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
If you live in an area with poor internet infrastructure, downloading content for offline use is a crucial feature. Now, Netflix is enhancing its offline option with the ability for users to watch TV shows and movies before they’ve completely finished downloading.
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After rolling out the features on Android in recent months, Google Photos on iOS is getting an editing overhaul this week.
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After teasing it for a few months, HBO Max has just debuted its more affordable, ad-supported streaming tier that costs $9.99 per month.
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After arriving on Chromecast with Google TV earlier this year, Apple TV is further expanding its reach on Android TV devices. Starting today, Apple TV is available on Nvidia Shield.
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About a year after its release last July, NBC is finally adding support for a basic feature on its streaming platform. Today, Peacock is adding support for profiles on Android and iOS among other platforms.
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After years of customers complaining that the Snapchat app on Android was inferior to the iOS version, the company rebuilt it from scratch as an “investment.” As it turns out, that investment has paid off in a big way, with the new Snapchat app leading to a huge boost in Android users.
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After Google started rolling out FLoC to some Chrome users as a replacement for third-party cookies, the technology has become rather controversial. Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, and Mozilla Firefox have confirmed they don’t have immediate plans to adopt FLoC.
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In an outage that’s affected many over the past 30 minutes or so, major products from Facebook including Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and the giant social network have gone down.
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One of the most popular games in the world has been Psyonix’s Rocket League, and under the umbrella of Epic Games, the game is expanding to new platforms. Later this year, “Rocket League Sideswipe” will arrive on Android and iOS devices.
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A year after its debut, Nvidia is raising the cost of its GeForce Now cloud gaming platform. Starting today, the GeForce Now “priority” tier will cost users $10 per month, double the entry price.
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A few months after its debut, the new Chromecast with Google TV picked up support for Apple TV last week. An added bonus? Apple TV for Chromecast can be controlled by Google Assistant speakers and smart displays.
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One of the most attractive features of the popular password manager LastPass is that, if you choose to, you can use it pretty effectively without paying a dime. That comes to an end in March, as LastPass has just announced that its free tier will be restricted to only one device type starting next month.
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Game streaming has opened a world of possibilities for new devices to get in on high-end games, regardless of what device they own. While Apple’s new M1 Macs are more than capable of playing high-end games, not many are optimized. That’s why it’s great news that Nvidia has added official support for M1 Macs on GeForce Now.
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In an effort to bring all of your messaging apps into a single place, Beeper does the heavy lifting and can even bring iMessage to Android and Windows.
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The world was less than shocked when Apple confirmed that its iPhone 12 series would ship without a charging brick in the box, but some Android OEMs didn’t waste a second before gloating about the fact that their phones do include chargers — and much better ones than Apple ever did, at that. Now, Samsung is backtracking by deleting a post making fun of Apple regarding the charger removal.
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Spotify is debuting a new feature for playlists this week — the ability to set custom cover images from your Android or iOS smartphone using the official mobile app.
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Apple Music hit the scene a few years back, and in the time since, has become a huge competitor in the streaming market. Now, Google Assistant speakers are adding full support for Apple Music.
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Google’s Waze platform arrived on Apple CarPlay in 2018, and now it’s about to adopt one of Apple’s latest features. It appears that Waze will soon support CarPlay’s dashboard mode.
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Cloud streaming might end up being the next big thing in gaming, but Apple has been strict when it comes to allowing services such as Microsoft xCloud and Google Stadia on the App Store. Today, Nvidia GeForce Now is launching iPhone and iPad by bypassing the App Store altogether with a web experience.
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Computer monitors are usually just displays for a connected device, but following in the footsteps of its TVs, Samsung is releasing a new Smart Monitor that packs native apps, Apple AirPlay 2, and support for the Samsung DeX platform.
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One of the biggest names in the smart home game is Amazon-owned Ring. The brand’s video doorbells are also widely used, but now a Ring doorbell recall has been issued over some units catching fire.
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Apple TV+ has been around for nearly a year at this point and, back at the service’s launch, the Apple TV app was confirmed to be coming to Sony’s Android TV models. Following a false start earlier this year, that app is finally available starting today.
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Google Stadia delivers one of the best game streaming experiences out there today, but like GeForce Now and Xbox Game Pass, Apple makes it extraordinarily difficult to get Stadia into the App Store. Luckily, there might be a way through the web. Thanks to a custom browser app, you can get Stadia up and running on iOS in a matter of minutes.
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Just a few months after T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint closed, Verizon has a big announcement of its own. Verizon, the nation’s largest carrier, today announced that it would acquire the largest MVNO in the US, Tracfone, in a deal worth over $6 billion.
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