Expert Evaluation: The How-To Geek Guide to Thoroughly Assessing Tech Gadgets

How-To Geek’s product reviews and recommendations come from the same team of experts who have helped hundreds of millions of people fix their gadgets for the past 15+ years. Each has spent years assessing the latest technology trends and can fairly evaluate a device against the competition.

Our team goes hands-on with every product we review, with most also spending time at How-To Geek’s testing lab and office in Virginia. We benchmark everything from the CPU in the latest Windows laptop to the battery life in the newest wireless earbuds. We also use the opportunity to capture pictures and videos in our in-house photo studio, allowing readers to see the device from every angle.

Products only stay in our office briefly, though, as our reviewers take them out into the real world and use them just like you would. They write up their findings only after extensive testing in the reviewers’ homes and daily lives.

When the review is complete, the unit is either returned to the company or PR agency that lent it to How-To Geek or stored in Valnet’s Virginia office for long-term testing. Having the device on hand allows our editorial teams to directly compare it to similar products and share additional content on various social media channels.

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

If a company doesn’t want its product back after a given amount of time, How-To Geek donates it to a local charity.

We do not allow companies to sponsor or offer compensation for reviews. Reviews are written independently, and brands have no say in the content of our reviews. We may earn a commission if you click an affiliate link and purchase a product, but our editorial team chooses all our product recommendations independently without considering affiliate relationships.

How We Score Reviews

How-To Geek rates products on a 10-point scale. Reviews are always somewhat subjective, but the editorial team combines the writer’s experience and testing with benchmarks, pricing, and product comparisons to give each item a fair score.

Here’s what our numerical review scores translate to:

Does Not Work
Barely Functional
Severely Lacking in Most Areas
Functions, but Has Numerous Issues
Fine, Yet Leave a Lot to Be Desired
Good Enough to Buy on Sale
Great and Worth Purchasing
Fantastic, Approaching Best-in-Class
Best-in-Class
Borderline Perfection

In very rare cases, How-To Geek might adjust a review’s rating—positively or negatively—due to changes that take place after the review is published. We will always include an update note at the top of the review explaining that a change has been made and why we believe the score needs to be modified.

Staff Pick

How-To Geek evaluates hundreds of devices yearly, many of which are great gadgets. The Staff Pick badge signifies that the product is great and worth purchasing. Reviews with a score of 7 or higher typically qualify for a Staff Pick award.

Past recipients of the Staff Pick award include:

How-To Geek Recommended

The Recommended badge is the How-To Geek stamp of approval on a product. Based on our testing, the device is fantastic, and we have no hesitation in recommending it. Products that receive a score of 8 or higher typically qualify for a Recommended award.

A handful of award recipients are listed below:

Editor’s Choice

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How-To Geek awards its Editor’s Choice designation to products that are the best in their category. These devices are worth purchasing and beat out their closest competitors in terms of functionality, ease of use, and overall quality. The Editor’s Choice recommendation is much more selective and is voted on by multiple editorial team members.

Below are several products that received an Editor’s Choice award:

Best Of

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The How-To Geek Buying Guides team works hand-in-hand with the Reviews Department, utilizing hands-on experience and product comparisons to provide the best buying advice. Whether you’re looking for a new Android smartphone , VPN service , Wi-Fi router , or smart light bulb , our buying guides are expertly researched to help you make the best purchase. Each item that gets selected receives a Best Of award.

If you have questions about Valnet’s reviews program, please email us at [email protected]. For licensing inquiries regarding review awards, please contact [email protected].

Hardware Reviews

Expert Evaluation: The How-To Geek Guide to Thoroughly Assessing Tech Gadgets