Apple’s big week of tiny product upgrades: Here’s what’s worth your money — and not

Apple's new AirPods feature 50 percent more talk time and the ability to summon Siri, but they probably won't do a better job at staying in your ears. (Apple Handout/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Apple quietly introduced new AirPods, iPads and iMacs this week, just days ahead of a splashy launch event at its headquarters on March 25.

Translation: You can probably hold onto your wallet.

Apple sometimes puts out smaller updates without a big to-do, but usually not for three days in a row before a big scheduled event. Next Monday, Apple is expected to unveil new ways to get your money: subscription services for news and entertainment. By getting the hardware out of the way in advance, Apple is signaling how important services are becoming to its business in an era when upgrades don’t generate much buzz.

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Apple’s newest products are incremental. None of the changes dramatically reinvent the design or capabilities of the products. The biggest happy news is for people who’ve been holding out on buying an iPad Mini and iMac — they’re both getting a welcome speed boost. The updated AirPod headphones will offer better battery life, but disappoint on other fronts.

The unsung winners from this week’s announcements: People who buy last-generation and used Apple products. Any time there are new Apple products, the older stuff that still works great gets cheaper. Check eBay and sites with refurbished products such as Backmarket.com for some spectacular deals in the weeks ahead.

So how do you figure out if it’s time for an upgrade? Here’s a rundown on what’s good — and what’s still missing — from each of this week’s updates.

AirPods 

Over the past two-and-a-half years, AirPods have grown from the butt of jokes (“Are those Q-Tips hanging out your ears?”) to the favorite product of commuters and people who spend all day on the phone. But the 2019 update (priced $159 to $199) doesn’t move the needle much on simplicity — or make them work for more people.