Ben Schoon is a Senior Editor at 9to5Google, working for the publication as one of its primary news writers for the past 5 years. 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 lived with his wife Melissa, married in 2019.
He primarily covers Android products, including Google Pixel devices, Samsung Galaxy smartphones, as well as devices from OnePlus, Oppo, LG, 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; Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, Fitbit Versa 3, Nest Thermostat, Galaxy Z Fold 2, and Fitbit Sense.
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
Just a couple of weeks ahead of Google I/O 2021, the company has just redesigned its Android developer website, giving it a fresh coat of paint with new page layouts, colors, and more.
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It’s been just a few months since Google started rolling out homescreen ads to Android TV, and in that time, users haven’t exactly let up in showing their displeasure over the change. As it turns out, things have gotten so bad in the Play Store that the Android TV home app has dropped to an average rating of just 1 star.
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The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 series is likely only a couple of months away at this point, and as the launch gets closer, we’re learning more little tidbits about the device. This week, the model numbers for the entire lineup were uncovered and, alongside that, the size of the Galaxy Watch 4 as well.
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The OnePlus Watch launched to scathing reviews thanks to its incredibly unfinished software, but the good news is that a lot of its flaws can be fixed in updates. The bad news? OnePlus is taking its time and priorities are… questionable. Instead of fixing the countless issues that just about every user so far has encountered, the latest OnePlus Watch update is instead adding features such as an always-on-display.
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As often happens, the open-source nature of Android has just confirmed something about the next Pixel. Just like we exclusively reported last month, a Googler has strongly hinted that Pixel 6 will be using the custom Whitechapel chipset.
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In a year where the pandemic kept every product announcement online and mostly pre-recorded, it’s refreshing to see someone try something different. Earlier today Hisense unveiled its new slate of Android TV models for 2021, and it was by far the most entertaining, funniest tech event in recent memory, thanks in part to Joel McHale.
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Android tablets aren’t as relevant as they once were, but Lenovo has done a good job of at least trying to make them serve more than one purpose. After debuting Android tablets that double as Google Assistant speakers last year, Lenovo is apparently preparing to launch another tablet that supports HDMI input.
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Rocket League has been one of the biggest hits in competitive gaming in the past few years, and, wouldn’t you know it, it was acquired by the owner of the big hit in competitive gaming, Epic Games. Now, as a part of the Epic vs. Apple trial, documentation has revealed that Epic Games has plans to bring the “full game experience” of Rocket League to mobile devices, including Android.
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As smartphone cameras have improved drastically, social media hasn’t really kept up with compression on the images uploaded. Twitter, though, is opening up the floodgates by widely allowing its users to upload images in up to 4K resolution from Android smartphones.
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During the Joel McHale-hosted, best tech event of all time today, Hisense unveiled its 2021 lineup of ULED TVs, most of which are running on top of Google’s Android TV platform. Here’s what you need to know.
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Samsung has had some pretty crazy product names over the years. Who can forget the mouthful that was the Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch, or the Galaxy SII Skyrocket HD, or more recently, the Galaxy S20 FE 5G UW. Soon, it seems another slightly confusing name will be added to the list — the Galaxy Tab S7+ Lite.
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The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in huge growth for PCs and tablets as a whole, but it was Google’s Chromebook initiative that really proved to be a hit during the pandemic. According to a new report from Canalys, though, things were even better than we thought, with Chromebooks seeing 275% growth entering 2021.
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The iPad has basically taken over the entire conversation when it comes to tablets, and frankly, Google hasn’t done much to fight that battle, even throwing in the towel when it comes to self-made tablets. Today, though, Android tablets are getting a boost with a new “Entertainment Space” experience from Google similar to the “Kids Space” that launched last year.
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After news broke earlier this week that Google Stadia’s product lead John Justice left the company, it’s been revealed that more names are on their way out. Several more staff members from Google Stadia, and specifically Stadia Games & Entertainment, have left the company to join “Haven,” a Sony-backed studio by their former boss, Jade Raymond.
