(Credit: Eric Zeman)
Today's mobile phones are pocket computers that do a lot more than make calls. Here at PCMag—and as per our mission statement and the establishment of PC Labs in 1984—we have a long history of repeatable testing that informs and maximizes our ability to evaluate new models. We look at every aspect and feature of phones when we test them, and we review dozens of handsets each year. If you're curious about how we do this, here's a detailed rundown of our testing procedure.
Cellular Radio and Data Speed
We look at a phone’s supported cellular technologies (such as 4G, mid-band 5G, or high-band 5G), frequency bands, and carrier certifications to help determine whether a phone will work well on each US carrier’s network. We use the Ookla Speedtest app to see how the radio’s band combination affects data speeds.
Almost all phones now have similar 4G reception. We no longer test 2G or 3G, as those networks have been shut down in the US.
Call Quality
With acoustics playing such a large role in call quality, a trained ear is the best guide—and our reviewers have listened to hundreds of cell phones. We make calls to automated voice-recognition systems and cellular voicemail. Then we listen to our messages to gauge sound quality. We listen especially for the quality of background noise cancellation, both incoming and outgoing.
We measure maximum speakerphone volume with a decibel meter placed six inches from the speaker, using a test call. We measure maximum earpiece volume by pressing the decibel meter against the earpiece and calling that same number.
Battery Life and Charging
We measure battery life by streaming a wide-screen, 1080p YouTube video we created over a Wi-Fi network with the screen brightness set to full. We run the video until the phone's battery is fully depleted. The idea is that this simulates a stressful, but easily repeatable, use case.
If a phone supports fast charging, we measure how long it takes to charge from 0% to 100% at the manufacturer-recommended wattage.
Performance
We run Basemark Web to evaluate web browsing performance, Geekbench single-core and multi-core to evaluate pure processor power, 3DMark to evaluate graphics display, and PCMark Work 3.0 to gauge application performance. Benchmarks are useful for giving you numbers to directly compare phones, but they don’t tell the whole story; a phone’s software can significantly affect its performance, and we take that into account in our reviews.
We also launch and play high-end games (currently, Genshin Impact, Alto’s Odyssey, and Call of Duty) to check for dropped frames, control fluidity, and jitter, and to see how much they drain the battery. We also compare the performance of each game to other similarly priced phones.
Wi-Fi
We check the received speed of a Wi-Fi network at four different distances from a Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) router using the Ookla Speedtest app. If the phone can be used as a hotspot, we also test the data speeds it sends through to a tethered device.
Cameras
We test each of the phone’s cameras under a variety of conditions, taking several test photos outdoors in daylight and at night, and indoors in good and low light. We examine photos at full size to evaluate factors such as color accuracy and saturation, depth of field, distortion at wide angles, fine detail, and noise. If a phone is billed as having specialized camera features, such as underwater photography or video stabilization, we test those as well.
Music and Video Playback
We play a set playlist of music and video on YouTube Music, listening through the phone's built-in speaker and both wired and Bluetooth stereo headphones (if supported).
Other Phone Features
We analyze controls, ports, and storage, along with ringtone volume and the strength of the vibrating alert. If a phone comes with or supports accessories such as fast chargers or smart pens, we test those too.
Physical Experience
Our reviewers know that how a phone feels in the hand can matter as much as its performance. We evaluate the tactile elements of each phone, including button clicks, weighting, width and one-handed use, and overall impressions. We note the manufacturer’s IP rating for the phone, if any, and observe how well the body of the phone resists fingerprint smudges and scuffs. If it’s marketed as a particularly tough or rugged device, we put it through more aggressive durability testing.
Once all of these tests have been completed, we combine the data with our experience of using the phone, compare the results with other similarly priced phones, and assign a rating.
For more on mobile device testing, learn how we test cellular modems and hotspots. Also, head over to our list of the best phones to check out our favorite lab-tested picks.
Want to know about carriers? We investigate those too through our reader survey, which results in the PCMag Readers' Choice awards for mobile phones, mobile phone operating systems, and wireless carriers.
Sascha Segan contributed to this article.