Why we test everything on an old phone

Every review here gets at least one session on a battered mid-range phone that's a few years old. It's not nostalgia — it's the reality most players live in. Reviews written only on flagship hardware quietly lie about performance.

We've caught plenty of problems this way: stutters in strategy games with lots of units, battery-draining effects, menus that lag on touch. A game that runs flawlessly on top-tier silicon can be miserable elsewhere.

This is why our performance notes sometimes disagree with other sites. When we say a game runs smoothly, we mean on hardware you probably actually own, not just the newest model.

Developers who optimize for the middle of the market earn our respect fast. It's harder work, and it shows care for the whole audience rather than the lucky few.