Few areas are booming right now like mobile apps, which have experienced massive growth during coronavirus lockdown. According to a new report from app analytics platform Sensor Tower, data used by mobile app downloads has surged during lockdown.

In a post published Wednesday, the firm said data usage for first-time installs of the top 250 mobile apps worldwide was up 34% from the same quarter last year. Based on an average of the last three years, it is up a whopping 52% — hitting an unfathomable 391 petabytes in Q1 2020. (A petabyte equals roughly 1,000 terabytes.)

Having last year created the first breakthrough jailbreak for up-to-date iOS devices in ages, the unc0ver team announced Wednesday that its new unc0ver 5 tool is on the way — and will work with every signed version of iOS.

That includes iOS 11.0 through the new iOS 13.5 which only arrived earlier the same day.

Espresso Displays produces premium external screens compatible with both MacBooks and iPad Pro. And these offer 10-point touch, creating the touchscreen Mac so many have asked for.

Studies have shown that a second display can make you up to 50% more productive. We tested a prototype from Espresso Displays to see if this very slim and light LCD monitor lives it up to its promise.

The cast and crew of Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet created a special quarantine episode of the Apple TV+ comedy. The actors had to film themselves, and collaborated via AirPods.

Rob McElhenney who co-created and stars in the show, along with co-creator Megan Ganz, gave an interview about the convoluted process to Hollywood Reporter.

The $1 billion Apple campus under construction in Austin will reportedly include a six-story hotel.

There’ll eventually be room for 15,000 employees in the extensive collection of buildings that are going up now in Texas. Adding this hotel allows visitors to stay on site.

Some U.S. high school students couldn’t submit their Advanced Placement tests last week. And it’s all because the College Board doesn’t support HEIC, the image format the iPhone uses.

Fortunately, there’s now a workaround. But that didn’t save the kids who failed their AP tests because they use an iPhone.

Just the image of a classic cassette tape is enough to evoke precious memories of great times gone by for a lot of us. That’s one of the reasons why we love Casetify’s terrific Mixtape case for iPhone.

It has all the charm of an old cassette and combines it with military-grade protection that keeps your precious smartphone looking brand-new. What’s more, it’s now available for the 2020 iPhone SE — as well as iPhone 11 and more.

One of the improvements you’ll find inside Apple’s new iOS 13.5 update, rolled out earlier on Wednesday, is the ability to stop people from getting larger or moving around the screen during Group FaceTime calls.

Here’s how to take advantage of it.

AT&T will stop using the term 5G Evolution to describe an enhanced type of 4G. Rival T-Mobile convinced an arbitration panel on Wednesday that the description is misleading.

This apparently means iOS and Android handsets will stop informing customers that they’re connected to a 5G E network.

Update: AT&T will stop including 5G Evolution in its advertising, but will continue to put the 5GE icon on iPhones and Androids connected to its improved 4G LTE network.

Twitter is expanding testing of a new feature that lets users specify exactly who can reply to their tweets. The new conversation settings, which Twitter said Wednesday it is rolling out to a small percentage of users, lets people limit replies to people they follow or to certain individuals.

It’s Twitter’s latest attempt to tame toxic conversations on the free-wheeling platform. (As you might expect, not everyone is thrilled with the concept.)

All iPhone users can now install iOS 13.5. This includes the tools Apple and Google created to make COVID-19 contact-tracing applications. And this update brings a number of other new features focused on the current crisis.

Apple also released iPadOS 13.5, which incorporates many of the same features.

A trio of Democratic Senators raised questions on Tuesday about what incentives the Trump administration offered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to build a new processor fabrication plant in the U.S. This factory could be used to produce chips for future iPhones.

The lawmakers want to be sure that TSMC isn’t getting unfair advantages over American chip makers. And that the plant won’t allow U.S. trade secrets to leak to China.

Amazon has a cracking deal on iPhone 11 Pro today, with a whopping $360 off the 512GB model. The discount reduces a Renewed device to just $999.99 — the same price you’ll pay for a 64GB device in the Apple Store.

