Last week, Apple summoned the tech press to its headquarters to reveal a slew of new services, including a magazine subscription program, a foray into credit cards, and several new video offerings. The event--which I'll talk about more later in this newsletter--was unusual for Apple, in large part because it didn't involve any new hardware.

In fact, Apple had gotten all of its new hardware news out of the way a week earlier, announcing new iPads, AirPods, and Macs via a series of press releases. While last week's on-stage event was probably more meaningful for the future of Apple, I'd argue that those hardware announcements matter more today. Let's dive in:

New iPads

Apple has added two new tablets to its lineup, occupying a middle ground between the $329 entry-level iPad and the $799-and-up iPad Pro.

For $499, the new iPad Air looks a lot like Apple's old iPad Pro from 2017. It has the same 10.5-inch screen, supports the same snap-on keyboard cover, has a TouchID fingerprint reader, and even works with the first-generation Apple Pencil for drawing and handwriting. It actually has a faster processor than the old iPad Pro, but the screen is a little less responsive (in technical terms, it has a 60 Hz refresh rate, instead of 120 Hz), the camera takes lower-quality pictures (8 megapixels instead of 12 megapixels), and it has four speakers instead of two, which means no stereo effect when you hold the tablet in landscape mode.

If you're just looking to play games, watch movies, read books, and maybe do some light web browsing or emailing, Apple's basic $329 iPad will still be just fine. (It even supports the same Apple Pencil, and has frequently been on sale for less than the list price.) The iPad Air makes more sense if you aspire to use your tablet like a laptop--especially with the attachable keyboard--but you'd rather not spend another $300 on the latest iPad Pros, which are better for folks who've fully committed to laptop replacement. It could also work better for artists, because the newer Apple Pencil clips magnetically to the side of the iPad Pro for storage and charging. (With the old Apple Pencil, you have to jury-rig your own connector.)

Alongside the iPad Air, Apple also announced a new iPad Mini for $399, with a much faster processor and original Apple Pencil support. In terms of performance, it's nearly identical to the new Air, but with a 7.8-inch screen and no keyboard cover support.

I've always had affection for Apple's littlest iPad--here's a 2013 Time.com piece I wrote imploring folks to choose it over the larger version--because it's great for reading, playing games, and thumb typing. That remains true today, though I think tablets in general have become harder to justify for media consumption as our phones have gotten bigger and more powerful. That explains why Apple has increasingly pitched the iPad as a laptop replacement.

One more related tidbit: The $70 Logitech Crayon stylus now works with all the iPads that Apple currently sells. It’s not pressure-sensitive like the Apple Pencil, but it otherwise works the same way and costs $30 less.

To help make new sense of the lineup, I've created an iPad purchase decision flowchart for you. Check it out and let me know what you think.

New AirPods

Apple's other big hardware announcement was an updated set of AirPods. The new wireless earbuds support hands-free voice commands, so you can say "Hey Siri" instead of pressing a button. They also have a new processor that connects faster, has less lag between video and sound when you're playing games, and supports an extra hour of talk time. The price is still $159, but spending $199 gets you a case that charges wirelessly on a compatible charging mat. (Unfortunately, Apple is has given up on making a wireless charging mat that can simultaneously power an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods.)

Some folks will probably be disappointed by the upgrade, which lacks the health tracking and noise cancellation features that have occasionally popped up in rumors. Those features may appear in a higher-end version of AirPods, though it's unclear when.

In the meantime, there really aren't any great AirPods alternatives for iPhone users. The ones from reputable brands like Jabra and Bose are actually more expensive, and practically every review I've seen of cheaper buds from no-name brands report occasional pairing issues. (The big advantage with AirPods is Apple's proprietary pairing system, which spares you from having to fiddle with Bluetooth settings.) And while Sennheiser now sells a set of wireless buds with noise cancellation, those'll set you back $300.
 

File this one under old tips that are new to me: If you're using Google Chrome on a Windows PC, you can save websites as apps on your desktop by clicking the menu button, then heading to More Tools > Create Shortcut. Make sure to check "Open as window," then select "Create." You'll then see an icon on your desktop, which you can move to the taskbar or Start menu. (You can also create shortcuts on Mac with some extra steps.) When you launch the app, it'll appear in its own window, without the address bar, bookmarks, and other cruft you'd get in a regular browser tab.

By creating an app, you can quickly launch websites that you use most often without having to dig through a window full of browser tabs. And once you've opened one of these apps, you can quickly switch to them using Alt-Tab (in Windows) or Command-Tab (on Macs) like you would with any other program. I'm currently using these shortcuts for Google Keep and Google Calendar, and kicking myself for not having done so earlier. (If you're curious, I came across this tip while reading a story about Microsoft's upcoming Edge browser overhaul.)
 

