See that handsome devil up there on that iPhone case? Want to see his face, or anyone else’s, every time you pick up your phone? Then take a look at the XTREM INNO, a clever iPhone case with a full-colour e-ink display built into the back. It turns your phone into a tiny digital picture frame that never needs charging and lets you swap images whenever you feel like it.

Oh, and read on, because I’ve got a little giveaway at the end.

I really like the idea behind this case. It’s one of those products that immediately makes you smile because it takes a mature technology and uses it in an unexpected way. Instead of treating the back of your phone as dead space, XTREM turned it into a canvas. The catch is the price. At $69, this isn’t an impulse purchase. You have to really like the idea of carrying a personalised phone around every day. Still, after spending some time with it, I found myself warming to the concept more than I expected.

The case communicates with your phone using NFC, so there are no batteries to charge or Bluetooth connections to fuss over. You simply download the companion app, choose a photo, and tap it to the case. The transfer only works while the phone is actually inside the case, but the whole process takes less than a minute.

The app is surprisingly rich. Beyond simply displaying your own photos, it includes an AI remix feature that can transform portraits into cartoons, illustrations, and other stylised images. My youngest son immediately began experimenting with it, eventually turning our dog into something that looked like it had wandered out of a nightmare. The results ranged from charming to deeply unsettling, which is probably exactly what the developers intended.

The AI tools use a credit system, but you don’t need to spend anything if you simply want to display your own pictures. Upload any image you like and the app automatically resizes it and optimises it for the limited resolution and colour palette of the e-ink display. The conversion process works better than I expected, preserving enough detail that family photos, logos, artwork, and illustrations all remain recognisable.

The display itself is the real star. Unlike an LCD or OLED screen, an e-ink panel only consumes power while changing the image. Once the picture has been transferred, it stays there without draining your phone or requiring its own battery. It feels almost like putting a printed photograph inside a transparent case, except you can change it whenever the mood strikes.

The audience for something like this is admittedly pretty specific. My youngest son loved filling it with ridiculous photos of himself and the family. I could also see anime fans, artists, photographers, or anyone who likes personalising their gear enjoying the ability to change the artwork every day. It feels more like an accessory than a piece of technology.

The XTREM INNO won’t appeal to everyone, particularly at its current price, but that’s almost beside the point. It’s one of those rare gadgets that exists simply because it’s fun. In a world where most phone accessories look identical, that’s worth something. I found myself changing the image far more often than I expected, and every time someone noticed the display, it started a conversation. That’s probably the highest compliment I can give it.

Buy Now

Free gift!

Now here’s the best part: I’d like to give one lucky U.S. reader an iPhone 16 Pro case that the company sent me. It has my face on it (see above), but you can easily change that. All I ask is that you share this newsletter with a friend somehow (I’ll trust you) and drop me a line with your address at john@biggs.cc with the subject like XTREM CASE. I’ll ship out to one lucky reader I pick at random.

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Technology has a short memory.

Every year brings a flood of new phones, laptops, handhelds, headphones, cameras, keyboards, and AI gadgets, each one promising to change everything. Most are forgotten within months. A few become classics. An even smaller number quietly change the direction of the industry without getting the credit they deserve.

That’s what Gearology is about.

I’m John Biggs, former editor of TechCrunch and Gizmodo, and I’ve spent more than two decades reviewing gadgets, interviewing founders, covering launches, and watching technologies rise and fall. I’ve seen products become billion dollar businesses. I’ve also watched brilliant ideas disappear because they were too early, too expensive, or simply misunderstood.

Gearology covers both sides of that story.

You’ll find reviews of new hardware, buying guides, industry news, interviews, and the Gearology podcast. But the heart of the site is Tech We Loved, a continuing series about the devices that shaped the technology world before quietly slipping away.

TiVo. Palm Pre. Chumby. Pebble. CueCat. CrunchPad. iPod Hi-Fi. Notion Ink Adam.

Some were commercial failures. Others were ahead of their time. Many introduced ideas we now take for granted. TiVo changed how we watched television. The Palm Pre helped define the modern smartphone before Android and the iPhone took over. Pebble proved there was a market for smartwatches years before Apple entered the category. Chumby showed what connected home devices could become long before smart speakers arrived.

Every one of these products has a story worth telling.

Tech We Loved isn’t simply nostalgia. Each article looks at why the product existed, who built it, what problems it tried to solve, why it succeeded or failed, and what today’s designers, founders, and engineers can still learn from it. Technology doesn’t move in a straight line. The best ideas often appear years before the market is ready for them.

We’ll also spend plenty of time with what’s new. I’ll be reviewing handheld game systems, laptops, keyboards, cameras, audio gear, retro hardware, and the odd gadget that catches my attention. Some will be practical. Some will be wonderfully strange. If it deserves a closer look, you’ll probably find it here.

I started Gearology because I wanted to build the kind of publication I enjoy reading. One that takes hardware seriously, remembers where today’s ideas came from, and isn’t afraid to spend time on products that everyone else has forgotten.

This newsletter is reader supported because good reporting takes time. Every review involves hands-on testing. Every Tech We Loved article requires research, interviews when possible, and digging through old manuals, advertisements, patents, and launch coverage to piece together the full story.

I already have dozens of products lined up, with many more waiting in the wings. If there’s a gadget you loved, or one you’ve always wondered about, send me a note. There’s a good chance it’s already on my list, and if it isn’t, I’d love to add it.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to Gearology. I think you’ll find that yesterday’s gadgets still have plenty to teach us.