The scale
We use a 0–10 scale with one decimal. Whole numbers alone are too coarse for products that are almost great but fail one hard requirement.
- 9.0–10 — Exceptional. We’d buy again tomorrow and recommend without hedging.
- 8.0–8.9 — Excellent keep. Clear strengths; limits are known and acceptable.
- 7.0–7.9 — Solid. Does the job; something important still nags.
- 6.0–6.9 — Conditional. Fine for a niche buyer; we wouldn’t default to it.
- Below 6 — Hard pass for most readers. We say why without euphemism.
Hardware scoring
Hardware scores weight longevity, serviceability, noise/thermals in real rooms, and whether the product still feels honest after the unboxing dopamine fades.
Synthetic benches matter when they answer a reader question. They never outrank “can you live with this for three years?”
Software scoring
Software scores weight features that survive without companion apps, performance on older hardware, privacy you can refuse, value across tiers, exit freedom (imports/exports), and how fast day one becomes muscle memory.
A pretty onboarding flow cannot rescue a product that traps your data or slows to a crawl on last year’s laptop.
What never moves a score
Affiliate potential, access to review units, invitation-only launch events, or how loud a brand is on social. If a relationship exists, it goes in the disclosure — not in the number.