We love unboxing, testing, benchmarking, and reviewing the latest and greatest Apple gear at iMore, as well as the various gadgets and software that help you make the most of your iPhones, iPads, Mac computers and more.
We take our responsibility to provide informed and accurate recommendations and reviews seriously. And to make sure we deliver on our commitment to provide reliable advice, we've built an evaluation system and associated set of review standards that all of our writers and editors follow.
Our ability to adhere to these strict standards is enabled and supported by our parent company Future PLC, one of the world's largest technology publishers, which means we have the resources and people power to take the time we need to provide advice and recommendations you can trust and rely on.
Visit our About Us page to learn more about iMore and our editorial staff.
Our reviews guarantee
iMore’s promise to you:
- We do not take payment for product reviews, ever. Our reviews always have, and always will be, based on our independent testing, free of outside influence.
- We chose products for review based on what we believe our audience is most interested in.
- Our thoughts and commentary in reviews is purely our own – no advertisers or partner brands have any say on our scoring.
- If a product isn't up to scratch, we'll tell you exactly why. We won't sugar coat problems, or mislead you. Bad reviews are just as valuable as good ones.
- We test products in the same real-world environments you would use them, and ensure each reviewer has been given ample time to thoroughly test a product before typing down their thoughts. We'll leave no stone unturned, no feature untouched.
- If you think we're not living up to this promise, please email the editor in chief and we'll aim to put it right.
We have strict processes in place to dictate how we evaluate products, and they vary based on the type of product or service. For example, a Mac requires more time and resources than an iPhone case. Two guiding principles remain true in all our reviews and recommendations: We take the time we need to get it right, no matter how long that may be; and we would never recommend a product we wouldn’t purchase and use ourselves.
Our star rating system
iMore rates the products and services we evaluate using a simple star scale, with one being the lowest rating, and five being the highest, and half marks awarded for those edge cases in between. These ratings combine objective data and performance with the subjective context of the product in its wider ecosystem, as well as the experience of the writers:
⭐ = Avoid this product
We don’t recommend spending your money.
⭐⭐ = Mediocre
We don’t recommend a purchase, but some redeeming factor kept this product from receiving one star. In some instances, a reader may consider a purchase.
⭐⭐⭐ = Average
There are reasons to avoid this product, but a reader may find enough value to justify the investment.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ = Good
Buyer's should be aware of potential concerns, but the product or service has enough redeeming qualities to earn a recommendation.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ = Superb
We recommended this product without reservations. You won't regret spending your money on a five-star iMore pick.
We also use half-star ratings to provide even more detail in our ratings, and such scores mean the products fall somewhere between the clear designations listed above.
Review awards
Best award
Products or services that win our coveted Best award are the cream of the crop, the products we'd buy ourselves and recommend to friends and family. If it bears the iMore Best badge, your money will be well spent. However, even when a product or service earns itself a Best badge, we make sure to specify any potential shortcomings or areas of concern for users.
Recommended award
iMore's Recommended award means the product is worthy of your consideration. It's a product we endorse and feel confident recommending to our readers. Recommended award winners may not be best in class, but they're reliable and deliver on their promise of quality. If it has a Recommended badge, we wouldn't hesitate to purchase it ourselves or suggest a friend consider it. Even if a product earns a Recommended badge from iMore, we always make sure to spotlight potential concerns.
Our reviewers: Specialist expertise
iMore’s seasoned team was hand-selected to ensure we maintain the quality our site was built on from day one with a wide range of expertise. We’re more than a decade old, and we’re one of the most respected Apple sites on the web for good reason.
Writing about Apple’s products and ecosystem every day, and reviewing and evaluating anything and everything that encompasses, is a privilege and a challenge, and our editorial staff know that and treat it as such. Being an iMore writer isn’t just a job, it’s a lifestyle.
Many writers and editors review products for iMore, but these staffers lead the charge.
Gerald Lynch is the Editor-in-Chief of iMore, keeping careful watch over the site's editorial output and commercial campaigns, ensuring iMore delivers the in-depth, accurate and timely Apple content its readership deservedly expects. You'll never see him without his iPad Pro, and he loves gaming sessions with his buddies via Apple Arcade on his iPhone 14 Pro, but don't expect him to play with you at home unless your Apple TV is hooked up to a 4K HDR screen and a 7.1 surround system.
Bryan Wolfe is iMore’s Mac jack of all trades. If Bryan’s not reviewing a new Mac laptop or computer, you can bet he wishes he was. He’s also our go-to writer for software-related evaluations and recommendations.
Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.
Rebecca Spear is our point person for all things gaming. Rebecca not only reviews games and related gear, she coordinates nearly all gaming coverage on iMore. You'll never find her without her Nintendo Switch and iPhone nearby.
We also can't forget our trusted stable of freelance contributors who also regularly test and review products on iMore:
- Karen Freeman (accessories)
- Chris Close (HomeKit)
- Nicolette Roux (fitness tech)
- Jaclyn Kilani (accessories)
Again, you can find more details about the people on iMore on our About Us page.
Contact us
If you think we're not living up to our promise, we want to know about it. You can email our content director Jeremy Kaplan directly, who reads each and every message our readers send.
