Just buy the cheapest printer
Why I never pay much for a printer
Plus: Apple price hikes, a big list of cool apps, a decent mini PC deal, and July Ask Me Anything thread
Jared Newman | 
Hey there! I’m Jared Newman, a longtime tech journalist, and you’re reading the free edition of Advisorator, my weekly tech advice newsletter. Did someone share this newsletter with you? Sign up to get it every Tuesday.
While I still think printers are an unfairly maligned technology, I usually don’t spend much time thinking about them.
That changed last week when my seven-year-old Canon inkjet stopped printing, citing some unspecified hardware failure. My feeble attempts to fix it went nowhere, and our family printing demands necessitated a quick solution …
News in brief
Apple price hikes: Apple is raising prices on iPads, Macs, Apple TV boxes, HomePod speakers, and the Vision Pro as it deals with AI-induced memory shortages.
Here’s a full list of changes by country. iPads are now at least $100 pricier, with the entry-level model now starting at $449. Apple’s MacBook Neo also got a $100 price hike to $699, pushing it further from bargain PC territory. Other Macs are at least $200 more expensive now.
iPhone, AirPod, and Apple Watch prices remain the same for now, though I’d be surprised if future iPhones don’t debut at higher costs. It’s bad, but I’m hoping we’ll still see discounts outside the Apple Store. And maybe this will be the wake-up call needed to get some regulation or legal action off the ground. In the meantime, seeking out open-box/refurbished gear and maintaining your current devices for longer can limit the damage.
Other notable news and reads:
- T-Mobile is forcing millions of customers onto newer and more expensive plans. All the more reason to consider the alternatives.
- Apple’s “Hide My Email” feature has a vulnerability that exposes users’ email addresses.
- Microsoft extends free Windows 10 security updates through October 2027. Read Ed Bott’s instructions.
- Proton adds reasoning and image generation to Lumo, its private AI assistant.
- Tidal won’t let AI-generated music make money on its service.
- Hackers accessed LastPass customer data, but vaults aren’t compromised this time.
- Google adds per-app backup settings on Pixel phones.
Tip of the week
Easier Amazon price history search: Amazon’s no longer burying its price history tool inside of an AI chatbot. Just click the blue “Price history” button next to an item’s price to see how it’s changed over time, including a new option to a full year’s price history (up from 60 days previously).
I still prefer the Camelizer extension in my web browser, as it loads faster than Amazon’s bloated Alexa for Shopping sidebar, but Amazon’s history tool works well on mobile devices at leaste.
Try these apps
Lifetime stadium stats: Statline is a fun little site for tracking which professional sports venues you’ve been to. Search by date to add games to your list, or click into them to see the stats from at day. Once you’ve added some games, click the “Search by Date” button at the bottom and switch to the “Stats” view. You’ll be able to see full standings and player stats across all the games you’ve attended.
A big list of cool apps: I always enjoy the apps and gadget recommendations in Hiro’s newsletter, and now he’s put together a searchable archive of them all. I’m looking forward to trying Dot (a Mac menu bar calendar tool) and Avec (an iPhone app for sorting through Gmail), and pondering how I can build something similar for my own big list of app recommendations.
Spend wisely
This section of the newsletter may include affiliate links, which earn me a commission if you wind up purchasing something.
Yes, it cost less than $300 when I bought a similar model in 2023, but $364 for Beelink’s SER5 Mini PC (with on-page coupon) is a pretty good deal right now given the escalating costs of RAM and storage. This model has a Ryzen 5 5625U processor, 480 GB of storage, and 16 GB of RAM. I’m still using mine for everyday Windows computing.
Other notable deals:
- Anker’s compact 25W charger with 5-foot USB-C cable drops to $10 in multiple colors.
- JLab’s nostalgic Rewind 2 wireless headphones drop to $16 when you clip the on-page coupon. No idea how they sound, but they look cool.
- Also from JLab: Go Pop wireless noise-cancelling earbuds for $13 in neon green when you clip the on-page coupon.
- Get a 24,000 mAh anker battery with 65W total charging (max 45W over USB-C) for $35.
- Missed the MacBook Neo at $599? You can get it for $621 open-box at least.
- Or, get an M1 MacBook Air in “Premium” refurb condition for $449.
Think about an Advisorator membership!
This week for paying members, I wrote about why I’ve avoided paying more than the bare minimum for a printer.
I also opened up a new “Ask Me Anything” thread in the members-only forum and highlighted a few previous answers, including how to get Office for less, image upscaling options, and whether the MacBook Neo is sufficiently future-proof.
It’s just $5 per month or $50 per year to support my work and get more in-depth tech advice from me. Learn more here →
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
Until next week,
Jared
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