mukund shyam

Figuring out what tech product to buy is something that most of us go through, and something that is always a cause of (to some extent) stress. The worry of buying something that isn’t the most optimal use of your money (especially when the amount you pay on a tech product is so high nowadays) is something that is always on our minds.

Through this post, I hope to offer some sort of a framework to you about how to buy the tech product that is the best for you, whether it’s a phone, a computer, or a pair of headphones. Ideally, following these steps would bring you to the best product for you, and also minimize buyer’s remorse. So let’s get into it!

Step 1: Decide on a budget

The number one thing that decides what kind (or rather, class) of product you can (and are going to) buy is the amount of money you are willing to spend on the product.

The budget you decide for the product should ideally dictate what all products you look at, since the budget is the one variable that cannot be changed (ideally).

Of course, though, there are certain “sweet spot” budgets for different kinds of products. For example, phones at around $350 and $700 offer the best value for money (in my opinion), as the former is in some ways a “premium budget” phone, and the latter offers 95% of the ultra-flagship experience for a lot less money.

For laptops, a “sweet spot” budget is $1000, since around this price laptops offer compelling performance, a good build, and good battery life; with laptops below this price range usually skimping on one of these 3 attributes.

Figuring out a budget can be difficult, so it may be helpful to stick to these “sweet spot” budgets since they usually offer such compelling value.

Step 2: Find out your priorities

Figuring out what your priorities are for a piece of tech will dictate the level of satisfaction that you gain when you buy the product.

Figuring your priorities is difficult, but it can be made easier by asking one simple question: how will I use this piece of tech?

For example, if someone uses a phone outside a lot, a bright display may be of high priority. Someone that has a wireless charger in their car may have wireless charging as a priority. Someone with family that uses FaceTime often may have iOS as a priority.

For computers, someone who works with Final Cut may prioritize having MacOS. Someone who travels a lot may prioritize battery and portability.

The way you use the piece of tech that you buy will dictate your priorities in a product.

Step 3: Find the “de-facto”, and find alternatives

Usually, at a certain price point, there will be a “de-facto” product that will be recommended by most reviewers since they are “enough” for most people.

For example, the Pixel 7 is a “de-facto” $600 phone, and the M1 MacBook Air is a “de-facto” $900 computer.

Research these products, and find alternatives to them. These “de-facto” products will be the starting point to find the perfect product.

Step 4: Use the products

Try to use these de-facto products and their alternatives in the real world. Hold them (in the case of a phone) and experience their software in store. This offers a vague idea about how the experience of using the product will be.

Step 5: Find your perfect phone

Figuring out your perfect phone from this should be easy. After researching about the de-facto products and their alternatives, watching reviews, and using the products, you should now have a decent idea about what each product offers that the others don’t, and hence you can pick the best product for you.

Let’s take a couple of examples.

First, someone looking to buy a $700 phone, prioritizing video quality and software updates. After looking at the Pixel and its alternatives, they understood that the iPhone had good video quality as well as a proven track record of 5+ years of software updates, so that is the best phone for them.

Second, someone looking to buy a $1000 laptop, prioritizing gaming performance. The MacBook didn’t satisfy their needs due to the lack of gaming ability on MacOS as well as weak GPU performance, so they chose an Acer due to the high refresh-rate display as well as dedicated GPU.

Well, that’s all for this week, and hopefully this post was of some value to someone somewhere!

Thanks for reading!