Thread 1.4, which gives the Google TV Streamer more power as an anchor to your smart home.
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There’s an inherent bit of joy that comes from using a Pebble smartwatch, but one thing that’s always made me hesitate is that Pebble’s health tracking is very basic, if it’s there at all. When I saw people strapping mechanical watches to the Fitbit Air, I had to do the thing.
So now there’s a Pebble on my Fitbit.
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Google announced Wear OS 7 less than a month ago and, apparently, it’s already ready to roll out, as Verizon has let it slip that three Pixel Watch models are about to get the latest update.
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Google One has long been offered as a way to expand the storage across products like Drive, Gmail, and Photos, but Google has been pivoting it towards a focus on AI. And while that’s compelling for some, the real value in Google’s AI storage subscriptions is now coming from everything else – and it’s simply one of the best deals in tech today.
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As AI models get more powerful, there’s also going to be a level of danger. Anthropic announced Mythos not long ago as a model that was too dangerous for public availability, but a new version of that, Claude Fable 5, is now available and, apparently, “safe for general use.”
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In what is now her second big partnership around Android, Google has named Paris Hilton as an “Icon in Residence” for Android, with a focus on what Android’s new AI tools can do for users.
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The Pebble Round 2 smartwatch is set to start shipping soon, not long after Pebble Time 2 has become widely available to those who ordered.
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Book-style foldables have been my daily phones for the past few years and, as we enter a new chapter, Motorola has delivered the Razr Fold as its long-awaited entry to the space. Put simply, it’s far better than I expected, but I also worry it may have arrived a bit too late.
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Years after removing “dislike” button counts, YouTube is testing another change to its feedback system with a heart now replacing the “like” button, and “dislike” disappearing entirely for some.
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