Device reviews and tests have always been a core part of Xataka On’s content. We thoroughly test products that we believe will interest our audience and provide an honest and realistic assessment of our experience with each product.
At Xataka On, we don’t accept payment from brands to write reviews. This means that reviews can’t be purchased, and we don’t accept products in exchange for writing a review. The editorial team evaluates all review requests based on the product’s relevance and the availability of our reporters. Moreover, the content of the reviews is solely determined by our editorial team.
The Role of Companies and Brands in Our Reviews
At Xataka On, there are two ways we obtain products to review:
A brand offers us a product to test.
Our team requests a product for review.
Most of the time, brands send us the products and take care of shipping and collection. Occasionally, however, we purchase the device ourselves, or one of our reporters analyzes a product that they have purchased for personal use. We always disclose how we obtained the product at the end of each review.
After we finish reviewing a product, we ask the brand to pick it up. However, in some cases, brands choose not to collect the products due to concerns about hygiene or because it’s not cost-effective for them. In those cases, we store the products for future testing.
Brands have no control over our reviews and don’t see them before publication.
We also don’t accept products that we don’t intend to write about or review. For more details about our policy on product reviews and gifts, please refer to our Corporate Relations Policy.
Embargoes
At times, brands give us the opportunity to try out their products before they’re officially announced. In such cases, they set a specific embargo date for when we can publish the review. Therefore, it’s possible that we may have a review ready for a device as soon as it’s announced. This doesn’t mean we only tested it for a few minutes. Rather, it indicates that we had access to the device before the official announcement and had enough time to test and analyze it thoroughly.
At Xataka On, we accept embargoes and work with them as long as the brand setting the embargo doesn’t impose any additional conditions, and as long as we have enough time to do our work properly. We’ll never rush to publish an incomplete review just to meet the embargo date.
Types of Testing: Reviews, First Impressions, Comparisons, and Testing Guides
At Xataka On, we publish four types of articles based on product testing:
Reviews: These are detailed tests that last several days and cover all aspects of a product. These are reviews in a standard format, although they evolve over time depending on the type of product and its new features.
First impressions: These are quick, hands-on tests that evaluate aspects such as design and user experience. They don’t cover general performance or battery life. For instance, when we have a chance to use a device briefly at an event, we publish a first impressions article instead of a full review.
Comparisons: These involve testing multiple devices in order to assess their performance in various scenarios. For instance, we may compare the cameras in different smartphones by putting them in identical conditions.
Testing guides: We conduct thorough tests on the most significant devices to determine the best product in each category. As these guides are regularly updated, all products undergo the same tests, and we adjust the “winner” and other contents of the article as needed.
How We Test Products (in General)
When testing products, we conduct both normal (how the average user would use it) and exhaustive use (to test its limitations) evaluations to thoroughly understand their capabilities.
Each review includes detailed descriptions of the tests performed and their outcomes. These tests fall into two categories: Objective tests or benchmarks that measure and evaluate numerical results, and more “subjective” tests based on the reporter’s personal experience with the product.
For example, we may measure a phone’s performance using benchmarks, but we also consider its design and ergonomics. While there are standard tests for objective evaluations, the subjective aspects are evaluated based on the reporter’s experience.
Our reporters are specialized in one or more product categories, which helps us more effectively assess objective and subjective tests. This also allows us to determine whether a device’s new features and changes are successful.
How We Test Phones
When evaluating smartphones, we focus on the following key aspects:
Design: We assess the materials used and how they relate to the phone’s price range. We also consider the ergonomic experience, such as comfort, resistance to dirt, and whether it meets expectations for its price range.
Display: Our reviews include resolution, maximum brightness, refresh rates (based on the specs), and implemented technologies. We also share our own experience while using the screen, including factors like comfort, curvatures, viewing angles, and touchscreen responsiveness.
Performance: We utilize benchmarks for an objective assessment of CPU and GPU performance. Instead of relying on random tests, we carefully select specific tests to measure performance. We also provide a subjective evaluation of the phone’s real-world performance, illustrating how the benchmark numbers translate to actual use.
Software: We evaluate whether the system is feature-rich and up to date, whether it provides value compared to others, and whether it’s stable or not.
Battery: We measure screen usage time, overall usage time (24 hours, two days, etc.), and charge time. We also consider wireless charging technologies and reversible wireless charging, among other aspects.
Cameras: We assess the camera app experience in terms of functionality and speed, including integrated AI functions such as Google Lens. We aim to evaluate the results in various photographic scenarios objectively, considering details, noise, image artifacts, and distortions.
These are the main areas we cover when we test phones. However, we adjust the evaluation criteria for phones with special features (e.g., folding phones or gaming phones) and conduct specific tests tailored to those unique attributes.
Ratings
In some product categories, we provide an overall score from 0 to 10 in reviews. This rating is an average of the scores given in different sections such as design, screen, performance, cameras, software, and battery, which are detailed at the end of each article.
When reviewing phones, for example, we consider these areas. The reporter who reviews the device proposes the scores, which are then reviewed by at least one other expert reporter or editor in the same product category. We make sure that all ratings are consistent and logical within each category.
