https://techbehindthings.com/ Explainers that open the case — the protocols, sensors, supply chains and design compromises inside the technology people use without thinking about it. en © 2026 Ninth Layer Publishing Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/why-your-phone-slows-down-and-which-explanation-is-actually-true/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/why-your-phone-slows-down-and-which-explanation-is-actually-true/ Several real mechanisms get collapsed into one conspiracy. Separating them explains what you can fix and what you cannot. Devices Mikkel Aas Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/what-is-actually-inside-a-smartwatch-and-why-the-battery-is-the-whole-de/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/what-is-actually-inside-a-smartwatch-and-why-the-battery-is-the-whole-de/ Every decision in a wearable — screen, sensors, radios, thickness — is downstream of a cell the size of a coin. Devices Farida Osei Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/networks/wi-fi-is-a-shared-medium-and-that-explains-most-of-your-problems/ https://techbehindthings.com/networks/wi-fi-is-a-shared-medium-and-that-explains-most-of-your-problems/ Wireless networking is not a pipe. It is a room where everyone has to take turns speaking, and the rules are stricter than they look. Networks Grigor Petrov Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/networks/your-packets-do-not-take-the-route-you-think-they-do/ https://techbehindthings.com/networks/your-packets-do-not-take-the-route-you-think-they-do/ The path between you and a website is decided by commercial agreements as much as by geography. Networks Grigor Petrov Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/power/battery-percentage-is-an-estimate-and-a-fairly-rough-one/ https://techbehindthings.com/power/battery-percentage-is-an-estimate-and-a-fairly-rough-one/ Your device does not measure charge directly. It infers it, and the inference drifts. Power & Batteries Wren Halloway Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/power/usb-c-solved-the-connector-and-not-the-confusion/ https://techbehindthings.com/power/usb-c-solved-the-connector-and-not-the-confusion/ One port now carries a dozen incompatible capability sets. The shape is standard; almost nothing else is. Power & Batteries Junko Ishida Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/software/why-software-gets-slower-on-the-same-hardware/ https://techbehindthings.com/software/why-software-gets-slower-on-the-same-hardware/ Every layer added for developer productivity costs something at runtime. The costs are individually reasonable and cumulatively large. Software Alba Ferrer Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/software/file-formats-decide-whether-your-files-outlive-the-software/ https://techbehindthings.com/software/file-formats-decide-whether-your-files-outlive-the-software/ Choosing a format is a preservation decision disguised as a save dialog. Software Junko Ishida Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/home/smart-home-standards-keep-fighting-and-your-house-is-the-battlefield/ https://techbehindthings.com/home/smart-home-standards-keep-fighting-and-your-house-is-the-battlefield/ Devices that will not talk to each other are the visible result of an unresolved commercial dispute about who owns the home. Home Tech Alba Ferrer Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/home/how-a-robot-vacuum-decides-where-it-has-already-been/ https://techbehindthings.com/home/how-a-robot-vacuum-decides-where-it-has-already-been/ Navigation in a cheap consumer device is a genuinely hard problem, solved differently at different price points. Home Tech Alba Ferrer Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/data/what-a-website-knows-about-you-before-you-click-anything/ https://techbehindthings.com/data/what-a-website-knows-about-you-before-you-click-anything/ Identification does not require cookies any more. Understanding what replaced them explains why blocking cookies changed so little. Data & Privacy Farida Osei Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/data/end-to-end-encryption-what-it-protects-and-what-it-never-did/ https://techbehindthings.com/data/end-to-end-encryption-what-it-protects-and-what-it-never-did/ The contents of your messages and the fact that you sent them are two different secrets, and only one is usually covered. Data & Privacy Mikkel Aas Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/your-phone-camera-is-mostly-software-and-that-is-not-cheating/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/your-phone-camera-is-mostly-software-and-that-is-not-cheating/ The sensor is smaller than a fingernail. Almost everything that makes the picture look good happens in the fraction of a second after the shutter. Devices Farida Osei Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/what-a-higher-refresh-rate-actually-buys-you/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/what-a-higher-refresh-rate-actually-buys-you/ The number describes how often the screen redraws, which is only one of the delays between your finger and a response. Devices Farida Osei Sat, 27 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/why-two-laptops-with-the-same-chip-perform-very-differently/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/why-two-laptops-with-the-same-chip-perform-very-differently/ A processor model number describes the silicon. What it can sustain depends on the cooling the manufacturer put around it. Devices Farida