Why trust Telegraph Recommended? Meet our team of experts
Telegraph Recommended helps our readers make informed decisions about their most important purchases. Our rigorous and unbiased product reviews cover seven broad categories: Home & Garden, Sleep, Tech, Health & Fitness, Beauty & Grooming, Parenting and Travel & Outdoors. Each category has its own editor and suite of expert testers.
We use consistent, fair and transparent metrics to test and compare products. No manufacturer can ever influence what we test or what we write. Product guides are updated regularly and the most important new products receive their own, in-depth standalone reviews.
The 10-strong Recommended team includes experienced Telegraph editors, writers, production journalists and SEO specialists. You can meet them below, as well as finding out how our tests work, how we make money and how we stay independent.
JUMP TO:
What we test
How we test
How we make money
Meet our experts
More about Telegraph Recommended
What we test
No-one can pay or persuade us to test their products. We only review products our readers are interested in, guided by the Telegraph's community, SEO and I&A (insight and analytics) teams. As well as conducting reader polls, we research trends and keep abreast of all the new releases by attending trade shows and consulting our experts.
To dispel a common misconception, we are not sitting on a pile of free goodies. We buy products where necessary to test. Other products are loaned for testing, but it is always on the understanding that they will be returned. Where manufacturers don't want them back, they are auctioned for charity unless it would be unhygienic to reuse them. Loaned products are only reviewed if our testers think they deserve to be.
How we test
Different products require different testing methods. For example, a fan needs to be tested for efficiency using a power meter and for noise using a decibel meter. A smartphone has to have its battery run flat to test charge duration. Each product type is always tested on the same five consistent metrics, so that tests remain fair over time. The overall score you see is the average of these marks.
All products are tested at home in real-life conditions for a minimum of a week. Some long-term tests take up to a year. Testers are obliged to take photos and videos so that you can see the tests are real and consistent.
Each review is dated with the last time it received a major update. This can mean new products, new information, new advice or new opinions.
How we make money
Most of our reviews include a link to a trusted retailer where you can buy the product. If you decide to make a purchase, the retailer may send a small percentage of the payment back to The Telegraph. These are known as affiliate links. They are regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and must always be disclosed. This is why you'll see a disclaimer at the top of every Telegraph Recommended article.
Not all retailers use affiliate links and we do not decide what to review based on them. Our testers don't know who we will link to. Links frequently change based on availability and price, because we want to send you to the seller with the best customer experience. If you buy a product but later return it, we do not receive any payment.
Our experts
We employ dozens of external expert testers in specific fields such as technology, fitness, parenting and gardening. Each has years of experience. Co-ordinating their efforts is a team of 10 in-house journalists. Here's who we are:
Zoe Galloway
Head of Telegraph Recommended
Zoe oversees the editorial operation at Telegraph Recommended, ensuring our reviews remain accurate and independent. With over 10 years' experience in the product review space, Zoe was previously Editorial Ecommerce Director at Hearst UK, managing shopping content across brands including Women's Health, ELLE and Cosmopolitan. Zoe was also Head of Content at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where her team was nominated for Best Affiliate Team at the BSME Talent Awards, and has worked for brands including Which? and IndyBest, as well as launching i Newspaper's product review vertical, ibuys.
Simon Lewis
As reviews editor, Simon is dedicated to helping The Telegraph's readers choose the best products, the best services and in particular the best gifts and deals. Simon has been at the Telegraph since 2015 and in 2021 took on the task of making Recommended the most trusted British source of product reviews. He previously edited at the Mail On Sunday, Maxim and Loaded, amassing 20 years' experience in consumer journalism.
Hannah Mendelsohn
Hannah is a commissioning editor for Recommended, specialising in home, garden and sleep product reviews, buying guides and deals advice. Hannah was previously homes editor at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where she co-ordinated product testing and reviewed hundreds of different products, from mattresses to vacuum cleaners to online florists. She launched the magazine's annual Sleep Awards and appeared in Channel 4's documentary 'Air Fryers: Are They Worth It?'.