When providing ratings, we don’t consider the price of the device. We feel it’s most helpful for the reader if we only rate the quality of the product. Based on our provided information, it’s up to the reader to decide whether a device is expensive or inexpensive.
Additionally, the ratings for each device should be seen as an assessment of the device at the time the review was conducted. In other words, a product with certain features that gets a score of “X” today could receive a lower grade if the review is conducted a year from now.
This means that what is considered an 8/10 today might be a 7/10 in the future, due to changes and advancements in each product category. Products and their specifications are constantly evolving, or else we would already have products with scores of 40 or 50!
Affiliation and Purchase Links
Product reviews and tests may contain purchase links. If a reader makes a purchase through these links, Webedia may earn a small commission.
The editorial team responsible for reviews operates independently from each publication’s e-commerce team. The editorial team is solely responsible for determining which products to review, the content of the reviews, and the conclusions drawn.
Suggestions
Do you enjoy reading and want to recommend a device for us to review, or do you have a suggestion regarding our reviews? You can get in touch with us by using our contact form.
Are you a brand looking to have your product tested? Please reach out to us at press@xatakaon.com.
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More information
Xataka On Reviews Policy
Device Reviews
Device reviews and tests have always been a core part of Xataka On’s content. We thoroughly test products that we believe will interest our audience and provide an honest and realistic assessment of our experience with each product.
At Xataka On, we don’t accept payment from brands to write reviews. This means that reviews can’t be purchased, and we don’t accept products in exchange for writing a review. The editorial team evaluates all review requests based on the product’s relevance and the availability of our reporters. Moreover, the content of the reviews is solely determined by our editorial team.
The Role of Companies and Brands in Our Reviews
At Xataka On, there are two ways we obtain products to review:
Most of the time, brands send us the products and take care of shipping and collection. Occasionally, however, we purchase the device ourselves, or one of our reporters analyzes a product that they have purchased for personal use. We always disclose how we obtained the product at the end of each review.
After we finish reviewing a product, we ask the brand to pick it up. However, in some cases, brands choose not to collect the products due to concerns about hygiene or because it’s not cost-effective for them. In those cases, we store the products for future testing.
Brands have no control over our reviews and don’t see them before publication.
We also don’t accept products that we don’t intend to write about or review. For more details about our policy on product reviews and gifts, please refer to our Corporate Relations Policy.
Embargoes
At times, brands give us the opportunity to try out their products before they’re officially announced. In such cases, they set a specific embargo date for when we can publish the review. Therefore, it’s possible that we may have a review ready for a device as soon as it’s announced. This doesn’t mean we only tested it for a few minutes. Rather, it indicates that we had access to the device before the official announcement and had enough time to test and analyze it thoroughly.
At Xataka On, we accept embargoes and work with them as long as the brand setting the embargo doesn’t impose any additional conditions, and as long as we have enough time to do our work properly. We’ll never rush to publish an incomplete review just to meet the embargo date.
Types of Testing: Reviews, First Impressions, Comparisons, and Testing Guides
At Xataka On, we publish four types of articles based on product testing:
How We Test Products (in General)
When testing products, we conduct both normal (how the average user would use it) and exhaustive use (to test its limitations) evaluations to thoroughly understand their capabilities.
Each review includes detailed descriptions of the tests performed and their outcomes. These tests fall into two categories: Objective tests or benchmarks that measure and evaluate numerical results, and more “subjective” tests based on the reporter’s personal experience with the product.
For example, we may measure a phone’s performance using benchmarks, but we also consider its design and ergonomics. While there are standard tests for objective evaluations, the subjective aspects are evaluated based on the reporter’s experience.
Our reporters are specialized in one or more product categories, which helps us more effectively assess objective and subjective tests. This also allows us to determine whether a device’s new features and changes are successful.
How We Test Phones
When evaluating smartphones, we focus on the following key aspects:
These are the main areas we cover when we test phones. However, we adjust the evaluation criteria for phones with special features (e.g., folding phones or gaming phones) and conduct specific tests tailored to those unique attributes.
Ratings
In some product categories, we provide an overall score from 0 to 10 in reviews. This rating is an average of the scores given in different sections such as design, screen, performance, cameras, software, and battery, which are detailed at the end of each article.
When reviewing phones, for example, we consider these areas. The reporter who reviews the device proposes the scores, which are then reviewed by at least one other expert reporter or editor in the same product category. We make sure that all ratings are consistent and logical within each category.
When providing ratings, we don’t consider the price of the device. We feel it’s most helpful for the reader if we only rate the quality of the product. Based on our provided information, it’s up to the reader to decide whether a device is expensive or inexpensive.
Additionally, the ratings for each device should be seen as an assessment of the device at the time the review was conducted. In other words, a product with certain features that gets a score of “X” today could receive a lower grade if the review is conducted a year from now.
This means that what is considered an 8/10 today might be a 7/10 in the future, due to changes and advancements in each product category. Products and their specifications are constantly evolving, or else we would already have products with scores of 40 or 50!
Affiliation and Purchase Links
Product reviews and tests may contain purchase links. If a reader makes a purchase through these links, Webedia may earn a small commission.
The editorial team responsible for reviews operates independently from each publication’s e-commerce team. The editorial team is solely responsible for determining which products to review, the content of the reviews, and the conclusions drawn.
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