If you ever need a textbook example of misleading marketing, just look at what some internet providers are saying about gigabit internet service.

Cable companies would have you believe that speeds upwards of 1 Gbps are essential for modern internet use. A gigabit connection "lets you multitask," Cox's website proclaims, suggesting that it's important for "scrolling through your Instagram feed on your phone while simultaneously streaming Netflix and surfing Amazon Prime on your laptop." Likewise, Comcast says to consider gigabit speeds if "your family loves to stream movies and TV while playing bandwidth-hungry games and downloading the latest apps on your smartphone."

For the sake of keeping this newsletter family-friendly, the term I will use for these claims is "exaggeration." Gigabit speeds are overkill for the vast majority of internet users, but with more people ditching cable TV and girding their homes for remote work, internet providers have found a golden opportunity to push unnecessary upgrades with fatter profit margins. It's no surprise that they're capitalizing on it.

Consider the facts:

Gigabit internet may require additional hardware investment as well. If you have your own cable modem, you'll need one with DOCSIS 3.1 support to get gigabit speeds from most providers. Some routers—including older Eero models—don't support gigabit speeds either.

Anecdotally, I've been quite satisfied with 200 Mbps speeds from Spectrum. While negotiating a lower price from the company a couple years ago, I even declined their offer for a "free" 400 Mbps upgrade because I didn't want to get smacked with a steep price hike once that promo rate expired.

I'm writing this because I've heard from too many folks who've been led to believe that faster speeds will eliminate buffering and other connection problems. (Most of the time, those issues can be solved with the same speeds on a better Wi-Fi router.)

That doesn't mean no one should pay for gigabit internet service. But if you're going to do so, it should be for one of a few specific reasons:

Oddly enough, the biggest reason to pay for gigabit internet has nothing to do gigabit speeds. Instead,you might need a faster cable internet plan just to get decent upload speeds for backing up data or participating in video calls.

With Comcast, for instance, a plan with download speeds of 100 Mbps or 200 Mbps only lets you upload data at 5 Mbps, which means more than a couple Zoom calls at the same time could give you trouble. Unfortunately, this is a common problem among cable providers due to the way they've built their networks, so you'll find similar "asymmetric" speeds on Spectrum and Cox as well. (They also take pains to hide this pitiful fact from new customers.)

Even so, gigabit service could might still be excessive. I've found that Spectrum's 10 Mbps upload speeds have been fine for two simultaneous Zoom sessions. And if you have a fiber-optic internet provider in your area, this issue probably doesn't apply. Verizon and AT&T both offer equal download and upload speeds for their fiber service, so you can safely stick with sub-gigabit plans.

To see if I was missing anything, I recently asked folks on Twitter what actual use cases existed for gigabit internet service, and I got a few interesting responses.

KTLA tech reporter RIch DeMuro said he has to transfer huge video files on a daily basis for his broadcast TV job, so the gigabit speeds come in handy. Consumer Reports' Nicholas De Leon said he likes being able to download PC and console games faster. A computer consultant named "Max" said he needs the speeds to back up his clients' computers every night.

While those all sound like legitimate use cases, they're also quite specific. They also assume that whatever server you're contacting supports gigabit speeds as well, which isn't always the case. (This becomes painfully clear whenever my PlayStation 4 needs a large software update.)

Even if you can't think of a particular use for gigabit internet, maybe you just want the satisfaction that comes from having the fattest data pipe available. That way, if any high-bandwidth applications do come around, you'll be well-prepared, and on some level you're establishing a market for those use cases in the first place.

As a tech enthusiast myself, I'm not going to deny anyone's right to technological excess. Just don't have any illusions about what, exactly, you're paying for.

One more Amazon Sidewalk warning: Although I've written about it a couple times already, here's one last reminder that if you own an Echo speaker or Ring camera, Amazon will now begin sharing a smidgen of those devices' internet bandwidth—up to 500 MB per month—with other devices outside your home. This system, called Amazon Sidewalk, is supposed to help keep Amazon's devices online in the event of a Wi-Fi outage, and it also helps create neighborhood-wide networks for item trackers like Tile.

