Our software reviews are written by expert technical writers who collaborate closely with a team of technical experts.
Tested with REAL devicesThe tests you’ll read about on this page have their findings crafted by the tech team into detailed reports, which our writers use as part of their research material. We leave no stone unturned and address every aspect of the featured software, from covering the installation process to analyzing tabulated data about its real-life performance.
Tested with REAL devicesBy maintaining this standard for every single review we publish, we aim to provide the most informative, unbiased, and useful reviews for our thousands of readers and fellow Apple users.
Always ready with the newest devices
Tools that make certain tasks on your device faster, easier, or more convenient, such as file transfer apps.
Tools that improve your device’s performance and usability in different ways, such as file cleaners and wifi analyzers.
Tools that can undo unwanted consequences on your devices, such as data recovery software and disk repair apps.
Tools that provide new or improve existing entertainment features on your device, such as multimedia players.
Testing macOS software consists of five phases. Each phase is a critical examination of one or more of the software’s attributes in the areas of functionality, performance, and value for money. This process was carefully developed by our tech team to provide a holistic and objectively comparable overview of each software’s strengths and weaknesses.
We discover tools just like users do – by scouring review websites such as TrustPilot or G2, browsing forums like StackOverflow and Reddit, and following international tech blogs to stay up-to-date. We consider old, new, free, affordable, and pricey tools, including native utilities (like Disk Utility), as long as they meet the requirements and accomplish the task.
We evaluate our experience with downloading and installing the software. The process must be safe, reliable (doesn’t crash or fail), and it should be easy to do for users at any level of expertise.
We use the software for its designated task and observe it under different conditions. We then compare the results to our benchmarks, which were selected to ensure that our recommendations are accurate, effective, and unbiased.
We explore the software fully, noting any features that directly aid in accomplishing the primary task or simply make the app more useful for its target user. Combined with the results of the third testing phase, we can accurately evaluate the software’s value for money against its price point.
Once the first four testing phases are complete, we end up with objective, data-driven results that can be directly compared with those of competing apps. We either rate tools head-on in a straightforward top 10 list or we categorize them based on their strongest use cases, to better reflect the diverse needs of different users.
Testing iOS apps consists of 6 phases. The process is designed to gather as much information about each app as possible while evaluating real-time performance. This allows us to provide recommendations that cover all iOS users and their various Apple mobile devices.
We try to collect as many tools as we can from the App Store that meet our requirements and can accomplish the tasks for which they were designed. We consider both free and paid tools, as well as built-in iOS utilities in some cases.
We read the best, worst, and most common reviews of the app on the web and in the App Store, so we can verify any anomalies under different conditions. We also make a note of other App Store information, such as the app’s change log, its supported devices, and any in-app purchases, which all inform our final rating.
We download the tool and note its requirements, such as how much available space it needs and what access must be granted for it to operate at full capacity.
We analyze the app’s subscription price and in-app purchases, then evaluate its pricing against its features, requirements, and ability to perform the selected task. We also test whether the app can perform the task without any payment (e.g. fully-featured free trial for 3 days).
We observe how the app performs on iPhones, iPads, and iPods (when applicable). We look for any changes in performance, results, user interface, and available features, so readers know what to expect.
We use the results from the last five phases of testing to select the top 10-15 apps based on performance. Once the final list of apps has been compiled, we distill the test results into informative and digestible reviews and recommendations.
To ensure that Macgasm remains a trusted, reliable, and up-to-date source of macOS and iOS software reviews and recommendations, our team embodies a strict set of principles that guide our publishing strategy.
To ensure that our reviews are bulletproof, we test each app on old and new devices and operating system versions. This gives us insight into the consistency of their performance while allowing us to diversify our recommendations.
To ensure that our readers are transparently given the most accurate information possible, we include both our own experience with the app as well as the vendor’s own remarks and description.
Both as an act of transparency and as a way to showcase a software’s true capabilities, we provide unique screenshots that are taken in real-time while the reviews are being crafted. The images in our reviews reflect the actual tests we conduct, which also makes our content easier to follow visually.
There are millions of Apple users around the world – they each have unique needs, different device setups, and varying tolerances for technology. Like the Apple devices we love, we aim to accommodate all types of users.
To keep up with the constant developments on Apple devices, newly released software, and critical updates to existing software we’ve already featured, we reevaluate our reviews every few months.
Our team follows a strict code of professional ethics. Product placement would displace our readers’ needs as our #1 priority, so all offers for paid advertisements will always be denied.