Ben Schoon, Senior Editor at 9to5Google, used his Oct. 25 Weekender newsletter column to ask readers a simple question: what tech is actually making them happy right now. The piece grew out of his recent hands-on time with Google’s new Googlebook platform, the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max, and a Mac Mini he bought for himself.
Key points
- Ben Schoon, Senior Editor at 9to5Google, wrote a Weekender column published Oct. 25, 2026 questioning what tech is making people happy.
- Schoon says Googlebook is the first major launch in his 10-plus years covering tech where he could not find an upside, even after testing the HP Googlebook 14.
- He argues Googlebook offers less capability than competing platforms while asking more of customers at a financially strained time.
- Schoon calls the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max a great phone he plans to keep using, but describes it as obscenely expensive.
- A companion Inbox newsletter entry argued every Googlebook laptop is priced roughly $300 too high.
The question matters because, as Schoon puts it, tech right now sits in an odd spot. There is no shortage of new hardware and fast-moving AI development, but much of that progress arrives alongside growing unease about what today’s technology is doing to everyday life. His column is less a product review than a gut check on which devices still deliver real value.
Googlebook Leaves Schoon Without An Upside
Schoon writes that Googlebook is the first major launch in his more than 10 years covering the industry that left him unable to identify a clear benefit, even after spending time reviewing the HP Googlebook 14, which he otherwise calls an excellent piece of hardware. His problem isn’t with the build quality of the laptop itself but with the platform running on it.
He describes Googlebook as less capable than rival platforms while simultaneously asking more of customers, at a moment when many people’s budgets and patience are already stretched thin. A companion Inbox newsletter entry, part of the same 9to5Google publishing effort, backs up that critique with a pricing argument: it says every Googlebook laptop currently on the market is priced roughly $300 too high for what it delivers.
A Pricey Phone That Still Impresses
Schoon’s experience with the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max reads differently. He calls it a great smartphone, one he expects to keep using after his review period ends, which is a notable endorsement from someone who tests devices for a living.
His main complaint is the price. He describes the Find X10 Pro Max as obscenely expensive, though he’s careful to note that isn’t entirely Oppo’s doing. The remark points to broader cost pressures across the premium smartphone market rather than a knock on the phone’s design or performance specifically.
Context From Google’s Laptop Push
Schoon’s skepticism toward Googlebook isn’t new. In an earlier Weekender column, he wrote that Google hadn’t given a convincing reason for these laptops to exist in the first place, and that he remained unconvinced by the concept well before this latest round of testing.
That earlier doubt, paired with his hands-on time with the HP Googlebook 14, forms the backbone of his current argument: a well-built laptop can still fall short if the software running it doesn’t pull its weight against competing platforms.
Part Of A Running Sunday Conversation
Weekender is a recurring Sunday column from 9to5Google, written by Schoon as part of a free newsletter that also includes Inbox, a twice-weekly roundup from Daniel Bader covering key stories from around the web. Readers can sign up for the newsletter to get Weekender every Sunday alongside Inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Past Weekender entries have tackled similar reader-facing questions, including an August column on what people wanted from the next Pixel lineup. This latest installment keeps that format, pairing Schoon’s own device experiences with an open question to readers about where they’re still finding satisfaction in tech.
