Why we test games on old, cheap phones on purpose

Every phone in our review drawer is at least two years old, and one of them is genuinely ancient. That is on purpose. Most people do not play games on the latest flagship, so a review based only on top-tier hardware is basically fiction for the majority of readers.

A racing game that runs at a buttery framerate on a new phone can stutter into unplayability on a mid-range one, and that stutter ruins any game built on timing. We would rather tell you the uncomfortable truth than post a glowing review that does not match your device.

We note the test hardware in most reviews for exactly this reason. If something only shines on high-end phones, we say so plainly. It is the least we can do.

So when you see a performance note here, know that it came from a phone a lot like the one in your pocket, not a review unit no one else can afford.