I don’t know who is more savvy: Apple for quietly dumping a little trash out the back while introducing the new iPhone 5s and 5c (West Wing style), or Macworld for catching the changes.

Dan Moren writes about the Cards app being discontinued. Instead of updating the app for iOS 7, or expanding it to be iPad compatible, Apple has pulled the plug. Always a niche product, the Cards app seemed like a good idea, and hopefully third-party apps will surpass Apple’s effort.

More alarming was the news from Jonathan Seff, who writes about a price increase for AppleCare+. While the up-front price of $99 remains the same, the “incident” cost for replacing a damaged iPhone has increased 60%, from $49 to $79. Confusingly, Apple also removed language indicating coverage for the included EarPods, though thankfully follow-up from Macworld indicates these will still be covered.

It’s not all bad news for AppleCare+, however, as Apple has expanded the option to cover the iPod Touch and iPod Classic. They’ve also brought the option to purchase AppleCare+ to many European countries.

These news bits are not horrible or particularly insightful on their own, by any standard; but they are important to remaining vigilant in the aggregate. What they do reveal: Apple is aware of the news cycle and willing to work it in order to bury stories that are not flattering to the brand.