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: [email protected] | Encrypted Email: [email protected]
A pretty insane deal on Motorola’s mid-tier Razr+ foldable brings the cost of the usually $1,000 flip phone down to a mere $399, and it’s also perhaps the first time this particular model has been worth picking up.
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Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn’t have the best battery, nor does it have the fastest charging, but a recent experience reminded me that faster charging isn’t useful if you can’t easily use it.
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Nothing has announced a pretty major update to its Essential Space app, delivering not only a cleaner UI, but also new features, including event detection and search.
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One of the long-running best perks of Amazon Prime was access to the Prime Video library which, for years, was ad-free. That changed a few years ago, with ad-free viewing now a paid monthly add-on, and now even that is getting a price hike.
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Meta has confirmed that, soon, it will remove support for end-to-end encryption for Instagram DMs.
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Samsung has, for the past five years, been releasing essentially the same phone over and over again: a big screen, the latest Snapdragon chip, an S Pen, a 5,000 mAh battery, and the company’s best* camera setup. It’s undoubtedly attractive, and the formula clearly works. After two weeks with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, as much as I might want something more, I also can’t help but really like this phone.
But if the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, it’s time for the madness to end.
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Last month, HDR content on Disney+ was seemingly going away, but the issue has been resolved and Dolby Vision and other formats are being restored.
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Gemini has a new trick up its sleeve with agentic task automation, with the AI able to use an app on your behalf to perform certain tasks, and it’s now live on the Galaxy S26 series.
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Samsung has released a new magnetic Qi2 power bank for its Galaxy S26 series, but as per usual, you need a case to use it.
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As the smartphone market’s immediate future continues to look quite bleak, Samsung’s mobile division could apparently be facing its first-ever operating loss.
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As short-form vertical video continues to dominate the internet, Disney+ is now adding its own take on the trend with the addition of “Verts,” and there’s more in the pipeline.
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Google has started selling a couple of new Pixel accessories including a 3-in-1 charging dock for your phone, Buds, and Pixel Watch 4.
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Google says that its new 30-second ad format for YouTube is now available, but only on TVs.
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Microsoft has pretty big news coming out of the annual GDC event, including a timeline for the next-gen Xbox console, “Project Helix,” as well as a new “Xbox Mode” coming to Windows 11.
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Google is working on some behind-the-scenes changes that should make Android phones feel faster while also improving battery life.
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Samsung has officially launched its new Galaxy Book 6 series of Windows 11 laptops in the US market, with the Pro and Ultra models now on sale starting at $1,599.
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Samsung announced previously that the Galaxy S26 series would support a “Hey Plex” wake word for the Perplexity app, but this is now changing to “Hey Perplexity.”
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YouTube has hit a major milestone, with the vast depths of its content library now making it not only a behemoth, but the world’s largest media company – and it’s not close.
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Alongside the debut of its new speakers, Sonos has updated its Android app to finally revive support for the system’s built-in media player and lockscreen controls, as well as volume controls using the buttons.
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Oppo Find N6 might just be the first foldable to finally eliminate the display crease and, in its latest teasers, the company is detailing how it managed to build a crease-less foldable display.
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Following its announcement at MWC 2026 earlier this month, the Honor Magic V6 is now available in China and with an even bigger battery than the global release.
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A strange issue is hitting some early Galaxy S26 buyers, with Google Play Protect certification apparently not working out of the box and, in turn, breaking support for some apps.
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ChromeOS is a very lightweight operating system and, on top of being a solid option for low-end computers, it’s also a great way to breathe new life into an older laptop or computer. A new partnership with Google will make that process even easier with an inexpensive $3 USB stick that can inject outdated machines with ChromeOS.
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In the midst of frankly insane market conditions, Oppo and OnePlus have confirmed plans to raise prices of existing smartphones and other products starting next week.
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