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HowPhones
SEC 01STANDARDS · v2.1— PUBLISHED 12 APR 2026 · REVIEWED BY SARAH CHEN
See the methodology →

Trust isn't claimed.
It's earned, in public.

Four principles govern everything we publish: independence, sourcing, disclosure, corrections. The methodology tells you how we test; this page tells you how we publish — and what to do when we get something wrong.

ARTICLE DRAFT · INTERNAL
iPhone 17 Pro Max review
DRAFT v3 · SARAH CHEN · 23 JUN 2026
Margin: 35W → 27W sustained
✓ FACT-CHECKED
27 JUN 14:32
CORRECTIONS · 90D
23· 1 MATERIAL
SEC 02/THE-FOUR-STANDARDS

The four commitments.

SINCE 2023
STANDARD 01
INDEPENDENCE
01

Editorial independence is non-negotiable.

No advertiser, no manufacturer, and no commercial partner sees a review before it's published. Manufacturers are not given the chance to review accuracy, contest a score, or change a quote. Loaner devices are returned at the manufacturer's expense within 30 days of review publication. Press trips are declined; we pay for our own travel.

OPERATIONAL COMMITMENTS
  • Manufacturers do not preview drafts or quotes
  • Editors have no equity, options, or paid relationships with phone makers
  • No editor accepts gifts, swag, or hospitality from a covered company
STANDARD 02
SOURCING
02

Every claim has a source. Every source is named.

Unverified leaks are labeled as rumors with their original source attributed. Anonymous sources are used only when the public-interest threshold is met and the editor-in-chief has personally verified the source's identity and reliability. We do not republish vendor PR as journalism.

OPERATIONAL COMMITMENTS
  • Every factual claim is traceable to a measurement, primary source, or named expert
  • Anonymous sources require editor-in-chief sign-off and a dated identity verification
  • Press releases are summarized as PR, not rewritten as reporting
STANDARD 03
COMMERCIAL DISCLOSURE
03

Affiliate revenue is disclosed on every link.

Every purchase link is marked as a commission-generating link. Affiliate revenue does not influence which products get recommended, in what order, or with what score. Editors are paid a fixed salary; no editor sees revenue-per-device data. Annual revenue split by manufacturer is published in the company financial summary.

OPERATIONAL COMMITMENTS
  • Every affiliate link is wrapped, disclosed, and marked rel="sponsored"
  • Editor compensation is fixed and decoupled from commercial performance
  • Annual revenue-by-brand summary published in Q1 of the following year
STANDARD 04
CORRECTIONS
04

When we get something wrong, we say so.

Every correction is appended to the original article with a dated note explaining what changed. Material errors trigger a re-test and, where warranted, a score revision. We do not silently update articles. The public corrections log below contains every correction we've issued in the last 90 days.

OPERATIONAL COMMITMENTS
  • Corrections appended to articles in a dated, persistent note
  • Material errors trigger re-test + score recomputation
  • Public 90-day corrections log, never pruned
SEC 03

How an article ships.

6 STAGES · NO STAGE SKIPPABLE
01
Sourcing
BRIEF + EVIDENCE GATHER
02
Drafting
WRITER + STRUCTURE
03
Lab verification
MEASUREMENTS RE-VERIFIED
04
Editorial review
STANDARDS + CLARITY EDIT
05
Legal review
CLAIM + ATTRIBUTION CHECK
06
Publication
PERMALINK + JSON-LD + ARCHIVE
SEC 04

Public corrections log.

SORTED BY23 TOTAL · 90 DAYS
DateArticleWhat we got wrongSeverityResponse
0123 JUNiPhone 17 Pro Max reviewWe stated the wired charging ceiling as 35W. Sustained ceiling is 27W; the 35W figure is a 90-second peak.significant9h0219 JUNGalaxy Z Fold 7 reviewWe described the crease as "invisible." On closer inspection it is visible at viewing angles below 15°. Score unchanged.minor14h0314 JUNBest phones under $500Listed Pixel 10 base price as $649. Current carrier MSRP is $699. Updated; affected one buying recommendation.minor6h0408 JUNOnePlus 13 reviewAttributed a battery-life figure (18h browsing) to the global ROM. Result was from the China ROM; global ROM measured 16h. Re-tested. Score reduced from 9.1 to 9.0.material36h0502 JUNPixel 10 Pro launch coverageMisstated Pixel 10 Pro release date by three days. Original copy said 12 October; correct is 15 October.minor2h0628 MAYXiaomi 15 Ultra reviewWe referred to the 15 Ultra's main sensor as a 'one-inch' sensor. Sony LYT-900 is 1/0.98″, marketed as one-inch but not literally so. Corrected to '1.0″-type'.minor11h0722 MAYNothing Phone (4) hands-onWe described the Glyph as 'replaced by a monochrome OLED back.' Nothing later clarified the OLED back is on a Pro-tier variant only. Corrected.significant18h0815 MAYBest camera phones for creatorsRecommended the iPhone 17 Pro for ProRes Log recording with no external storage. Sustained ProRes Log requires an external SSD; clarified in the article.minor7h0909 MAYGalaxy S26 Ultra reviewStated 200x zoom is 'AI-augmented.' All zoom beyond 100x relies on AI upscaling, but Samsung’s implementation includes a learned model; we'd previously described it as pure interpolation. Clarified.significant22h1001 MAYBest foldable in 2026Listed the Oppo Find N5 as 'available globally.' Available in selected EU markets only; not in North America. Corrected.significant4h

Every correction is also appended to the original article as a dated note. We do not silently update content. The log above is never pruned.

SEC 05/CONTACT-LEADERSHIP

Who's on the record.

FOUR DIRECT LINES
CONTACT PATHS
ANONYMOUS ACCEPTED

Industry leaks, insider intel, off-the-record context. Anonymous tips accepted via SecureDrop. We protect sources.

PGP KEY ON REQUEST
RESPONSE WITHIN 24H

Spotted a factual error? Tell us. Every report gets reviewed; verified corrections are appended to the article with a dated note.

RESPONSE WITHIN 48H

Concerns about editorial independence, undisclosed conflicts, or anything that doesn't feel above-board. Reaches the editor-in-chief directly.

ENCRYPTION RECOMMENDED
RESPONSE WITHIN 3 DAYS

Embargoed releases, review unit requests, comment requests. We do not accept embargoed-without-review terms.

EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP
Sarah Chen✓ VERIFIED
Editor-in-Chief · 12 YR

12 years in tech journalism. Methodology architect since 2023. Final sign-off on all material corrections.

Marcus Webb✓ VERIFIED
Standards Editor · 9 YR

9 years editorial standards work. Owns the corrections workflow and the public log. Reviews every disclosure flag.

Aziz Bennani✓ VERIFIED
Director of Lab · 7 YR

7 years measurement-driven reviews. Owns every instrument protocol and the annual third-party audit relationship.

Sarah Chen · Editor-in-Chief
Final sign-off on this document · 12 APR 2026