About The Circuit Journal
An independent publication covering consumer technology, founded in 2023 in response to a belief that the gadget review industry had become indistinguishable from the marketing departments of the companies it was supposed to scrutinize.
Who we are
The Circuit Journal is a small editorial team — currently four writers and an editor — covering the consumer technology beat. Our backgrounds range across product design, engineering, journalism, and technology research. What unites us is a shared frustration with the state of mainstream tech reviewing, and a conviction that readers deserve better.
Our editorial principles
We operate under a written editorial code that governs every piece of content we publish. The full code runs to several pages, but the substance can be summarized in five commitments:
- We pay for what we review. Every product covered on this site was purchased at retail, with our own money. We do not accept loaner units, evaluation samples, or any other form of free or discounted hardware from manufacturers.
- We test for at least three weeks. One-day impressions are not reviews. Every product we cover has been used daily, in real conditions, for at least twenty-one days before we form an opinion.
- We disclose conflicts of interest. If a writer has a prior relationship with a manufacturer, owns stock in a relevant company, or has any other financial interest that might influence their judgment, it is disclosed at the top of the relevant article.
- We update when we are wrong. Reviews are revised when products change via firmware, when long-term issues emerge, or when our initial assessment turns out to have been mistaken. Substantial revisions are noted explicitly.
- We do not run sponsored content. The Circuit Journal does not publish sponsored articles, advertorial pieces, or any content paid for by manufacturers. Our advertising is limited to standard display advertising clearly labeled as such.
How we are funded
The Circuit Journal is funded primarily through a combination of reader contributions, display advertising clearly marked as such, and the personal savings of the founding editors. We do not accept funding from technology manufacturers, retailers, or other entities whose products we cover. We do not run affiliate links to product retailers. We do not participate in industry junkets, paid travel, or sponsored events.
Our review methodology
For each product we review, we follow a standardized testing protocol that varies by category but adheres to the same general principles. We test the product in the conditions a typical user would encounter, not in laboratory environments designed to optimize for benchmark scores. We compare the product to its direct competitors, not to idealized specifications. We pay attention to the parts of the experience that are difficult to quantify — keyboard feel, screen quality at typical viewing distances, the cognitive load of interacting with software — alongside the parts that are easily measured.
Where benchmarks are useful, we use them. Where they are misleading, we explain why and rely instead on direct observation.
Corrections and updates
If you find an error in any article on this site, please contact us. We take corrections seriously. Significant corrections are appended to the affected article and noted on a dedicated corrections page.
Reach the editorial team
For editorial inquiries, story tips, corrections, or general feedback, please use our contact page. We read every message we receive, though we cannot always respond individually.
Our archives
All articles published by The Circuit Journal are available indefinitely on this site. We do not remove articles in response to manufacturer pressure, advertiser displeasure, or any other external influence. Articles are revised only with clearly indicated update notices.