Apple's subscription push: In an unusual move for Apple, the company convened a press event last week where it announced several subscription-based services that won't be available for a while.

The most interesting, aside from the video services I covered in Cord Cutter Weekly, was a new kind of credit card coming this summer called Apple Card. Primarily, it's a virtual credit card that lives on an iPhone and works through Apple Pay, either online or in stores by tapping your phone at supported payment terminals. Apple will also issue a slick titanium credit card that you can swipe or insert into a chip reader where Apple Pay isn't accepted (using MasterCard's network), and will generate a card number that you can look up on your phone for online stores that don't take Apple Pay. If you're using Apple's Safari web browser, it'll fill in that number automatically. For rewards, Apple is offering 2% cash back on Apple Pay purchases, 1% back on non-Apple Pay purchases, and 3% back on Apple products.

Rewards point nerds will likely find better deals elsewhere, especially given that Kroger, the largest grocery chain in the U.S., doesn't support Apple Pay. Still, the Apple Card does have some nice benefits, such as plain-English descriptions of your purchase history, detailed breakdowns of your spending habits, and the ability to generate a new virtual card number at any time. Apple also doesn't charge any fees (though it still collects interest on payments owed). Perhaps best of all, Apple promises not to share your purchase activity with anyone, making it a far more private option than most cards. If you want to go deeper on what Apple Card offers, TechCrunch has a great write-up.

Although i don't really cover gaming on Advisorator, Apple Arcade sounds promising as well. For a still-undisclosed price, the service will offer an all-you-can-play buffet of games with no ads or in-app purchases, picked by Apple for being innovative or interesting in some way. Consider it an antidote of sort to the free-to-play fare that's taken over the App Store. Look for that in the fall.

The only new service available today is Apple News+, a $10 per month bundle of magazines, digital publications, and newspapers you can read through the News app on iOS and Mac. As Macstories notes, about half of the service's 251 magazines are simple PDF-like versions of the print editions, while the rest have special formatting that looks better on phones.

News+ seems like a pretty good deal, though I wish it wasn't exclusive to Apple's hardware. The other caveat: Some publications are withholding or hiding some content from Apple News+. The Wall Street Journal, for instance, hides many of its stories unless you search for them specifically, and the New Yorker still requires a standalone subscription for its online-only stories. While many publishers want to work with Apple, they also don’t want to make their own subscriptions redundant.

OfficeMax's PC checkup scam: Last week, the Federal Trade Commission busted OfficeMax and Office Depot (which merged in 2013) for allegedly swindling customers into buying unnecessary anti-malware service for their PCs. According to the FTC, the retailers worked with an outside firm called Support.com to provide a "PC Health Check," whose results were based entirely on a survey that asked customers broad questions like whether they'd seen unwanted pop-ups or felt like their computers had gotten slower. Customers who answered "yes" were then charged up to $300 for service, even if their PCs weren't infected. And this went on from 2009 to 2016.

Diagnosing PC problems is a topic for another day, but Microsoft's built-in Windows Defender software and Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware are both solid tools you can use for free, and disabling unnecessary programs can go a long way toward improving general performance. (And if you suspect that something specific is amiss, you can always ask me for help.)

Facebook explains its algorithms: After a series of privacy and policy scandals (many of which I've covered here), Facebook is under pressure to be more transparent about how it operates. As such, the company is now adding explanations for why you're seeing a particular photo, article, or post in your News Feed. Facebook may tell you, for instance, that you've liked a person's posts more than others, or that the post you're seeing is exceptionally popular. The explanation page then provides links to where you can edit your News Feed preferences.

Facebook is also adding more context to its existing "Why am I seeing this ad?" pages, including details on whether an advertiser already has information about you and is using that data to target ads. (A bit of backstory here: Facebook recently started blocking ad transparency tools from nonprofit groups like ProPublica, claiming that they relied on methods that bad actors could abuse.)

The new info hasn't shown up on my end yet, but once it's available, you should be able to tap the three-dot menu button next to any post, then select "Why am I seeing this?"
 

For today only, Woot is selling Amazon's first-generation Echo Show smart display for $100. That's $130 less than the second-generation model, and the smaller screen (7 inches instead of 10 inches) makes it well-suited for an office desk. Having that on-screen component for Alexa is nice, especially for controlling music playback or smart home devices. (You can read my primer on smart displays in Issue #12.)