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We’re just two weeks away from keynote date at Google I/O 2021, and for the first time, the event will be 100% remote as a result of COVID-19. In preparation for the event, Google I/O 2021 has just picked up its own hashtag icon on Twitter.
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Samsung’s Summer event is coming together nicely with rumors and reports pinning the debuts of Galaxy Z Fold 3 and a new Z Flip, possibly new smartwatches, and also a new set of earbuds. The Galaxy Buds 2 are on the horizon, and, if the latest report works out, they’ll be available in at least four colors.
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If you’re an owner of a Nest Thermostat, you might be encountering a frustrating bug this week. It appears that some Nest Thermostat owners are losing access of their devices through the Google Home app due to an account migration issue.
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The cloud gaming market came onto the scene in a big way throughout 2019 and 2020 with the debuts of Stadia, GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, Shadow, and Microsoft xCloud, but there was one more contender that didn’t see the light of day. Walmart was working on its own cloud gaming service known as “Project Storm” that, as revealed in new court documents, would have worked a lot like GeForce Now.
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Epic Games launched Fortnite on Android in 2018 without putting the game in Google’s Play Store; you know, that place where it’s safe and easy to get apps on any Android phone. The reason was that Google, like Apple and others, takes a cut of revenue for in-app purchases on apps and games within the Play Store. As it turns out, Epic Games was considering methods of bargaining with Google about the Play Store cut that, apparently, meant Fortnite for Stadia was at one time an actual possibility.
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Star Wars Day is upon us, and to celebrate, Google has just released a new Easter egg in Search. If you hit the right page, you’ll be greeted with familiar characters and more.
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The lineup of free games on Stadia Pro was pretty weak for May, but it’s getting a big boost today. Google has just added EA’s Jedi: Fallen Order to Stadia Pro in celebration of Star Wars Day.
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Samsung’s popular mid-range Galaxy A series is responsible for some of the most successful Android smartphones in recent memory, and, as usual, more are on their way. Ahead of its formal debut, Samsung has just listed the Galaxy A82 5G on its website.
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It still feels weird to say, but Samsung is still the best of the best when it comes to Android updates nowadays, and long-term support is what really seals the deal. Tonight, though, we can pour one out for a Samsung favorite. The bearer of thin bezels is officially laid to rest as Samsung has ended Android update support for its Galaxy S8 and S8+.
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It’s been four years since the debut of Nintendo’s Switch console, a flexible device that just keeps evolving. Recently, it was highlighted that the Nintendo Joy-Con controller has a useful trick on Android devices — it can be used as a remote shutter button for the camera.
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After rolling out a redesign to the Play Store that ditched the hamburger menu, Google is testing out yet another major revamp. The Play Store is currently testing a redesigned “My Apps” section that adds an overview page with more information.
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Some Android Auto users have encountered a strange bug while using the platform recently. For reasons unclear, music playback is going on pause when opening any app on the phone that’s powering the Android Auto UI.
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Clubhouse has proven a hit on iOS, but as competition mounts for the app, its lack of an Android port has been a real problem. This week, Clubhouse officially announced a beta program for its Android app ahead of an imminent public launch.
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The big battle between Epic Games and Apple comes to a head today as the court case starts. One of Apple’s key arguments in the case is that developers have choice and can distribute “apps” for iOS through the web, but a Google engineer has recently spoken out against Apple’s practices on the web, calling iOS browsers “uniquely underpowered.”
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In lieu of a Galaxy Note release this year, Samsung’s Summer “Unpacked” event will see the debut of two new foldable smartphones. Now, we might be getting a first look at the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 design.
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Roku and Google are currently in a heated battle over YouTube TV and video standards, but as that goes on, it’s interesting to see context developing around Roku’s side. A report this week shows that the marketshare Roku holds in the global streaming market keeps falling.
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This week, Star Wars Day is upon us with sales on merch, fun experiences, and this year even a new TV show in the animated The Bad Batch Clone Wars spin-off. To celebrate May the 4th, Google TV is featuring Star Wars content left and right.