Nathan Spendelow
Commissioning Editor, Technology
Nathan is a commissioning editor for Recommended, specialising in tech product reviews, buying guides and deals advice. Previously deputy editor at Expert Reviews, where he hosted the website's annual Product of the Year Awards, Nathan has a decade of experience testing and writing about smartphones, laptops, tablets, TVs, games consoles and everything in between. He is an NCTJ-accredited journalist and has flown around the world covering the biggest tech launches, taking him as far from home as San Francisco, Taiwan, Hawaii, Seoul and more.
See Nathan's work
Rebecca Astill
Commissioning Editor, Health, Fitness, Travel, Beauty and Parenting
Rebecca is a commissioning editor for Recommended, specialising in health, fitness, travel, beauty and parenting product reviews, buying guides and deals advice. Rebecca's guide on the best dating sites and apps won Best Evergreen Article at the 2025 Commerce Awards for Publishers. Rebecca was previously reviews and affiliates writer at Reach Plc, where she tested new products and recommended the best value buys.
See Rebecca's work
Emilia Hitching
Home and Garden Reviews Writer
Emilia is a reviews writer for Recommended, specialising in home, garden and sleep product reviews, buying guides and deals advice. Previously sleep and wellness Editor at Homes & Gardens, Emilia led a team of testers to find the world's best sleep products and travelled everywhere from mattress factories in Glendale, Arizona, to development labs in Älmhult, Sweden.
Adam Hamdani
Adam works closely with the Recommended team to ensure our content reaches the widest possible audience. With over eight years of industry experience, he brings strategic insight to content planning and performance. Adam previously held roles at LADbible and The Independent, where his team was nominated for Audience Team of the Year.
Simon Wiley
Senior SEO Executive
Simon has over five years' experience in optimising online content to ensure maximum reach and efficiency. With previous roles in Cape Town and London, his international experience offers a unique perspective on SEO strategies. He is a speaker at brightonSEO, the world's biggest SEO event.
Keira Clarke
Keira is a production journalist for Recommended, working across all areas to sub-edit and publish content for print and online publication. Keira has over four years of industry experience, previously working as a consumer reporter and lifestyle digital writer for The Sun.
See Keira's work
Sonakshi Khosla
Sonakshi works across all categories to format our content for publication. Having previously worked at Expert Reviews as a sub-editor, Sonakshi has four years of industry experience and is skilled in everything from testing and proofreading, to video editing and HTML coding.
How we find deals
During annual sales events, such as Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day, we want to guide readers towards the best deals on products we have tested and approved. Unlike other publishers, we don't recommend deals on things we haven't tested and we take great care to calculate savings against the average price, rather than the price temporarily inflated before the sale or the recommended retail price (RRP).
To do this, we use independent services such as CamelCamelCamel and PriceRunner to track the price history of any product. Having discovered the highest, lowest and average price, we only recommend deals that are at least 10 percent below the average. For more detail, see our guide to how to find the best deals.
Journalistic ethics
The Telegraph is a trusted media brand, responsible to its readers and wider society and committed to providing journalism of the highest quality and integrity. All product reviews must be fair, accurate and impartial.
All staff observe the Editor's Code Of Practice as administered by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and the Advertising Code as administered by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP). Where articles contain affiliate links, they are also governed by the ASA.
The clear rule is that advertisers and commercial staff can not influence editorial judgements. The final decision on all editorial content is the editor's.
Contact us
You can speak directly to the Recommended team at telegraphrecommended@telegraph.co.uk.
