We pride ourselves on our independence and rigorous testing process, providing long-term attention to the products we review and ensuring that our reviews are constantly updated and maintained, regardless of when a product is released. device, if you can still buy it. , it’s on our radar.
We’ve assembled a global team of some of the best tech journalists on the planet, who are not only experts in their field, but are the same people we write our reviews for: those who want to know and use the latest and greatest technology. . .
Our editorial independence is backed by the clout of the UK’s largest technology publisher, Future Publishing, which means we can tell you what we think about a product, without fear or preference.
Our opinions guarantee
Here is our promise:
- We do not take payment for product reviews. Already.
- We select products for review based on what we think our readers would like to know.
- We’ll tell you what we think, not what advertisers want you to hear.
- We say it as we see it. Our expert reviewers love technology and want you to love it too. If it’s garbage, we’ll let you know.
- If a product doesn’t meet our high standards, we’ll tell you why.
- We will test products in real life, with a minimum acceptable number of test days required before writing our reviews to ensure that each product is thoroughly tested.
- If you think we’re not keeping our promise, please email the editor and we’ll work to put it right.
Our review rating system
We use a familiar five-star rating system, to keep things recognizable and simple: the more stars, the better.
We rate our products on a number of criteria based on the specific attributes of a product type, and add a score out of 5 for each:
Design – What does the product look like? Is it well built or cheap to the touch?
Features – Does it have the features and functionality we expect/want?
Usability – Is it easy to use and get the most out of it? Are the controls in the right place and is the interface logical?
Performance – How well does the product work? Are all features working as they should?
Value – Is the introductory price a good value for money compared to the other criteria?
Overall review ratings
Our exam prices
TechRadar has four product awards:
Great Value Award
The Great Value award is given to products that represent excellent value for money and are therefore worthy of consideration. This award is not given in conjunction with an Editor’s Choice or Best in Class award, as excellent value for money is part of the criteria for these awards.
Recommended reward
A product that scores 4 or more stars may be considered for the Recommended award. Although the product may be lacking in some areas not to give it five stars, it still demonstrates sufficient quality to be recommended without reservation.
Editor’s Choice Award
The Editor’s Choice award is given to any product that earns a 5-star TechRadar review under our Rating Guarantee.
Best in Class Award
This award is given to the best product in any major review category.
Our practical advice
We title two different types of articles with the word “review” – “how-to reviews” and “full product reviews”. It is important to distinguish them.
“Hands-on reviews” are a reporter’s first impressions of a technology based on spending time with it. This can last a few moments or a few hours. The important thing is that we were able to play with ourselves and can give you an idea of what it’s like to use it, even if it is only an embryonic vision.
We use the word “review” here partly because we’re giving an actual opinion based on its usage, and partly because readers are increasingly using the word “review” in Google searches when looking for those early reviews. on a product.
However, how-to reviews are not the same as full product reviews. Our full product reviews are always based on the finished product, which has been thoroughly tested and compared and will always contain a full verdict and score.
Our reviews
Our examiners are specialists, each with expertise in a particular technology. We combine the expertise of our network of specialist websites and magazines and our own TechRadar review team.
Specialized know-how
Because our editors are specialists, they are constantly in contact with the communities on which they report. This means that our experts are able to rate the products against others of the same type. TechRadar commissions our reviews directly from these experts, our own team of writers, and other experts as needed.
This means that if you see a review of a home theater system, you know it was reviewed by a home theater expert, not a mobile phone expert.
How we test
We pride ourselves on our independence and rigorous testing process, providing long-term attention to the products we review and ensuring that our reviews are constantly updated and maintained, regardless of when a product is released. device, if you can still buy it. , it’s on our radar.
We emphasize real-world testing rather than labs because that’s where the products are used. However, we compare each product that sells based on specific performance indicators.
Learn more about our testing procedures: