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 appears to be working on a new feature that would allow users to add a credit card to Google Wallet simply by tapping the card to their phone.
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Ongoing outlet deals at Best Buy are offering refurbished tech at stellar discounts, including Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 for over $100 off, and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro for $150 off.
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New findings suggest that Android devices may soon be able to include your SIM in a device backup, potentially making it that much easier to swap phones.
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Samsung’s back-and-forth Galaxy Watch release schedule appears to be ready to bring back a Galaxy Watch 8 Classic later this year, a device that will hopefully include the company’s iconic rotating bezel.
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Samsung’s One UI 7 rollout has been nothing short of a minor disaster, but the company is finally picking up steam and, for the first time, is actually ahead of schedule.
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After being delayed due to a typo and returning with a massive price hike, the OnePlus Watch 3 has dropped back down to a reasonable price of $349.99.
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Alongside its new Razr devices this week, Motorola also announced a new smartwatch, and it just serves as a reminder that it’s well past time for a new Moto 360.
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Google is in the midst of rolling out its latest Android Auto update to users while the new version 14.3 update has just arrived in beta.
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Google’s Find My Device network for Android started off slow, to say the least, but has been steadily improving. Now, we’ve finally got some numbers to back up those improvements, as Google has confirmed that the Find My Device network is 4x faster at finding items, and that “more” users have been changing the default privacy settings.
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The Chromecast is effectively dead, but a new Google TV streaming stick just happens to look nearly identical to it.
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According to Samsung’s own website, the Galaxy S25 Edge will, as expected, fall in between the Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 Ultra in terms of its price point.
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After starting its rollout in Korea last week, Samsung is now bringing One UI 7 to the Galaxy S23 series and Galaxy Tab S10 series in the US market.
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One of the best things about Google Photos has always been its useful ability to search through your library, but the company’s focus on AI introduced an admittedly impressive, but annoying new experience to search. But there’s a little known shortcut in Google Photos that allows users to quickly jump back into classic search.
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A new partnership between Perplexity and Motorola will see the AI “answer engine” app pre-installed on Android phones, starting with the new Razr phones.
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After a false start last year, Google TV has rolled out its redesigned and vastly superior Freeplay app to all devices.
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Google might be forced to sell its Chrome browser, and while it’s hard to imagine anyone else running the ship, there’s plenty of interest from Google’s competition in OpenAI, Perplexity, and Yahoo.
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Following the April 2025 update for Google Pixel devices, more and more users are running into problems with delayed notifications, an issue that was already affecting many.
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The OnePlus 13T officially launched earlier this week with its enticing smaller size, giant battery, and powerful specs, but it’s only available in China so far. Will the OnePlus 13T come to other countries? The truth is that we don’t know, for now, but we can reason out how likely it is.
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Motorola is adding to its “Things” lineup with two new products, the Moto Buds Loop and the Watch Fit, which will release at some point, for some amount of money.
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Motorola just launched the Razr 2025 series, and they remain gorgeous and steadily improving foldables. But more than ever, this latest batch just feels like a collection of vessels for AI.
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Alongside the flagship Razr Ultra, Motorola is launching 2025 refreshes for its base Razr and the Razr+, which are largely unchanged and carry the same price points.
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Motorola’s newest foldable lineup now includes three devices, including a top-tier Razr Ultra that brings considerable upgrades, but also a much higher price point.
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A bug in Android Auto has left the weather card information broken for users, a feature that the majority of users already can’t see.
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Following the Galaxy Tab S10 series earlier this week, Samsung has also released One UI 7 for the Galaxy Tab S9 series.
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