If your product has featured in a review, you can license the Telegraph Recommended logo by emailing syndication@telegraph.co.uk.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Google unveils its most expensive smartphone yet
Published: | Updated: Google fans' long wait is finally at an end as the tech giant unveils its latest generation of AI–powered smartphones. Among the four new devices is Google's most expensive smartphone ever, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. With prices starting at £1,749 and going up as high as £2,099, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold comes in as one of the costliest foldables on the market. But with an overhauled design featuring a gearless hinge, larger outer display, and massive battery, Google is hoping this top–of–the–line model will be worth the price. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold boasts a 6.4–inch outer screen and can fold out to reveal a massive 8–inch inner display. But the real selling point is that Google is calling this its 'most durable' design yet, with a hinge that can survive 10 years of folding. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is available for pre–order today and will be available from October 9. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold has been launched today alongside the Google Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL. Pixel 10 Pro Fold The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is launching with three storage options – 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB – costing £1,749, £1,869, and £2,099 respectively. That massive price tag puts the Pixel 10 Pro Fold on par with the newly released Samsung Galaxy Fold 7, which costs up to £2,149. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold features 'aerospace–grade' aluminium construction and is available in two colours: a grey colour called Moonstone and a green tone called Jade. Google has succeeded in making its latest foldable impressively thin, at just 10.8mm thick folded and 5.2mm unfolded. That is a good deal thinner than the 7.2mm unfolded thickness of the Motorola Razr 60. Compared to the previous Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, this latest offering is an upgrade in almost every way. Thanks to thinner bezels, the outer display has grown from 6.3 inches to 6.4 inches – making it the largest foldable outer display outside of the Chinese market. Both the inner and outer displays have also been upgraded to the latest Actua display, with a dazzling maximum brightness of 3,000 nits that should make them usable in the sunniest conditions. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold's battery will now be 5,015 mAh, up from 4,650 mAh on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Google says that this should give '30+ hour' battery life and the capacity to charge up to 50 per cent in just 30 minutes. Those new charging capabilities also include the magnetic 'Pixelsnap' system, which allows the Pixel 10 Pro Fold to stand up in a wireless charging stand, even when unfolded. The new generation of the Fold features an updated 'triple rear camera system' featuring a 48–megapixel main camera. That might not be as impressive as the 200–megapixel main camera on the Samsung Galaxy Fold 7, but it is on par with the 48–megapixel main camera on the iPhone 16 Pro. In addition, there is a 10.5–megapixel ultrawide camera and a 10.8–megapixel telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom and up to 20x digital zoom. Perhaps the most exciting selling point is Google's overhaul of the foldables' durability. Google says the folding mechanism now utilises a 'gearless hinge' which is twice as durable as the hinge on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. According to the company, it should comfortably survive up to 10 years' worth of folding. Critically, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is also the first foldable to have an 'IP68' resistance rating, meaning it is completely dust resistant and can be submerged in three feet (one metre) of water for 30 minutes. In theory, that should avoid the problem of dust or sand getting into the hinge, which can be catastrophic for some other foldables. On the inside, Google has boosted the Pixel Pro Fold's capabilities so that it can make the most of the company's latest AI features. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is powered by Google's new Tensor G5 processor and boasts an impressive 16GB of RAM. This latest foldable will get all the same Google AI features as the other Pixel 10 phones in the lineup. That includes Gemini Live, Magic Cue and Daily Hub, as well as picture editing tools like Add Me, Best Take, and Camera Coach. What else has been released today? The other big announcement from Google today is the reveal of the new Pixel 10 lineup. The Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL come in as Google's latest line of flagship smartphones, and are significantly cheaper than their folding counterpart. The new devices start at £799, £999, and £1,299 respectively and are available with a number of storage options at varying price points. The most expensive model, the Pixel 10 Pro XL with 1TB of storage, comes in at £1,549 – making it identically priced to the comparable Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. All three phones will be Google's first to ship with the new Material 3 Expressive UI, and will use the Tensor G5 processor. The Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro both feature a 6.3–inch display, while the Pro XL features a substantial 6.8–inch display. The Pixel 10 is available in four colours: Obsidian, Frost, Indigo and Lemongrass. The camera has been upgraded to include a 48–megapixel main camera, a 13–megapixel ultrawide, and a 10.8–megapixel telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom. The Pixel 10 Pro includes improvements over the Pixel 10 in almost every area, featuring a bigger battery, more RAM, upgraded speakers, and faster charging speeds. The Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL also feature an impressive 48–megapixel telephoto camera, capable of up to 100x zoom with the 'Pro Res Zoom' feature. The Pixel 10 Pro is available in the colours Obsidian, Porcelain, Moonstone, and Jade. All three new phones will be available from the Google Store and retail partners from August 28. Alongside the new phones and foldable phones, Google is also releasing the Pixel Watch 4 and two new sets of headphones. The Pixel Watch 4 costs between £349 and £499 and is the first smartwatch to use a domed Actua 360 display and support standalone satellite communication. The new headphones, the Pixel Buds 2a and Pixel Buds Pro 2, include better audio and Google Gemini integration.