High-end hardware is fun, but it’s not typical. We all like having the latest phone, but that’s not what most people use. That’s why I often pick my own hardware based on what’s the most popular or what is likely to be in the months or years ahead. Here are some of the tricks I use to decide which configurations are most critical to test. My techniques are pretty simple, so I’m sharing them here. Good advice shouldn’t be a secret.
Smartphones
Flagship phones are never the most popular. If you visit a carrier store, pay attention to the phones offered with new plans. We should consider the experience of users who get the “free” phones. For Android, 1080P is the norm. For iPhones, keep something with a home button.
Computers
Not everyone plays games, but the Steam Hardware Survey tells us a lot about the average PC. For the past several years, the most popular GPUs are NVidia GeForce XX60 and the other specs (RAM, CPU core count, displays) are relatively cheap to build in 2023.
Displays
In the corporate space, 1440p displays are quite typical. For gaming, high-refresh 1080p displays are still quite common. Older displays have worse contrast and those are worth testing, too. I know designers like Retina, but for most people, that’s not real life.
Accessibility
Home button beats gestures for users with low or no vision. Users who are completely blind will usually prefer a home button over a larger display. Siri is the easiest way to switch on VoiceOver, but Android’s TalkBack has improved dramatically in recent years. iOS 17 has demonstrated some troubling VoiceOver bugs to the point that AppleVis.com has soured on it. This site was invaluable during my time at Apple and it was surprising to read.
Digital assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa, are incredibly useful to those with limited sight or mobility. When I worked at Apple, I met countless VoiceOver users who told me these digital assistants had life-altering implications for their autonomy. When you extend your app’s functionality with SiriKit, Alexa Skills Kit, you’re changing lives. Even the most capable VoiceOver users I met still preferred to use a digital assistant, if possible.