Ben Schoon is a Senior Editor at 9to5Google, a sister site of 9to5Mac. Ben has been 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
The rollout of Matter across Google’s ecosystem has been relatively quick, and now the company is bringing support to another device. The 2020 Nest Thermostat is adding Matter support, with the rollout starting today.
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One of the first products to hit the market with Matter support was a smart plug from TP-Link, and now the brand is introducing a new version with energy monitoring.
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It doesn’t seem like much time goes by without YouTube TV running into issues on Apple TV, and the latest update is wreaking havoc yet again, as users report crashing issues with both YouTube TV and YouTube.
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Samsung is trying out a new tactic to entice iPhone owners to give the Galaxy S23 a shot. Instead of an in-store demo or pop-up event, Samsung will let you try out the Galaxy S23 directly from an iPhone (or other device).
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If you’ve been using a Fitbit device with an older iPhone, you might be in need of an upgrade, as the fitness tracking suite now requires at least iOS 15.
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Months after launch, Twitter has now announced that the new Twitter Blue is available globally and that the company will pull checkmarks from “legacy” verified accounts on April 1.
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Apple TV users have had it a bit rough with YouTube TV as of late, but a new update is on its way that fixes a couple of long-standing issues, including HDR handling.
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For the third time in just over a month, the Fitbit app is down again today, with sleep stats and some other data not showing for many users, as well as just outright crashing on iPhones.
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Movies Anywhere has been one of the best things to happen to digital movie ownership in quite some time, allowing purchases to sync between a variety of different platforms at no cost. But this week, the Disney-owned service announced that “Screen Pass,” the feature that allowed Movies Anywhere users to share a movie with friends or family, is being shut down.
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Google-owned Waze is removing its iOS widget for the left-most homescreen, with the feature being removed in the latest updates rolling out now.
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Satellite connectivity is going to be commonplace in many future smartphones, but as of today, it’s really only in Apple’s iPhone 14 series. But for an affordable price, the Motorola Defy Satellite Link adds this valuable connectivity to existing Android and iOS smartphones via Bluetooth.
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It was only a matter of time, but it seems one Android manufacturer is just about ready to debut its clone of the iPhone 14’s Dynamic Island feature, with an upcoming Realme device adding the feature.
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YouTube TV launched a UI redesign earlier this year for all platforms, but Apple TV users were left out due to some issues. Now, YouTube TV appears to be restarting the rollout while also working to fix an ongoing crashing issue.
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Twitter’s latest move under Elon Musk is to start charging a fee for the use of SMS messages for two-factor authentication. To avoid that charge, here’s how to use Google Authenticator for Twitter two-factor authentication.
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Geekbench is getting its latest major revision, with Geekbench 6 available today for iOS, macOS, and other platforms.
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Following the launch of Matter last year, Samsung SmartThings is now expanding support for the smart home standard over to its iOS app.
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If you’re having trouble with YouTube TV on your Apple TV this week, you’re not alone. A recent update has broken the live channel guide.
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The past several weeks since Elon Musk’s takeover have seen Twitter in turmoil as rapid changes hit the platform, and tonight it appears something is going on with the Twitter API as Tweetbot and many third-party Twitter clients are down.
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Over the past several months Google has been pushing hard for Apple to adopt the RCS standard that could greatly improve messaging between Android and iOS, and at CES 2023, Google put out huge ads for Android that further pushed that campaign.
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Nvidia is bringing a big new update to its GeForce Now cloud gaming service that unlocks better streaming performance and twice the framerate for the same price. GeForce Now “Ultimate” has arrived.
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After months of negotiations, YouTube has officially landed a major deal to bring NFL Sunday Ticket games to YouTube and YouTube TV starting in 2023.
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After showing up earlier this year in a false start, the Philips Hue app seems to now be rolling out its “Natural Light” scene to more users with the ability to change the color temperature of lights in your home throughout the day.
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Recently it was revealed that Anker’s Eufy was sending data from its cameras to the cloud, despite advertising the opposite. Now, Eufy has updated its app to with a disclosure more clearly explaining that it is sending data to the cloud when certain settings are enabled.
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Home security cameras have gotten a lot better in recent years, but the security of your footage has always been a concern. Anker’s Eufy brand claims to keep data local, but a security researcher has exposed that the claim is far from true, with footage not only going to the cloud, but remaining visible even after it was supposed to be deleted.
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