Bet you can’t guess all 10.
It’s hard to believe that we’re living in 2023 already. 2022 was a heckuva year, and we covered a ton of topics at Review Geek, from games and electric vehicles to the latest smartphones. But which stories did you care about most? A little bit of everything, it turns out.
What follows is a list of the ten most viewed articles in 2022. I went with a simple scientific method: I looked at everything published in 2022 and then sorted by most page views. If you had to make me blindly guess which articles would hit the top ten, I would have done poorly. I knew the most viewed article off-hand, but after that, most entries surprised me. But spoiler alert: I actually combined the three of the most viewed articles because they’re all the same basic topic.
EV’s are a hot topic at Review Geek, so it should come as no surprise to see it hit the list at least once. But here, we posit an opinion: you don’t really own an EV. Sure, you pay cash for it (or take out a loan), and you take the thing home. But to own something, you should be able to do what you want to it and have total say over what happens to it in the future. And the truth is… well, that’s not the case. More than a few of you readers thought we were wrong on this one and that, of course, you own your EV. Or that you don’t own anything anymore. That latter thought does have a nugget of truth.
And again, we return to the topic of EVs, though this time of the bigger variety. 2022 was supposed to be the user of the Electric Pickup Truck. And plenty of companies have announced some take on the concept, whether that be Tesla, Ford, Toyota, or even the return of the Hummer. And the Rivian certainly turns heads. But what do all these tracks have in common? You basically can’t buy one. Yes, we heard from all of you out that that quickly stated, “I don’t WANT to buy one.”
When it comes to either affordable Wi-Fi cameras or cloudless Wi-Fi cameras, Review Geek has long recommended two companies: Wyze and eufy. We’ve reviewed products from both companies highly and included them in our “best of” lists multiple times. But as of today, we can no longer recommend either.
Never, have I been so disappointed to write an article. Wyze and eufy are were two of my favorite security camera brands to recommend. One is super affordable, the other doesn’t offer monthly subscriptions. But both had a major security incident in 2022, and both failed the test of “how to handle a security failure properly.” And so, alas, we can’t recommend cameras from either company anymore. Do you still use your Wyze or eufy Camera?
Riding lawn mowers are great for making quick work of lawn care. But they’re loud, jerky, and chug through oil and gas. An electric riding lawn mower promises to solve all of that. But after two years of owning one, I’m here to say don’t make the mistake of buying one. At least not yet.
Do electric riding lawn mowers count as EVs? If so, this makes the third EV entry in the list. But this is a rare case of Review Geek saying, “definitely don’t buy that EV.” I bought one years ago, and at first I loved the thing. It mowed quickly, and quietly. Now it’s more of a love/hate relationship because the batteries died way to soon and are super expensive and difficult to replace. Don’t buy one. Quite a few of you argued with me on this one in the email. But I stand by this advice.
Common wisdom says that you should avoid replacing your phone until it’s broken or unusable. But common wisdom isn’t always right. Due to the poor support cycles offered by manufacturers, most Android phones should be replaced after two years of their launch date.
We’re big fans of saving money and avoiding unnecessary waste at Review Geek. So you’d think we would tell you to hold onto your smartphone as long as possible. And if you have an iPhone, that is the case. Keep that thing if it’s still working well. But if you have an Andriod phone? Replace it. Often. Like every two years. No seriously. Believe it or not, both sides of the smartphone coin (Android and iPhone users) agreed with us on this one.
Buy now it should be clear, we’re all about saving you money here at Review Geek. Sure, you’ve heard of the Galaxy S21 (now S22) and maybe even drooled over the impressive specs, but do you actually need to drop a cool grand on a smartphone? We don’t think so. You can probably get by just fine with a mid-grade phone. You’re just using it to read Review Geek, right?
Pretty high in this list is a rather surprising entry: a one-off game from Google. But in 2022, as we’ll soon find out, Review Geek readers were all about games. Not necessary of the Playstation and Xbox variety, mind you. It probably didn’t hurt that this, and the other big game to be named, was very addicting and easy to play. But hard to beat. I wonder if any of you are still playing either game.
3. Microsoft’s Xbox Mini Fridge Is Now Available for $100
This might be the most surprising entry on the list. A lot of Review Geek readers wanted an Xbox fridge. Myself included. Unfortunately for most people, they sold out almost immediately. Thankfully I managed to swing one. And even better, it’s pretty easy to buy now. Just order it for pickup at Target.
You upgrade your phone every few years, install smart devices throughout your home, and are counting down the days until a true self-driving car hits the market. So why are you still using a toilet based on a 400-year-old design?
Somehow it’s pretty appropriate that the toilet article is “Number Two” on this list. OK, I promise not to soil this article with any more crappy puns. Oh, sorry for the potty mouth. Fine, that was really the last one. But I think we made a pretty solid case for why your next Bathroom remodel should include a Japanese toilet, and from the look of things you did too. Raise your hand if you bought one!
If you’re anything like us here at Review Geek, you’ve probably become addicted to playing Wordle , the word-guessing game. And despite its simple premise, the six-guesses-or-you’re-out rule means choosing a strong starting word is imperative, so we figured we’d round up the best starting words for the game.
It should come as no surprise whatsoever that Wordle tops this list. The crazy started in early January 2022 and just took off. But you’ll notice four links above, and that’s because Wordle articles actually appeared in our top 10 list four times. So I combined the entries. In fact, if this had been a top 20 list, four more Wordle-themed articles would have made the cut. The most popular of the bunch? A dead-heat tie between the best Wordle starting word and Today’s Wordle Answer. We still update that latter page every single day, complete with hints and spoiler alerts and all. Are you still playing Wordle? Or did you move on to “hard mode” with Quordle?
Honorable Mentions
Oh, you want to know what would have made the top 20? That list is almost as varied as the first ten. Clearly Review Geek readers have an eclectic taste in tech topics and geeky fandoms. And that’s what we’re here for. Here’s the next set of articles that just missed out on the top ten.
11. How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car?
12. Waffle is Our Favorite New Wordle Alternative
13. How Long Do Solar Panels Last?
14. The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y Aren’t Affordable Anymore
15. Microsoft Explains Why You Can’t Move the Windows 11 Taskbar
16. How to Share Your ‘Wordle’ Score (Without Spoilers)
17. Say Goodbye to Your Fitbit Account in 2023
18. What Happens When an Electric Vehicle Battery Dies?
19. Wordle is the Latest Internet Game Craze—Here’s How to Play
20. The 6 Best Wordle Alternatives
Did I mention Wordle was really popular? Because it sure was. And still is, to some extent. But I’m left wondering what the Wordle of 2023 will be. Only time will tell. But stick around because CES is coming, and we have plenty of exciting things to look forward to.
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