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
According to a report, Samsung is already planning to launch a “Galaxy S26 Edge” next year, despite middling reception of the first generation this week, and even replace one of its existing devices in the process.
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Google has confirmed that there are now over 250 million cars on the road with Android Auto support, up 50 million in roughly a year.
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Google’s Pixel 9a has been widely been praised as a solid “affordable” phone, but a new teardown criticizes it for a key component – a battery that’s nearly impossible to safely replace.
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In a sort of post-credits scene to “The Android Show” today, Google shared a brief clip of Nothing’s Carl Pei showcasing the brand as a whole, as well as confirming the price range of the upcoming Nothing Phone (3).
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One of the biggest downsides of Android’s Find My Device network – now called the “Find Hub” – was a lack of UWB (ultra-wideband) support for easily finding nearby trackers. Now, that’s finally about to be available, and Google is also teasing luggage and airline integration too.
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After a years-long wait, Apple finally added RCS messaging support to the iPhone last year, and that’s resulted in over 1 billion RCS messages being sent every day in the US alone between both Android and iOS devices.
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As expected, Google is bringing Gemini to Android Auto and Android Automotive starting “in the coming months,” and there’s an early preview of what it will be capable of.
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Samsung was thought to have abandoned its Messages app over the past few years, but the company seems to have a renewed interest in it, with RCS having been enabled last year, and some more new features being spotted in the pipeline.
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Spotify is rolling out a new update to its AI-powered DJ service that allows users to make “requests” while the app itself is picking up some useful quality of life improvements such as the ability to sort playlists.
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As AI continues to be a core focus of its search experience, Google appears to now be testing the replacement of its iconic “I’m Feeling Lucky” button with a new button for its AI Mode.
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After teasing it earlier this year, Samsung has officially unveiled its slim smartphone, the Galaxy S25 Edge, which ships later this month starting at $1,099.
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Lenovo’s Legion Tab is one of the few great small Android tablets, and now it’s seeing a lower price as an update discount drops the cost to $469.
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After first surfacing a couple of months ago and clearly being ready to release imminently, the Walmart Onn 4K Plus streaming device with Google TV is now showing up in stores, offering another fresh look at the device and also revealing that it supports USB-C hubs.
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Leaks around Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Watch and One UI updates have revealed a lot of changes, now including the revamped cover display on the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
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After being announced recently, the YouTube app for TVs is widely rolling out a few changes including a dedicated Shorts feed that lives at the top of the subscriptions page.
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Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 continues to look more and more appealing, with the thinner design apparently set to include thinner bezels around the display too.
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The launch of One UI 7 has been a mess. Samsung’s otherwise stellar update was overshadowed in part by the fact that it arrived several months late compared to other Android 15 updates, and then had additional delays on top of that. But I think Samsung made a much bigger mistake in One UI 7 that we’re only seeing now as it rolls out to the masses.
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Smartwatches have long come in one of two camps. Circular watches that look more traditional, and square watches that embrace a more optimized form factor. Samsung, though, is splitting the difference with its next Galaxy Watch and it begs the question – which one do you actually prefer?
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According to new images in a leaked Samsung app, the upcoming Galaxy Watch 8 series will do away with the usual fully circular design of the company’s smartwatch.
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Google is reminding Pixel Watch owners about the transfer function available in Wear OS for when they switch to a new smartphone.
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Samsung is preparing a big new update for Galaxy Watch and its features are continuing to leak, with the latest details including a version of the “Now Bar,” as well as other new features and tweaks.
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New updates to Google Maps have made it possible to show a custom car icon during navigation through both Android Auto and CarPlay. Here’s how it works.
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Samsung just confirmed that its Galaxy S25 Edge will be fully unveiled on May 12, but leaks continue to surface, this time with a promise of “all-day battery” that doesn’t seem to line up very well with the leaked capacity of this device.
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The US Postal Service (USPS) is testing out a new Android app that brings the carrier’s “Informed Delivery” service to your smartphone in what looks to be a well-designed app.
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