Why we test games on an old phone first

Most reviews test games on the newest, fastest phone available. We think that's backwards. The majority of players are on devices that are two or three years old, and those are the phones that reveal a game's real performance.

Our oldest test device chugs on anything demanding, which is exactly why it's useful. If a game runs well there, it'll run well everywhere. If it stutters, we know to warn you.

This also catches bad battery behavior. Older batteries drain faster and heat up sooner, so problems that a flagship masks show up loud and clear.

We still test on newer hardware too, mainly to note the best-case visuals. But the verdict always weighs the older device more heavily.

It's the fairer way to review, and it's the reason our performance notes tend to be blunt. We'd rather tell you the awkward truth than the shiny one.