I am beginning to realize the flaws in some YouTube tech reviews.
I recently purchased a MacBook Pro. I know, I know. I said I wasn’t going to; that I didn’t need one, etc., etc. But I saw an opportunity and I jumped on it. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and so far, I have not regretted it. As I count down the days of my return window, I am constantly using it and ensuring it is something I want to keep — so far, the answer is yes.
In helping me decide whether I wanted to keep the beautiful Space Black M3 Pro MacBook Pro, I started watching and reading a ton of reviews online to compare this model with other options, including different configurations of the MacBook I got, and comparing it to the MacBook Air to see if what I got is overkill.
The more I watched YouTube videos, the more unhelpful they seemed to become. I started to notice a pattern that I think most people see, but it didn’t really dawn on me until I was around 5–6 videos deep. Most YouTube Tech reviewers are in a constant loop, here is an example with some of the MacBook reviews I watched:
Step 1: Buy or get a review unit of a new MacBook.
Step 2: Use the MacBook so you can create content about that MacBook.
Step 3: Record a review of the MacBook using your experience of creating content about the MacBook.
Step 4: Provide general recommendations on whether the MacBook is good or not, mostly using your own experience of creating content with said MacBook as if it is something others will find useful or good.
It is this strange back and forth of buying a product for content and that product actually being the content itself but also the tool to create the content. What I am getting at here is that most of these reviews are very unhelpful for many who aren’t content creators.
Most YouTube Tech creators literally buy and use these products to make content, but they continue to need new versions of those products to make more content — sometimes using the guise of needing the product for making content.
Many don’t care, myself included, how much this new MacBook improves your workflow in editing videos. I guess it is a good measurement for some on how the performance is, but I think many need more real-world experiences shared on how a MacBook might fit into someone’s life. Benchmarks are also useful for comparing one computer to another, but not useful in all real-world situations.
I just think the whole Tech Reviewers on YouTube have trapped themselves in reviewing products (specifically computers) a certain way and though it makes sense to them, I don’t think they realize how unhelpful it is for us. Most of these review are filmed great with all of the fancy camera shots and high-quality setups, but for me, the usefulness of the actual computer falls flat.
Some of the things that I would like to see in some videos are more experiences on using these devices for more mundane tasks like paying bills, web browsing, emails, or even watching videos or using the device on your laptop for long periods. Selfishly, I would like someone to go over using the MacBook Pro for typing for long periods while unplugged and on your lap.
The things that most people care about when getting a new computer are; will the configuration that they purchase going to be enough. The things that most of these reviewers cover in that aspect are Geekbench scores and GPU performance. Also, no one cares about storage speeds or when the fans turn on after heavy load. What I care about is if 512 GB can be enough for the things that I need.
Sure, the performance of the read and write speed of the SSD will be important to know if I need to get an external drive because 512 GB isn’t enough, but I would like more detail. For example, one of the things that stresses me out, probably unhealthy, is making sure I have a backup of all my original photos just in case something were to happen to my Apple account.
I use iCloud Photo Library sync, so all of my photos are available on all my devices, but I have also heard horror stories of people’s iCloud accounts getting corrupted or their data wiped out. I have over 300 GB of photos and videos that are precious to me. Maybe one-third or more of that 300 GB are of my family (my kids especially), so losing that would be tragic.
Instead of reviewers talking about what happens if you were to use up most of your storage to have something like photos, music, or other large documents downloaded locally, or providing solutions like moving those libraries to an external hard drive (and the possible consequences of that), they instead focus on Black Magic scores and then move on.
The closest some got to having high amounts of storage is one talking about how they always just get base model MacBooks since they put most of their video content (there it is again) onto external drives and edit from there so they don’t need to worry about the SSD size. That is fine, but how many other use cases fit this scenario for all of us that don’t create YouTube videos for a living.
I can see someone who does photography for a living, or maybe music production and design but, again, is that the audience for these reviews or should they be more focused toward all types of professionals and people that don’t have these specific workflows? I would guess most of the people watching these videos are looking for something for general use and maybe want to use their computer for some other hobbies like myself.
This topic has been something on my mind for a while, and something I mentioned in my last newsletter, Techuisite Digest, but after another week of watching videos I hit a tipping point. Not only did this bother me, but it also made me read back on my reviews and how I approached them. I write, that is what I like to do mostly on my computers.
As I read back on my reviews, I did mention in many of them that I use my computers for writing and a lot of my reviews are based on me using the computer as a writing tool. On Medium, not that I am making excuses but, writing and talking about writing is very common, so not only do I think I fell into the same trap as the YouTube Tech Reviewers I mentioned above, but I also think it was me writing on Medium that also contributed to my writing reviews this way.
I have prided myself on not getting wrapped up in Geekbench scores or other mundane performance comparisons when reviewing tech. I try to provide a real-world and more personal perspective on why the gadget that I am talking about is either worth it to buy or not. But I think I can be better in trying to provide a broader perspective on how the technology can be used and if these things are useful to more people than just writers or geeks like myself.
To finish my thoughts, I will say that a lot of the videos I watched are really cool. The B-roll shots are amazing, the cinematography and camera angles are fantastic. It is an art to get the type of videos that some are able to produce that require a ton of investment in different equipment. I am not hating on people making things that people enjoy and I know most of these tech reviewers love technology just as much as I do.
I just wish there were a bit more awareness on what is happening in these reviews. When you review a product to create content that ends up being the main topic of the content that you are creating in the first place, it just feels like a vicious cycle that only becomes helpful for the person in that cycle.