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
YouTube TV is offering a discount on its already-cheaper dedicated Sports plan, with $120 off for the first year in the form of a $10 monthly discount.
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Philips, a major TV brand in markets such as the UK and Europe, is ditching Google TV for “Titan OS.”
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After several generations using the same wired charging speeds, it sounds like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will finally usher in quicker speeds via new 45W fast charging.
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Oppo is busy teasing its global launch of the Find X9 Ultra but, meanwhile, a new rumor suggests that OnePlus might be shutting down its global operations.
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Samsung has officially confirmed plans to start rolling out AirDrop support over Quick Share starting with the Galaxy S26 series this week.
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Sideloading has been a key part of Android since the beginning, not only delivering a lot of flexibility to Android, but also a sense of openness and freedom. After Google announced it would make major changes to sideloading, the community (somewhat understandably) panicked, but as Google has now shown exactly how its new sideloading flow on Android will work, I’m not only happy to see that sideloading isn’t going away at all, but that Google’s compromise is as close to perfect as I think we can reasonably get.
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Google Search has started testing the use of AI to replace headlines and website titles, a change that seems both unnecessary and a slippery slope.
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The latest Pixel Watch update is causing some hiccups, as users now report that their smartphone is seeing some weird behavior in Fitbit step counts and other stats.
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Lenovo’s latest Legion Tab generation just launched in China this week and, alongside it, an awesome little arcade dock that I would absolutely buy if given the chance.
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Amazon is reportedly gearing up to give smartphones another shot, with an Alexa-focused phone in the works over a decade after the infamous Fire Phone failed.
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As expected, Samsung has just confirmed plans to launching AirDrop support via Google’s Quick Share on its Galaxy S26 series in the near future.
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Speaking at SXSW, Nothing CEO Carl Pei reiterated his thoughts on the future of the smartphone experience, saying that “apps are going to disappear.”
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The utility of a dedicated Android gaming tablet can be questionable with the existence of handhelds like the Steam Deck, but the new “Gamepad G9” for Lenovo Legion Tab splits the difference perfectly.
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Ahead of Apple’s debut in the foldable smartphone market, Google Pixel has carved out a spot of its own and, apparently, it won’t fully drop off the map once Apple changes the game.
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If you’ve been using Instagram Reels for a while, you’ve probably run into the long-standing A/B test that can’t seem to decide between a pause or a mute action when you tap on the screen. Finally, though, Instagram has settled this once and for all.
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Since its announcement earlier this month, I’ve been pretty excited for the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro’s debut and, after using it as my daily phone for a week, I’m all the more sold by this device.
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Google’s Pixel 10 series is one of the first major collection of Android smartphones that ditches support for physical SIM cards in favor of eSIM but, right now, you can get a Pixel 10 with a SIM tray and at a discount too.
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The first trailer for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day landed today and features a cameo by Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip foldable, but please don’t be like Peter Parker and put your foldable face down on rusty metal.
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Remember Fuchsia? Google’s second OS project has faded into the background, but a neat project revives the “Armadillo” UI that first brought Fuchsia to public attention.
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An error or outage of some kind at Spotify is causing users with paying accounts to hear ad breaks while also showing that their Premium accounts are on the “Free” plan.
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Following the official end of the Galaxy Z TriFold, a new report claims that a sequel to the foldable could be coming next year, while a slideable phone is also in the works.
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New data shows just how impactful AI has been to the web, with Google Search referrals falling off of a cliff while traffic from AI source links are next to nothing.
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Meta is rolling out another software update for its Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses, this time with improvements for snow sports as well as translation, and a voice command experience that sounds a lot like Gemini Live.
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Wireless charging is very much moving in the direction of Qi2 and magnetic alignment, but Samsung stubbornly continues to avoid putting magnets inside of its phones, with the Galaxy S26 series forgoing this yet again. And, from the sound of it, that’s making the faster Qi2 25W wireless charging found on Galaxy S26 Ultra a tough thing to actually get working.
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