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 capped its Unpacked event today with a teaser for its upcoming thin smartphone, the Galaxy S25 Edge. At the San Jose event, we were able to get a quick look at the Galaxy S25 Edge, including a few details about the device.
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Samsung has just officially teased its upcoming “Galaxy S25 Edge,” with the thinner smartphone coming later this year.
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With its One UI 7 update, Samsung is adding support for “Live Notifications” and the “Now Bar,” the company’s take on the “Live Activities” functionality Apple has been building out on iPhone for a while. With the Galaxy S25 now official, Samsung is confirming additional support for apps including Google Maps.
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Qi2 is finally happening. Two years after it was announced, Samsung is adopting the latest Qi2 standard in the Galaxy S25 series, but it’s not in the way you probably hoped, and you’re going to run into an immediate problem with existing accessories.
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Samsung just announced the Galaxy S25 series and, ahead of that, we’ve had a chance to try out the new devices. At a glance, they look pretty familiar but, on closer inspection… they still look pretty familiar. Here’s everything we found new with the hardware.
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Samsung is launching its new Galaxy S25 series this week, with the trio of new devices not bringing all that many hardware upgrades, but leaning even heavier into AI features, all with the same pricing.
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A lack of wireless charging was a significant downside of the OnePlus Open, and it’s now been confirmed that the Oppo Find N5, the base of the OnePlus Open 2, will add support for Qi charging.
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Samsung confirmed months ago that its Android 15 update, One UI 7, would be launching with “upcoming” Galaxy S devices in 2025. Now, just a day ahead of its big Galaxy S25 launch event, Samsung is saying that yet again.
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For many YouTube TV viewers on Roku, a problem with fast-forwarding while watching DVR recordings is causing playback problems as the content is left frozen.
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Thanks to its new lease on life, the Pixel 7 Pro is once again a device worth considering, and an ongoing offer to kick off 2025 is worth a look.
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One place where foldables have often lacked is when it comes to water and dust resistance. While no one has figured out a really good solution for dust, Oppo is teasing that the Find N5 and OnePlus Open 2 will have stellar water resistance.
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A strange issue with the Disney+ app on the Google TV Streamer is causing video playback to fail, and there’s no apparent fix.
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While Samsung’s foldable outlook for 2025 is a bit murky, the company is reportedly giving it a strong shot with four foldables in the works including its first “tri-fold” device.
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In the wake of TikTok’s (brief) shutdown over the weekend, Instagram lead Adam Mosseri announced a new “Edits” app coming soon which could serve as an alternative to CapCut on iOS and Android, another ByteDance app that remains banned.
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One of the chief complaints among early foldables has been how thick the hardware is, and it’s been a major focus for manufacturers. With new images of the upcoming Oppo Find N5 and OnePlus Open 2, new records are being teased, and it reveals a device that’s truly jaw-droppingly thin.
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Fingerprint and face unlock are an expected, and crucial part of our modern devices, but after spending some time with the OnePlus 13, I’m reminded of a couple of annoying quirks that OnePlus still needs to address.
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TikTok has posted a shutdown notice in its Android and iOS apps this evening, as the wildly popular social media app faces a US ban that takes effect on January 19.
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AI is a central focus of Samsung’s smartphone efforts nowadays, and the company is partnering closely with Google to leverage Gemini on Galaxy devices. According to a new leak, Gemini may be able to tap into Samsung’s core apps on the Galaxy S25 series including Samsung Notes and more.
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OnePlus has always hinged its devices on value, and that’s been no more true than with the “R” series. Last year’s OnePlus 12R set the tone for the company’s revived “Flagship Killer,” and the new OnePlus 13R continues that with a remarkably solid package that goes up against the base Pixel 9 in a few key ways, but might appeal to a different customer.
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Honey is a widely used browser extension that promises to save users money by hunting down coupon codes. It doesn’t really do that, though, as it was exposed for shady tactics in December. But, despite the blowback, Honey has actually added more users, growing back to 18 million on Chrome alone.
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Wrapping up its Android 15 rollout, Nothing is now rolling out Android 15 to the CMF Phone 1.
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If you’ve ever owned a Galaxy device, you’ve likely heard Samsung’s “Over the Horizon” song as a part of the default ringtone on your device. For 2025 and just in time for the Galaxy S25 launch, Samsung is giving “Over the Horizon” a jazzy reimagining.
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Multitasking on Android has been around for ages, but it hasn’t changed much in a long time. Whether on a phone, a foldable, or a full-size tablet, Android technically only supports running two apps at once unless a skin adds additional functionality. For Android 16, it seems Google is working on a revamp for split-screen mode with support for up to 3 apps at once on tablet displays.
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The Nothing Phone (1) just picked up its stable Android 15 release, which is very likely the phone’s final major Android update.
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