While this is not a new revelation, a backlash finally broke out last week ahead of today's launch. Ars Technica's Dan Goodin did a good job highlighting some of the privacy and security concerns, and Stacey Higginbotham has a well-balanced list of other reasons to opt out. My biggest concern is that the initiative could further erode privacy by extending the reach of home security cameras into more places.

Anyway, the steps for opting out involve opening the Alexa app on your phone and heading to More > Settings > Account Settings > Amazon Sidewalk, then turning it off. Otherwise, the system goes online today.

AirTag privacy upgrades: Apple's trying to head off concerns about the stalking potential of its new AirTags item trackers with changes to its alert system and a forthcoming Android app. If you're carrying around someone else's AirTag, it'll play a sound within 8 hours to 24 hours of being separated from its owner, up from three days previously. The Android app is coming later this year and sounds like it'll be just for showing notifications about unwanted tags, not for tracking lost items. (iPhone users already get those alerts without having to download an app.)

Although Apple made a point of calling out the anti-stalking alarms and notifications it built into AirTags, several reviewers said they didn't go far enough. Those same reviewers—including Mashable's Brenda Stolyar and Gizmodo's Caitlin McGarry—now say Apple should make its alert windows even shorter, though I imagine there's a balance to strike between protection and annoyance with too many alerts. Hopefully it's something Apple continues to test and tweak.

What's next for Apple software: On Monday, Apple held a keynote for its annual WWDC conference, where it announced new features coming to the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and more. I tend not to dwell too much on unreleased software in this newsletter, but How-To Geek has a succinct summary of the highlights if you're curious.

The biggest deals to me personally: Extension support in Safari for iOS, much easier multitasking control on the iPad, voice control for Apple TV via HomePod speakers, Shortcuts for Mac, and a web version of Facetime for Android and Windows. As is custom, you'll see these updates arrive in the fall, or a bit sooner if you're willing to brave Apple's public betas.

Test local network speeds: Internet speed test tools like Speedtest.net and Google's speed checker are great for figuring out if you're getting your money's worth from your internet provider (especially if you're, say, paying for gigabit speeds). But what if you just want to test the performance of your local Wi-Fi network without sending data to the internet?

That's where OpenSpeedTest's free software comes in. Run the software on any computer that's hard-wired to your router with an ethernet cable, and it'll give you an address to visit (formatted as "192.168.X.X:XXXX") on a separate device. You'll then be able to test the connection speed between those two devices. (For laptops without ethernet ports, you'd need a USB to Ethernet adapter.)

Why is this useful? If your router is faster than your internet plan, you'll be able to see if it's actually achieving those speeds across your Wi-Fi network. This can come in handy when you're running a local media server, using an over-the-air DVR, playing PC games via in-home streaming, or transferring files with an app like Wormhole. A local speed test will let you locate dead zones and see what your router is really capable of.

Firefox's new look: A major redesign for Firefox is finally out of beta, and it looks pretty nice. Mozilla cleared away seldom-used buttons like Home—though you can still put them back by right-clicking the toolbar and hitting "Customize"—and tabs have a floatier appearance with rounded edges. It also comes with stricter default tracking protection in private browsing mode.

Personally, Firefox became a non-starter for me after Mozilla abandoned work on installable desktop web apps, and I've since become hooked on vertical tabs in Microsoft Edge. But I still appreciate Firefox in principle and think it's worth trying, especially if you're unconcerned with the features I just mentioned.

More help managing Google Photos: A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that Google was releasing a way to free up space in Google Photos by deleting blurry images and screenshots. That tool is now available on the web, so you can view photos to delete alongside an estimate of how long your storage will last at your current rate of consumption.

That same page also has links to Google's Gmail and Drive cleanup tool, along with—surprise, surprise—an option to just give up and buy more storage space. You may not have much use for these tools right away, but they're worth keeping in mind when you need delay the inevitable storage upgrade.

Note that these deals were available on June 8, 2021, when this newsletter was originally published.

Although Amazon Prime Day doesn't start until June 21, some early deals are starting to trickle in already. Here's a quick rundown:

Other notable deals not tied to Prime Day:

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