Tech Info reviews are ownership reviews: how a device holds up after one, three or five years, what it is worth now, and whether you should keep it, sell it or upgrade. New-launch reviews are everywhere; the used-device view is what we add.
Where the test units come from
Most devices we test come through Cash for Techs itself. We buy hundreds of used devices a year, so we see real batteries, real screens and real wear, not press loaners. When we review a model, we photograph and measure the actual unit: battery health or cycle count, screen and body condition, and a benchmark run where it applies.
How devices are scored
Every model gets five scores from 0 to 10, applied the same way to every brand:
- Durability: how the units we buy actually look and work after years of use; common faults.
- Value retention: what the device is worth today as a share of its launch price, and how fast that has fallen.
- Software support: how many more years of system and security updates to expect.
- Performance: how it handles today’s apps, not how it benchmarked at launch.
- Repairability: what common repairs cost and whether parts are available.
The verdict on each page (keep, sell, upgrade) follows from those scores plus one practical question: does this device still do what you need? If it does and it still gets updates, keeping it is usually the best financial choice, and we say so.
How offers are set
- Market first. Offers start from what the device resells for, checked against buyback and trade-in prices every week.
- Condition grades. Excellent: no scratches that catch a fingernail, screen flawless, battery healthy, everything works. Good: light wear, fully working. Cracked: cracked screen or back but powers on and works.
- What lowers an offer. Carrier locks, iCloud or Google account locks, non-original parts, heavy wear, weak batteries. We still buy most of these; the number just changes.
- Dated. Every offer shows the date it was last updated. Values drop after every new launch, which is why “sell it now” is sometimes the honest answer.
- Confirmed by text. The figure on a page is a ceiling. The offer you actually get is sent by text after you tell us storage and condition, and it is the cash you get at the meetup when the device matches your description. We do not re-grade a device that is as described.
Update cadence
Offers are refreshed weekly. Software support dates, verdicts and comparisons are re-checked every quarter and after every major launch. Each page shows when the offer and the page were last updated.
What AI is used for
AI tools help draft spec tables and outlines. Testing, photos, measurements and the verdict are done by a named person, and nothing is published without an editor’s sign-off. No AI-written customer reviews, ever.