Why we test on old phones too

It's easy to review a game on the newest, fastest phone and call everything smooth. But that's not the phone most people are holding. So we always run our tests on an older device alongside the newer one.

The difference can be huge. A game that flies on new hardware can stutter, load slowly, or heat up badly on a phone that's two or three years old. That's exactly the information you actually need before you download.

We note when a game is clearly built for high-end devices and when it scales down gracefully. Some studios put real work into making things run everywhere, and they deserve credit for it.

So when you read a rating here, know that it's factoring in more than a perfect scenario. If a game only shines on top hardware, we'll say so plainly.