Not sure if it’s just me, but ALL of the so called technical talking head reviewers are so negative and I mean ALL! It really is a turn off. It seems all the discussion and headlines have a negative tone. This goes for the new Iphone and Pixel specially. Today’s technology is awesome ! Lets starting talking about the positive stuff !!
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Negative stuff gets the clicks. Unfortunately.
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It’s not just the articles…but also the podcast discussion…
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I don’t know anything about the new handsets, since I use neither Android nor iOS. That said, I agree tech reviews tend to be real downers.
I appreciate an honest review, but that means I’m also expecting to see some sort of positive along with the negatives. Or if not that, then a reason why there isn’t any positive to a product. I really don’t understand a review with ten specific points about how something is terrible, but for it to get 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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ALL news - negativity sells
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Hmmm, I wonder if it’s a perception problem? I’ve heard TWIT shows review both the new iPhone and Pixel and heard a ton of good stuff…especially on the cameras! I’ve heard them mention beautiful screens, beautiful designs and the speed they operate in. We’re there negatives pointed out…definitely! Sometimes I need to know what they don’t like so I can make decisions for my needs but I heard plent good, too.
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Sadly, it’s the state of our society. Not just technologists.
First and foremost, I do agree with technologist far as innovation in phones or other tech goes. We can only do so much right now. Just iterate. And that’s totally fine (and a good thing). I personally think some technologist should take the approach of understanding that some innovations aren’t going to happen today or next year. Takes a lot of time and cash.
Secondly, the nature of our society today is negative connotation. Bad news, negativity or what have you will always get more clicks, views or shares than good news, happy thoughts or whatever. I’ve done a few test in my tiny part of the social world and the most engaging posts came when I shared sad or heartbreaking information. Or said something along the lines of “I’m hating Monday.” Yet, conversely, when I shared more cheerful things, I got the crickets sound effect.
It’s not just the media, it’s society. The media just knows what’s going to get views to pay their bills.
(that’s my two cents and observation)
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I think they need to call it as it is. These companies are making a lot of money and should be held to high standards.
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I understand what you are saying…but phones and technology have improved rapidly… let’s give these companies some credit…
$1000 a phone. How much money does Apple have?
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I don’t think the amount of money they have is a significant thing to consider. If they have a higher quality product, it can (and should) be marketed as such. Their product shouldn’t be rated poorly based on how much money the company makes.
No one said rate it poorly based on profit.
Apple is higher quality? That sounds like an opinion. What are you basing that on?
I’m not sure you can even defend your original statement that every reviewer is negative.
Based on this, it’s what I was extrapolating.
Please help clarify what you meant with this comment, so I can more appropriately understand what conversation we’re having.
I do think the term ‘every review’ is slightly hyperbolic, but it’s a common enough phrase to indicate the majority. I think that at least feels accurate, but I haven’t run the numbers on it (nor was it my original statement).
So true @ant_pruitt, couldn’t agree more. It is unfortunate because that is how 24 hour news pays the bills, this is why I don’t watch it. Just have to be wise at what you invest your time in. TWiT is a good start for sure. Not all negative. MKBHD is another good tech reviewer that isn’t always negative but still honest.
And I forgot to mention, that is why I clicked on this thread! We’re all guilty!
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Plus the other issue is that if the review is overly positive, the reviewer will be accused of being a shill.
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Well sometimes that does happen and also the nature of our social media platforms tends to create an echo chamber of what we like. It’s unlikely that I’ll be fed a ton of negative Android stuff cuz all I do is read about Android and I love it!
We live in interesting times where anyone can have an opinion and broadcast it, 24 hr news cycles of negativity are huge profits and social media echo Chambers create a cycle that’s not easy to break out of.
I don’t have an answer to this I just think it’s interesting.
@ant_pruitt is correct, negativity in society and the 24 hour news cycle are factors.
There is also the fact that companies cut a lot of corners today. Instead of getting the product right, they ship it in a buggy form and “get it right” later - just look at the face recognition on the new Pixel 4. Instead of having teams of testers and QA people making sure that a product is fit to sell, they chuck it out the door and let the public test it and QA it for them.
Look at Windows and the number of testers Microsoft laid off and how the quality and stability of their releases have gone down hill in recent years - and that is just an obvious example. Tesla fit-and-finish and software, anyone? OS X Catalina? Apple Car Play (Brianna Wu said on TWiT that it crashed on her and she had to not just turn off the motor, she had to physically disconnect the battery in order to restart it, bad as she was using it to navigate at the time and she had driven several miles in the wrong direction, before she noticed it had crashed)? The list goes on.
It is no wonder that a lot of objective reviews are negative.
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I like reviews to be willing to be skeptical where we’re not being well served. There’s plenty of evidence of products being shipped after inadequate research or testing, and we need to know about specific pitfalls so we can decide whether we’re willing to accept them in return for the benefits.
More than 60 years ago, “Which?” magazine was set up in the UK by the Consumers’ Association to provide unbiased product reviews of domestic devices based on rigorous testing. People were astonished that products from household names disintegrated, caught fire or failed in other dangerous ways when subjected to tests representing extended periods of normal household usage. Product quality and government standards requirements both improved as a result of these failures being properly documented and published.
I prefer to see negative aspects of new products properly explored along with the positives, but I can make my own decision as to whether any individual drawback actually matters to me or not.
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I dont read a ton of reviews but when i do i like to lean more towards the techincal ones that talk about specifics of what something is good at and bad at and i havent had a too hard of time finding those. Worst case scenario you can always look at tech specs and compare those to your needs and current tech. I think this is the best way to go about it because we are all so unique and what works for somone doesnt always work for others and we all have different needs. For example I have a Garmin GPS running watch and for me i know these watches are the best because I run A LOT this doesnt mean that the apple watch might be better for someone else.
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A bunch of great points! @ant_pruitt
@Uzetaab mentions paid advertising reviews, I can’t stand those and can normally pick them out and promptly stop going back to that review channel/site.
@godfrey mentions the echo chamber effect, very difficult problem to solve, but still needs to be addressed, that echo chamber affects a lot of heated political and technological discussions
@big_D mentions the new ‘beta’ testing methods in software development and how that affects initial reviews, never even thought of this one, I like the Youtube channel 6 months Later, where he reviews products as you would expect, 6 months later. This, in theory should solve this ‘open public beta’ testing methods, hopefully.
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