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The Honda Civic is one of the most popular mainstream cars in North America, and soon, it’ll work even better with Android phones. After adopting Android Auto in its 10th generation of the Civic, the 2022 Honda Civic will turn things up a notch with the option of wireless Android Auto, though with a slight catch.
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This week, a feud between Google and Roku boiled over to the point where the YouTube TV app was removed from the Roku platform. This story is still developing, but as it stands today, we’ve heard stories from both sides, so let’s try to summarize everything that’s happened so far.
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Apple’s AirTag launched today and is dominating news cycles, but it’s a device that only has the most limited possible functionality with Android phones. Here’s the good news, though. If you have a Samsung smartphone, you can get your own version of the AirTag in the Galaxy SmartTag+.
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Closing out the month of April, Google Stadia had a relatively exciting week with a UI revamp, some notable game updates including the Embr Premium Update, and more, though only one new game arrived on the service.
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Google’s Pixel Buds were praised when they first came out for their comfortable design, awesome features, and more. In the year since, though, they’ve also been associated with infuriating Bluetooth connection issues and other things. So are Pixel Buds actually worth buying at their current $129 price?
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Samsung is pretty good about supporting its smartphones, and arguably it’s even better when it comes to smartwatches. This week, Samsung has rolled out an update to both its 2020-released Galaxy Watch 3 and the 2018-released Galaxy Watch with some Wi-Fi and other fixes in tow.
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Cloud services have expanded pretty massively over the past few years, and game streaming has seen that boom over the past year too with products such as Google Stadia and Amazon Luna drumming up interest in the space. Shadow by Blade takes a different but useful approach to game streaming, but a boom in popularity of the service may be the company’s downfall as it’s forced Blade to file for bankruptcy due to debt.
Update 4/30: Blade has been acquired.
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We’re likely still a few months away from the debut of a successor to the Galaxy S20 FE, but fuel is being added to the fire. This week, it was spotted that Samsung’s website directly referenced the Galaxy S21 FE by name.
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An ongoing feud between Google and Roku hit a new level this morning as YouTube TV left the platform, but now Google is speaking on its side of the story, and, well, it’s clear Roku isn’t as innocent as many thought.
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Easily the best Wear OS smartwatch you can buy today is Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 3, and this week the watch is getting a fairly big update. Rolling out starting today, firmware version PYDA.200427.080.MRB.210114.001 brings a slew of enhancements including the ability to use notification sounds on TicWatch Pro 3.
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As Google tests out its replacement for third-party cookies, the Federated Learning of Cohorts, the company has faced a lot of scrutinies for the initiative. Now, some regulators in the EU are raising concerns about FLoC as well that could spell trouble for the future of Google’s initiative.
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As heated negotiations continue, the inevitable has happened. Google’s YouTube TV app has just disappeared from the Roku platform amid the ongoing dispute.
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Google Pay is a useful way to pay in stores without a physical card and to exchange funds between friends, but after being revamped in late 2020, it can do more. You can earn a lot of cashback and rewards with the new Google Pay app — here are which promos are available now and how to use them.
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Nvidia’s GeForce Now service is a great way to play games you already own from the cloud, but one of its downsides is the process of launching a game. To improve that, GeForce Now can now directly link to your Steam and Epic Games accounts and preload games too.
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Overnight, an unexpected update hit the Chromecast with Google TV, bringing better HDR controls and a new security patch. Hidden within that update, though, was a possible upcoming feature for Google TV that, when enabled, gives users a “favorite app” shortcut.
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As electric vehicles take over, charging networks are a huge priority, but in the meantime, they’re still a little difficult to find. ChargePoint is one of the largest EV charging networks in the United States and Europe, and now, they’ve added support for Google’s Android Auto platform.
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Following its launch last year, the new Google Pay app is expanding its feature set. Google Pay is getting a grocery savings section, expanded support for public transit payments, and a better look at your monthly spending.
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