Mechanical keyboards are the new office flex

None of this requires special equipment or a big budget. Most of it requires attention, and a little patience.

Battery life claims on the box are measured in ideal conditions. Real-world numbers were consistently lower.

The numbers

We tested every device for at least two weeks in normal use: commutes, calls, photos, games and the occasional drop.

The numbers tell part of the story. The people behind them tell the rest, and they are usually more interesting.

Look for at least three years of software updates. A phone without updates gets less safe every month.

People are smarter about this than companies give them credit for.

What experts say

It is easy to dismiss this as a passing trend. The people doing it every day see it differently, and their reasons are worth hearing.

Prices, habits and expectations have shifted a lot in the past few years, and this is one of the places where you can feel it most.

We tested every device for at least two weeks in normal use: commutes, calls, photos, games and the occasional drop.

How it works

The numbers tell part of the story. The people behind them tell the rest, and they are usually more interesting.

The change did not happen overnight. It built slowly, one conversation and one decision at a time, until it was simply how things were done.

Where it started

It is easy to dismiss this as a passing trend. The people doing it every day see it differently, and their reasons are worth hearing.

The best advice came from people who had already made the mistakes, and were happy to explain how to avoid them.

We tested every device for at least two weeks in normal use: commutes, calls, photos, games and the occasional drop.

There is no single right answer here, but there are clear trade-offs. Knowing them makes the choice easier.