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
Google Maps is said to be working on support for iOS’s Live Activities feature, just in time for the iPhone 15’s expansion of the Dynamic Island.
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RCS is available to every Android user at this point, but that hasn’t ended the messaging headaches that come from iMessage and the lack of RCS on iPhone. But now, the third-party app Beeper can support both Google Messages RCS and Apple iMessage on both Android and iPhone, all within the same app.
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If you’re experiencing issues with YouTube TV or live content on YouTube through an Apple device, you’re not alone, as Google has confirmed an ongoing issue with YouTube TV on iOS devices (both iPhone and iPad).
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Android Auto and CarPlay continue to be a huge selling point for new cars, but for years now, many Mazda cars have lacked the touchscreen needed to really enjoy those infotainment experiences. With the 2024 Mazda CX-5, a touchscreen is on the way.
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The classic retro game Space Invaders is celebrating its 45th Anniversary this year, and with that is also coming the release of a new AR title from Google and Taito which is available now on Android and iOS.
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Spotify has confirmed it is testing a new “Offline Mix” that gathers together all of your downloaded tracks into one playlist.
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The “green bubble” stigma is a very real thing and, partially, for good reason. When someone with an Android phone joins a group chat with iMessage users, it strips away a lot of useful features, but Apple is somewhat improving that in iOS 17.
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The video-sharing platform Vimeo, once considered a promising YouTube competitor, has announced this week that it will kill all of its TV apps in favor of having users cast content from their other devices.
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With an influx of Discovery content, the HBO Max we’ve come to know and maybe sort of love is set to become “Max” tomorrow, with a new app in some cases.
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Matter has the promise of finally uniting the smart home under one standard, and slowly, that promise is coming to reality. Currently, Google is rolling out an update to its Nest Thermostat that adds support for Matter and allows the thermostat to be linked with Apple HomeKit. Here’s how it works.
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After rolling out on Android last year, Google has announced that it will bring Matter support to the Google Home app on iOS soon.
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Ads make huge portions of the internet free to use while still letting creators be supported by those ads. However, there are ad blockers out there, and YouTube is now testing blocking users who have an ad blocker enabled.
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Google’s YouTube TV is rolling out several updates, including improvements to picture quality and a “major” update for Apple TV users.
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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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