Wireless

Review: Twelve South PowerPic—a 5×7 picture frame that wirelessly charges your iPhone

You just arrived home after a long day and your iPhone could use some recharging. And when a guy needs some juice, what better way to juice up your iPhone than drop it on an elegant picture frame that's sitting on the table? That's right, Twelve South has created an amazing gadget that looks and behaves like a regular 5x7 picture frame but also happens to wirelessly charge your phone quickly because there's a 10-watt Qi charger hidden inside the frame.

NFCWriter X lets hobbyists and tinkerers unlock the iPhone’s full NFC potential

Just over a year ago, iOS developer Elias Limneos announced a ground-breaking jailbreak tweak called NFCWriter that enabled iPhone users to tap into the full potential of the NFC (Near Field Communication) chip embedded within their handset. This week, Limneos continues that fun with NFCWriter X for iOS, which can only be described as the latest iteration of the tweak.

NFCWriter X for iOS is intended for advanced users and tinkerers with an interest in playing around with NFC tags, Credit/Debit Cards, MRTD documents, and more directly from your iPhone. Nearly anything with NFC support can be tinkered with by NFCWriter X for iOS.

Best true wireless earbuds you can buy right now

true wireless earbuds

True wireless earbuds have grown in popularity since Apple released its first-generation AirPods in December 2016. Since then, there has been a steady stream of alternatives making their way into showrooms online and off. Here are the best true wireless earbuds you can buy.

Wi-Fi is adopting a simplified naming scheme based on version numbers

The various implementations of the ubiquitous Wi-Fi wireless protocol used to be denoted by inscrutable letters and numbers, like 802.11b, 802.11ac and so forth, confusing a lot of people who do not follow technology on a daily basis. But that's changing as Wi-Fi Alliance, the non-profit that manages the implementation of Wi-Fi, has now simplified the naming scheme by adopting comprehensible version numbers, such as Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6.

iNoSleep maintains a Wi-Fi connection when your handset is locked for long periods

Right out of the box, Apple’s lineup of mobile devices will do anything they can to conserve battery power when specific hardware functions aren’t necessary. For example, they may disconnect from Wi-Fi when locked for prolonged periods; think of it as a hibernation mode.

It’s a brilliant power savings feature, in theory, but it sometimes hinders workflows by imposing internet connection delays in which you’re forced to wait for connection reestablishment after unlocking. Fortunately, a free jailbreak tweak called iNoSleep by iOS developer Tony Kraft solves this problem.