Osei Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/the-nanometre-number-on-a-chip-stopped-being-a-measurement/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/the-nanometre-number-on-a-chip-stopped-being-a-measurement/ Process node names were once a physical dimension. They are now marketing labels for a generation, and the industry says so. Devices Farida Osei Mon, 22 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/what-a-waterproof-rating-actually-promises-and-for-how-long/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/what-a-waterproof-rating-actually-promises-and-for-how-long/ Ingress protection numbers describe a laboratory test on a new device. Most of the ways people get devices wet are not in the test. Devices Farida Osei Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/how-a-touchscreen-knows-it-is-a-finger-and-not-a-raindrop/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/how-a-touchscreen-knows-it-is-a-finger-and-not-a-raindrop/ Capacitive sensing measures a change in an electric field, which explains gloves, water, screen protectors and phantom taps in one go. Devices Mikkel Aas Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/why-the-storage-in-your-device-is-slower-than-the-number-on-the-box/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/why-the-storage-in-your-device-is-slower-than-the-number-on-the-box/ Flash memory has several tiers of behaviour hidden behind one advertised figure, and the fast one runs out. Devices Grigor Petrov Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/more-memory-does-not-mean-more-apps-stay-open/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/more-memory-does-not-mean-more-apps-stay-open/ Phones and laptops manage memory by predicting what you will need, and the prediction is tuned for battery life as much as for speed. Devices Farida Osei Mon, 08 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/oled-and-lcd-fail-in-opposite-ways/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/oled-and-lcd-fail-in-opposite-ways/ One emits light per pixel and one filters a single backlight, and almost every difference in behaviour follows from that. Devices Grigor Petrov Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/why-your-device-is-glued-shut-and-what-the-glue-is-actually-doing/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/why-your-device-is-glued-shut-and-what-the-glue-is-actually-doing/ Adhesive is not laziness. It is load-bearing, and understanding what it carries explains why repair got harder. Devices Farida Osei Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/devices/how-an-e-reader-holds-a-page-with-the-power-switched-off/ https://techbehindthings.com/devices/how-an-e-reader-holds-a-page-with-the-power-switched-off/ Electronic paper moves physical pigment rather than emitting light, which explains the battery life, the sunlight readability and the sluggish refresh together. Devices Grigor Petrov Fri, 29 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/networks/why-5g-often-feels-exactly-like-4g/ https://techbehindthings.com/networks/why-5g-often-feels-exactly-like-4g/ The label covers several different radio bands with wildly different behaviour, and most people are connected to the least exciting one. Networks Grigor Petrov Sun, 24 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/networks/dns-decides-far-more-than-which-address-you-reach/ https://techbehindthings.com/networks/dns-decides-far-more-than-which-address-you-reach/ The name resolution step happens before any connection and quietly controls performance, filtering and a good deal of privacy. Networks Wren Halloway Fri, 22 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/networks/your-upload-speed-is-the-number-that-decides-how-the-connection-feels/ https://techbehindthings.com/networks/your-upload-speed-is-the-number-that-decides-how-the-connection-feels/ Consumer broadband is deliberately lopsided, and the small number is the one that breaks video calls. Networks Grigor Petrov Mon, 18 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/networks/bufferbloat-the-reason-your-connection-stalls-while-the-speed-test-passe/ https://techbehindthings.com/networks/bufferbloat-the-reason-your-connection-stalls-while-the-speed-test-passe/ Buffers were added to prevent packet loss and ended up hiding congestion until it turned into seconds of delay. Networks Mikkel Aas Sat, 16 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/networks/what-actually-limits-your-broadband-and-it-is-rarely-the-headline-speed/ https://techbehindthings.com/networks/what-actually-limits-your-broadband-and-it-is-rarely-the-headline-speed/ The path from your device to the internet has half a dozen possible bottlenecks, and the advertised number describes only one of them. Networks Wren Halloway Tue, 12 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/networks/how-a-vpn-actually-moves-your-traffic-and-what-it-moves-it-away-from/ https://techbehindthings.com/networks/how-a-vpn-actually-moves-your-traffic-and-what-it-moves-it-away-from/ A tunnel changes who can see your traffic and where it appears to come from. Those are the only two things it changes. Networks Grigor Petrov Sat, 09 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://techbehindthings.com/networks/how-a-phone-hands-your-call-to-the-next-tower-without-dropping-it/ https://techbehindthings.com/networks/how-a-phone-hands-your-call-to-the-next-tower-without-dropping-it/ Moving between cells while a conversation continues is a coordinated handover, and the way it fails explains where calls drop. Networks Wren Halloway Tue, 05 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT