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
Samsung has finally set a start date for its One UI 7 rollout and confirmed a few devices to get support earlier this week. Now, Samsung is adding to that list of Galaxy devices with confirmation that Galaxy S22, S21, and several other Galaxy devices will be getting One UI 7 in the coming weeks.
Expand Expanding Close
Google has confirmed it is investigating an issue causing low quality in playback of videos and Shorts through the YouTube app on iOS.
Expand Expanding Close
Earlier this week, Samsung finally provided a release date for its long-delayed One UI 7 update, with the rollout starting on April 7. Now, Samsung has offered a few more details regarding the One UI 7 rollout schedule, with some countries starting the rollout a bit later.
Expand Expanding Close
Google has delayed the launch of the Pixel 9a – a decision seemingly made in the eleventh hour – due to what it calls a “component quality issue.”
Expand Expanding Close
Verizon has announced that its customers can now use satellite texting to any phone number, but only if they’re using a Google Pixel 9 or Samsung Galaxy S25 device.
Expand Expanding Close
Samsung is gearing up to add new “Fan Edition” tablets to its Galaxy Tab S10 series, including a smaller Tab S10 FE and a larger model too, and now a detailed leak has exposed all of the key information.
Expand Expanding Close
Samsung has a new set of deals available, with the Galaxy Watch Ultra over $200 off without any strings attached, a free $70 band with Galaxy Watch 7, and more in new deals for some of Samsung’s best health products.
Expand Expanding Close
Samsung has officially set the date for its next major Galaxy update – One UI 7 – with the rollout starting in the first week of March. With One UI 7, the Galaxy AI suite is adding some new features, but Samsung has confirmed that not all of the new additions will be available across all devices.
Expand Expanding Close
Remember the Pebble Time 2? The long-awaited, modern-looking Pebble that was supposed to launch in 2016 had the hearts of fans at the time, but was brutally killed when Fitbit bought the company, leaving the hardware to never actually ship. Finally, though, that dream is being realized as the “Core Time 2” will be launching later this year, and it has some big upgrades.
Expand Expanding Close
Just shy of nine years after their initial debut, Pebble’s second-gen smartwatches are officially making a comeback with the original founder’s new company, “Core Devices,” reviving the Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2 as the Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2, shipping starting in July with updated hardware and the same appeal as the Pebble smartwatches that came before.
Expand Expanding Close
Samsung is set to release two new flip phone foldables this year, but the “Galaxy Z Flip FE” is reportedly launching “months” after the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
Expand Expanding Close
Roku users have run into autoplaying ads when their first turn their TVs on lately, which Roku says is a “test.”
Expand Expanding Close
Google is switching its Tensor production to TSMC for this upcoming generation and, to make that happen, Tensor G5 will reportedly incorporate a selection of off-the-shelf components to replace Samsung-made portions of prior chips, including the use of a fully custom ISP.
Expand Expanding Close
Google today announced plans to acquire Wiz, a cloud security startup, to the tune of $32 billion in an effort to strengthen its cloud security.
Expand Expanding Close
Lenovo’s small Android tablet, the Legion Tab, has seen its price go up since its announcement and launch, with the price now landing at $549.99 for US buyers.
Expand Expanding Close
Samsung is rolling out new One UI 7 beta updates to the Galaxy S24 series as well as to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 which deliver fixes, upgrades, and more. Here’s what you need to know.
Expand Expanding Close
In the hype ahead of the Oppo Find N5’s launch, OnePlus broke everyone’s hearts with the announcement that it wouldn’t be releasing “Open 2” this year. However, it seems OnePlus does still have some new foldable in the works.
Expand Expanding Close
Google is expected to release the Pixel 9a later this week, but the leaks haven’t stopped as the device has now received the customary YouTube unboxing which has also seemingly confirmed that the modem inside isn’t on par with the rest of the Pixel 9 series.
Expand Expanding Close
It was revealed earlier this year that Pebble smartwatches may be making a comeback after Google released the source code for PebbleOS. The “RePebble” project promised new hardware – a Pebble reboot – with the backing of the original founder, and a new countdown has begun on a store.
Expand Expanding Close
Google has released the first Android Auto 14.0 update through its beta program and while there are no major user-facing changes, code behind the scenes continues work on temperature controls.
Expand Expanding Close
A bug with the YouTube app is causing Shorts to open as soon as the app starts up for some users.
Expand Expanding Close
Google released a new Android 16 beta earlier this week and, hiding beneath the scenes, there are more new features and changes in the works including custom icon shapes for the app launcher, a revamped notification panel, and more.
Expand Expanding Close
We got our first look at the Pixel 10 series this week and it looks rather familiar, but Google is apparently planning to add a third camera to the base model, and that raises a lot of questions.
Expand Expanding Close
One of the downsides of RCS messaging for a while was a lack of support for end-to-end encryption but, now, the GSMA has announced that the latest update to RCS will add the long-awaited security layer, and both Google and Apple will support it.
Expand Expanding Close