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The wireless age is one of unfettered connectivity, where a multitude of devices can be networked together with only the bare minimum of physical cables. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections reign supreme. While both connection types operate in a similar fashion, utilizing radio waves for wireless communication, the nitty-gritty details of how they work are different. Where Bluetooth is intended for relatively simple, short-range connections, Wi-Fi can reach much farther and connect to a wider range of wireless network.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work in concert to provide our current level of interconnectivity, with the former linking nearby devices without cables and the latter helping those devices reach beyond your home via the internet. Technically, Wi-Fi could do what Bluetooth does on its own, but Wi-Fi's increased complexity makes it less well-suited for quick, local connections. In addition, it's more power-hungry, so adding Bluetooth helps optimize your overall network.

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Wi-Fi technology has roots in a variety of wireless broadcasting technologies dating back to the 1800s. WWII-era contributions of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr formed the backbone of today's Wi-Fi frequency-hopping capabilities. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) made the first Wi-Fi standard publicly available in 1997, under the name 802.11. A group of companies came together to manage it as the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). Some believe the term Wi-Fi is short for "wireless fidelity," but in fact, "Wi-Fi" doesn't stand for anything; WECA hired a marketing firm to come up with the name "Wi-Fi" because it sounded like the appealing "hi-fi," and later changed its name to the Wi-Fi Alliance to match.

Wi-Fi operates based on radio frequencies to transmit data wirelessly. It takes a signal and breaks it into a multitude of tiny pieces, distributing them across multiple frequency bands. Sending a signal in this way allows for large quantities of data to be sent through the air at higher speeds, and from multiple devices simultaneously. Wi-Fi is technically different from wireless internet in that the former only facilitates local connections, whereas the latter allows you to connect to the internet at large via a router. The downside here is that Wi-Fi is more complex and power-hungry, requiring elaborate infrastructure in and out of the home to maintain steady connections. This is why, while Wi-Fi could technically connect nearby devices in the same way Bluetooth can, it wouldn't be economical to do so when simpler Bluetooth connections are available.

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Bluetooth was invented in 1994 by Dr. Jaap Haartsen, who was working on a way to bolster the emerging mobile phone sector with greater connectivity. Dr. Haartsen's design used 2.4 GHz UHF radio waves to establish a connection that could operate reliably and consistently at short range. Fun fact: The name "Bluetooth" comes from an Intel employee named Jim Kardach, who came up with it as a placeholder after the rotting, toothy grin of legendary Viking king Harald Gormsson.

Bluetooth's overall technology is very simple and doesn't require much power, so it can be installed on all kinds of gadgets and devices. Because it uses a radio signal rather than, for example, an infrared signal, it doesn't require a direct line of sight to connect. As long as two Bluetooth-compatible devices are physically close enough, they can establish a strong connection, enabling clever Bluetooth connections in a smart home, among other functions. While a Bluetooth connection is very steady, it's not particularly fast, and can only handle around 50 Mbps, far less than Wi-Fi, and it has a hard limit of about 30 feet. Bluetooth has some common problems, though newer versions of the technology have gradually made these more bearable. The primary purpose of Bluetooth in a modern setting is to eliminate the need for multiple cables, enabling clean connections for pairing of two or more devices, such as keyboards, headphones, and more.