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
Last year, Google Maps finally added Waze-style reporting for incidents along the road, but some argue they’re more of a safety hazard than anything else. What do you think?
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Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag has been a steady option for item tracking, often working better than Google’s Find My Device network despite being exclusive to Samsung Galaxy devices and not working on other Android phones. But, now, an app exists – for now – to allow users to use a Galaxy SmartTag with other Android phones.
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While Motorola is still building on 2024’s Razr foldables, the company is also gearing up to launch Motorola Razr+ (2025), and the first images have now arrived.
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As rumors swirl around smaller phones coming from Oppo and OnePlus, new details regarding the Find X8 Mini are surfacing, including a potential release date.
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Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge is reportedly incredibly thin, but it’s also apparently quite light in weight despite its large screen size.
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The latest wireless Android Auto adapter, AAWireless TWO, has been out of stock at Amazon for weeks at this point, but you can once again finally purchase the device through another portal.
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Google’s Pixel 9a is reportedly coming out soon, and now we’re getting the best look yet at the updated design as well as the full set of colors.
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“That’s hot.” That’s what Motorola thinks you’ll say when you see its latest Razr+ variant, as the company is teaming up with Paris Hilton to launch a vibrant new pink version of the Razr+ which will be available starting on February 13.
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Google Maps on Android Automotive OS has removed the estimated time of arrival (ETA) from the driver’s dashboard on some vehicle, but it doesn’t seem to be an update on Google’s part.
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Samsung’s latest smartphones still don’t have proper Qi2 support, but the company is selling a “Magnet” case for the Galaxy S25 series, and those cases are now finally available widely for purchase.
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The OnePlus Watch 2 was excellent, but an annoying aspect of the hardware was that the rotating crown didn’t actually work with anything in Wear OS. With the OnePlus Watch 3, the rotating crown actually works.
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Google has confirmed that Google Maps will soon rename the Gulf of Mexico and Denali mountain in Alaska as the “Gulf of America” and “Mount McKinley” in line with changes implemented by the Trump Administration, but users in the rest of the world may see two names for these locations.
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Google is rolling out the new Android Auto 13.7 update and while it doesn’t change much on the surface level, it does make some tweaks behind the scenes.
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Trade-in values have become Samsung’s biggest point of attraction for upgraders towards the latest Galaxy devices, and for the Galaxy S25, they’re better than they’ve ever been. Now that pre-orders are over, Samsung has surprisingly kept up those super-high trade-in values, while also now letting users trade in a Pixel 9 series device.
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Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge was officially revealed at last month’s big Unpacked event, but Samsung hasn’t provided many details on the device. It’s abundantly clear, though, that earlier leaks of the device were wildly incorrect, as not only is the design drastically different, but the Galaxy S25 Edge is much thinner than first anticipated.
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After drip-feeding teasers and details over the past few weeks, Oppo has peeled back the curtain to fully reveal the design of the Find N5 foldable, while new leaks offer a look at the rest of the spec sheet.
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Through early leaks of the Pixel 9a’s design, it’s been obvious that Google is making a big change to its well-known camera bar and, now, the latest leaks show off the case which all but confirms the removal of the recognizable design element.
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Following some leaks and rumors, it’s now official. The OnePlus Watch 3 is launching on February 18 with an updated design, even better battery life, and continued Wear OS support.
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Tubi is the easiest way to watch this year’s Super Bowl for free, but many users are running into Chromecast issues, not to the fault of Google’s services, though.
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Earlier this week Apple released its latest app, Apple Invites, as a clever combination of iCloud services for digital event invitations. Apple Invites is a great idea, but one that I can’t help but feel like, with products like Calendar, Gmail, and Photos at the ready, Google could have done better.
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Android may soon pick up a new option to send a notification to users after an automatic time zone change update.
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Following the brief ban of TikTok in the United States, the popular app is now available for direct download as an APK while it remains blocked from the Google Play Store.
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A leaked roadmap offers insight into OnePlus’ upcoming releases, including the OnePlus “13T” which is reportedly the name of the brand’s “Mini” smartphone.
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It’s rumored that OnePlus will be launching a OnePlus 13 “Mini” sometime this year with a smaller display, but it apparently won’t give up too much in the camera department with the latest reports claiming a 50MP primary sensor as its main camera.
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