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
UK blocks Versarien asset sale to Chinese-linked joint venture on security grounds
LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Britain blocked the proposed acquisition of graphene-related assets owned by Versarien Plc (VRS.L), opens new tab by a joint venture involving China's Anhui Boundary Innovative Materials Technology, citing national security concerns. The final order, made by senior minister Pat McFadden and published in an update on the government's website, prevents the transfer and use of both tangible and intangible assets, including intellectual property and know-how with potential dual-use applications. "The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (McFadden) considers that the provisions of the final order are necessary and proportionate to prevent, remedy or mitigate the risk to national security...," the notice said.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Students who use keyboards in exams get better scores, research finds
Students who use keyboards in exams get better test scores, according to new research, raising questions about how schools will be affected when digital GCSE and A-level exams become widespread. The research carried out at University College London tested state school pupils, comparing their scores in essays using handwriting and word processors under mock exam conditions. All pupils, including those with learning difficulties, made big improvements in tests when using word processors. Emma Sumner, a senior lecturer in psychology and education at Liverpool John Moores University, who led the research, said the 'dramatic' improvements meant schools needed to provide laptops and teach touch-typing, as examination boards seek to introduce online exams within the next five years. Sumner said: 'Exams are time-bound and require students being able to quickly transcribe their ideas. If typing is quicker for the majority, or gives the flexibility to revise without lots of crossing outs, then that's helpful. 'Further research really needs to be done to understand if, by changing the format, the modality, are you in any way changing the assessment? I think that's really important as a next step.' For students without literacy difficulties, more than 50% wrote more words using keyboards compared with handwriting. Their test scores rose by 17% on average. Students with identified difficulties had an average increase of 14% in test scores and produced 31% more words compared with handwriting. Pearson Edexcel exam board has said its ambition is to offer the option to take all GCSE exams onscreen by 2030, having already run pilot exams in English language and English literature. AQA is also planning online GCSEs in a number of subjects from 2027, subject to approval by England's exam regulator, Ofqual. Sumner said: 'If that is the case, then absolutely schools need to be thinking about where touch-typing sits within the curriculum, where it could be put within a school day that is already overloaded. 'If students are going to be doing GCSEs online, then they will have to do mock exams online, and it will cascade down from there. It suggests that we need to be thinking about this in line with handwriting – I don't think we should forget about handwriting. 'There is research to show that handwriting is better for retention and recall of information than typing, so there is a cognitive element that handwriting may be advantageous.' Students in England are able to use keyboards under exam conditions if allowed by their school or centre, as reasonable adjustments for those with identified difficulties. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion The researchers warned that the use of keyboards needed to be better monitored by regulators to avoid disproportionately helping pupils without special needs. Schools currently do not need approval for GCSE candidates to use keyboards, leading to potential inequalities around their provision. Sumner said it raised questions about whether some schools might be giving pupils an advantage, 'perhaps unknowing', while other schools might lack the resources to help those who needed laptops. She said: 'A lot of the practitioners we spoke to from state schools were so committed, they wanted to do right, but they had their hands tied in terms of how much staff time they could put into identifying needs or whether they could fully support it. 'They might have known that a student would do better with a word processor, but not having a laptop available meant they couldn't go down that route.' The study involving 156 pupils taking GCSE courses, including about half of whom had assessed difficulties, has yet to be published or peer reviewed, and Sumner acknowledged it was a 'staged experiment' using past exam papers, which could affect the results. One technological leap forward will be experienced by 100,000 students in England this year, who will receive their GCSE results via an 'education record' app being piloted by the Department for Education.
