Inspired by a recent story about Wired "Not Recommending" AirGradient monitor: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44810574
I own two devices from AirGradient and, based on my research, it seemed like one of the best options available. Open-source software and hardware, repairable, no vendor lock-in and most importantly: seems the company is constantly improving and researching air quality-related topics (https://www.airgradient.com/research/). I have been very happy with them (>2 years). If I just based my purchase on Wired's review, I could have completely dismissed it.
This made me think of all the "work" that needs to be done nowadays to filter out AI-generated reviews, fake bot ones on Amazon, on retail sites, actual journalists writing reviews under strict deadlines and pressure from manufacturers, reviews based on one day with the device, or just straight up reading what the manufacturer's PR department sent, etc.
So, who do you trust for product reviews? What are the sources that you look at first?
I'll start with some that come from the top of my head (I'm sure I'm missing some, as they often are only needed when needing to make a specific purchase, like RTINGS for monitors):
- Project Farm (https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm) seems pretty objective and buys all products himself based on community suggestions. I feel like the testing does not cover all aspects of actually using the tool (long term issues/quirks, durability, warranty, support, etc.), but it definitely feels like a good start to look at options.
- The Car Care Nut Reviews (https://www.youtube.com/@TheCarCareNutReviews) - an actual mechanic reviewing cars (his main channel is great too). Without the negativity, but also seems quite honest. Specializes in Toyotas, but happy to point out flaws and issues in them, while praising when other manufacturers do something right.
- Reddit (or other even more specialized forums for a given topic like https://www.snbforums.com/ for networking/routers, etc.) - to try to get opinions from real users. Ideally after they've used the product for some time. Good source of tips and tricks (including alternative firmware, etc. that "mainstream" reviewers don't even mention).
- RTINGS (https://www.rtings.com/monitor) for monitors. They have a big selection, consistent testing and they go deep into the details.
What are your favorites? What's your process for researching before buying a product you care about? Maybe there's an `awesome` GitHub repository somewhere with HN-community suggested reviewers :D
I trust people I know for product reviews, because I know what their biases and tastes are. I've found that no other sources of reviews are reliable enough to give any weight to.
I own two devices from AirGradient and, based on my research, it seemed like one of the best options available. Open-source software and hardware, repairable, no vendor lock-in and most importantly: seems the company is constantly improving and researching air quality-related topics (https://www.airgradient.com/research/). I have been very happy with them (>2 years). If I just based my purchase on Wired's review, I could have completely dismissed it.
This made me think of all the "work" that needs to be done nowadays to filter out AI-generated reviews, fake bot ones on Amazon, on retail sites, actual journalists writing reviews under strict deadlines and pressure from manufacturers, reviews based on one day with the device, or just straight up reading what the manufacturer's PR department sent, etc.
So, who do you trust for product reviews? What are the sources that you look at first?
I'll start with some that come from the top of my head (I'm sure I'm missing some, as they often are only needed when needing to make a specific purchase, like RTINGS for monitors):
- Project Farm (https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm) seems pretty objective and buys all products himself based on community suggestions. I feel like the testing does not cover all aspects of actually using the tool (long term issues/quirks, durability, warranty, support, etc.), but it definitely feels like a good start to look at options.
- The Car Care Nut Reviews (https://www.youtube.com/@TheCarCareNutReviews) - an actual mechanic reviewing cars (his main channel is great too). Without the negativity, but also seems quite honest. Specializes in Toyotas, but happy to point out flaws and issues in them, while praising when other manufacturers do something right.
- Reddit (or other even more specialized forums for a given topic like https://www.snbforums.com/ for networking/routers, etc.) - to try to get opinions from real users. Ideally after they've used the product for some time. Good source of tips and tricks (including alternative firmware, etc. that "mainstream" reviewers don't even mention).
- RTINGS (https://www.rtings.com/monitor) for monitors. They have a big selection, consistent testing and they go deep into the details.
What are your favorites? What's your process for researching before buying a product you care about? Maybe there's an `awesome` GitHub repository somewhere with HN-community suggested reviewers :D