You can also save big on 256GB and 64GB models.

A new bug introduced with Apple’s recent macOS 10.15.4 seems to be causing random restarts for some 16-inch MacBook Pro owners. Apple hasn’t rolled out an official fix yet, but there is a workaround you can use for now.

German website WinFuture posted pictures of what it claims are the new Powerbeats Pro colors. The colors — Glacier Blue, Spring Yellow, Cloud Pink and Lava Red — were previously leaked, although this is the first time we’ve seen the purported shades.

Glacier Blue, Spring Yellow and Cloud Pink are all softer pastel colors, while Lava Red is a brighter color like Apple’s (PRODUCT)RED variants. According to the report, the wireless earphones will come in a black case.

Pick up Apple’s newest iPad mini today and enjoy a generous $135 off the usual price. The discount — the biggest we’ve seen so far on this model — applies to the 64GB iPad mini with Wi-Fi + Cellular connectivity, which is now just $394.

Keeping distractions at bay is harder than ever, especially if you’re working from home. That makes noise-canceling headphones an essential tool for productivity (or just keeping your sanity).

If you don’t already own a set, this is your chance. We’ve got deals on smart noise-canceling headphones that won’t drain your bank account.

Grayshift, a company which creates iPhone-cracking tech for use by law enforcement, has reportedly developed software that can be used to break into suspects’ iPhones.

Described in a recent article by NBC News, the Hide UI spyware works not by cracking the code needed to unlock an iPhone, but rather logging it when the user accesses their device. Here’s how it works.

Despite concerns being raised, Apple is unlikely to face any blowback from China over the United State’s current standoff with Huawei, experts told CNBC in a report published Tuesday.

Chinese state media recently suggested that U.S. firms including Apple could have their success in China hampered by “rounds of endless investigations” after the White House imposed sanctions on Chinese smartphone maker Huawei. But expert voices suggest China’s bark may be worse than its bite in this case.

The iPhone 12 box may be a little bit lighter than you’re expecting — as Apple stops packaging its smartphones with wired EarPods to try and push sales of the AirPods.

That’s according to renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, in a note sent to clients Wednesday. Kuo also thinks that Apple could offer big discounts and promotions related to the AirPods this holiday season. That would coincide with the arrival of Apple’s next-gen iPhones — minus free packaged earbuds.

Touring the world ain’t exactly easy right now — which is why it’s good that Mario Kart Tour is there to fulfill your globe-hopping needs. The hit Nintendo kart racing game has already taken players to New York, Tokyo, Paris, London, and other exotic locales. Now it’s headed for the tropical Jungle in its latest tour.

Check out the trailer for the Jungle Tour below.

A former Apple contractor says that Apple and other tech giants continue to ignore and violate “fundamental rights” with their “massive collection of data.” And he wants them investigated for it.

Thomas le Bonniec is one of the ex-Apple contractors whose job involved listening to users’ Siri recordings. News of the practice broke last year, but this is the first time le Bonniec has gone public.

Far from resting on its laurels, Apple continues to look for innovative features to build into MacBooks. A patent awarded Tuesday shows the company is considering making the trackpad virtual, so it can be positioned wherever the user likes.

And a second patent goes even further, making the keyboard and the area around it touch-sensitive.

You might need to exercise a little more if you hope to stay fit while stuck at home for most of the day during a global pandemic. Give yourself a little push by increasing your Move goal on Apple Watch.

It’s easy to do, and if you’re one of the many Apple Watch owners who likes to complete their Move goal every day, it will help you burn a few additional calories to make up for spending most of the day on the couch.

Pick up the terrific Meco Stylus Pen for iPad today and enjoy 40% off the usual price with this exclusive coupon code for Cult of Mac readers.

The Meco Stylus Pen is great for jotting down notes, quick sketches, and just navigating iPadOS with greater precision. It boasts great battery life and impressive performance — and it’s way more affordable than Apple Pencil.