This week we collaborate on songs in the “Google Docs for music,” edit video in Darkroom, block the Touch Bar from accidental taps, and gain other essential tools. These are the best apps and updates of the week.

Microsoft Excel is one of the most common and critical tools for the modern workplace. This bundle of lessons will teach you how to use the spreadsheet app — and certify you to maximize the benefits for your career.

Before it was an Apple TV+ series, Defending Jacob was a bestselling novel. In a new Apple video, author William Landay talks about seeing his book adapted for the small screen.

Watch it now:

Power banks designed for phones don’t do much for laptops and tablets. But the RavPower RP-PB055 AC Power Bank packs a whopping 30,000mAh, and more than doubles a MacBook’s time between recharges. Even better, it includes a standard wall socket so it can run DVD players, lamps, fans … whatever you need.

I tested it not only with Apple products but with other electronics, too. Read on to see how this uber-size power bank held up.

The reviews are in: The 2020 iPhone SE is a wallet-friendly speed machine with features that make it totally tempting. You can almost hear new owners squealing with delight as their preorders arrive.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 12 faces delays due to the worldwide COVID-19 shutdown. Get those stories and more in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download the app now for a smooth read on your iOS device of choice. Or hit the links below for the week’s top Apple news, reviews and how-tos.

Learning a new language opens up a world of possibilities. This highly rated app will teach you up to 14 different languages, so you can emerge from quarantine with some fresh skills. And since we’re offering a big discount on a lifetime deal, you can continue to master new tongues long after this COVID-19 pandemic blows over.

Imran Chaudhri, who played a pivotal role in the Apple Watch’s creation, offered an inside look into the device’s design process Friday, showing off an early concept drawing of the smartwatch’s home screen.

His sketch, shared on the 5-year anniversary of the Apple Watch launch, looks amazingly close to what is in use now. He also showed off a video of the very first Apple Watch band and talked about the history of some Watch faces.

There couldn’t be a better time to treat yourself to a pair of Apple’s amazing wireless buds. Both second-generation AirPods and AirPods Pro are on sale right now, with some of the biggest discounts we’ve seen so far.

Bag yours before they sell out!

Facebook announced Friday it will add the ability for free video calling for up to 50 people on its new video-calling service, Messenger Rooms. The change is taking direct aim at the Group FaceTime and the popular Zoom service that has taken the world by storm as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The expanded service will launch by days end in selected regions with a smaller number of users at launch, but will not be available for the maximum number for a few more weeks, the company said. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook sounds truly optimistic about how quickly the U.S. economy will recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. He reportedly told President Donald Trump on Friday that he expects the economy to undergo a V-shaped recovery.

Apple reportedly cut orders for its future 5G iPhones with Chinese component makers, fearing a slowdown in orders as a result of what many economists are already calling the beginnings of a global recession. 

Chinese daily technology newspaper Digitimes reported Friday some component suppliers have been told by Apple they will not need as many parts for new iPhones, expected to be released later this year. Other suppliers now say that they too expect a slowdown in orders from the iPhone-maker.

I have an app I use every day, but whenever I open it, it opens to a new, blank document, instead of the project I was working on when I closed the app. To open that project, I have to mouse up to my Mac’s menu bar, click on File > Recent Items…, and find it in there.

To fix this, I set out to find a way to easily access the last few projects from this app. What if I could put this list of recent projects into my Mac’s Dock? It turns out that you can easily do this, using a quick Spotlight search, a Smart Folder and a drag to the Dock.

This week on The CultCast: The next generation of AirPods might be incoming! We’ll tell you what we know. Plus, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are likely coming to iPad, along with Mini LED and Touch ID … under the screen. This could be the new Touch ID tech we’ve been waiting for. And stay tuned to hear how to listen to YouTube music in the background, without paying for YouTube Red. It’s a hot tip, and it’s coming your way.

Our thanks to Netgear for supporting this episode. The Orbi WiFi 6 router gives you ultra-fast speeds and wider coverage throughout your home – it’s the biggest revolution in Wi-Fi ever. Check it out today at Netgear.com/bestwifi.

Those who pre-ordered an iPhone SE last week started receiving their handsets today, but Apple sold out of its supply. Orders placed Friday for this $399 handset won’t arrive for over two weeks.

The latest iOS handset is backordered in the U.S. and in countries around the world.

Apple and Google said Friday they are building in stronger privacy protections to their planned contact-tracing system for COVID-19 and that an early version of the initiative will launch for developers next week.

A number of iPhone 12 models currently face delays and may not become available in key markets until later in the year, a trusted source familiar with Apple’s plans revealed to Cult of Mac.

Options also could be limited in the United States and in other countries, where faster mmWave 5G technology is available. Elsewhere, customers may have a complete iPhone 12 lineup to choose from, but with slower 5G technology, according to the source.

With a hot cast and a true-crime sheen, Defending Jacob is one of the most highly anticipated Apple TV+ series so far. It’s based on a best-selling novel. It’s helmed by an Oscar-nominated director. And the first three episodes arrived Friday, primed for a literally captive audience seeking its latest obsession.

Apple calls its fledgling streaming service “the new home for the world’s most creative storytellers.” And for the first time, Apple TV+ has delivered a show that lives up to the hype — at least judging by the first three episodes.

Steve Jobs is coming to the radio. Through the medium of song, that is!

With theaters closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Seattle Opera plans to treat listeners to some much-needed opera by broadcasting some of its past performances on the radio (and streaming them online). Apple fans might want to tune in for Grammy-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, which tells the story of Apple’s iconic late co-founder and CEO.

The second-generation iPhone SE began arriving at the front doors of new owners worldwide Friday, even as Apple and carriers began accepting new online orders for the low-cost mobile in selected markets.

These days, traveling is stressful no matter what, so why add worries about iPhone battery life to the list? A good backup battery is one of the handiest tools you can have on hand when the time comes to go outside. And with these deals, cost is no excuse not to have one.

Apple Pay is coming to Switzerland’s largest bank UBS after it refused to adopt it for years.

A report from the website MacPrime shared an image from UBS suggesting that Apple Pay will go live in the near future. No date has been announced for exactly when that will take place. However, it will reportedly be in the next few weeks.

Apple has told its working-from-home employees that family comes first when it comes to the current coronavirus pandemic. But many employees with kids are still struggling in Silicon Valley’s hectic work culture, claims a new report from CNet.

The article, published Thursday, describes some of the challenges in a tough Silicon Valley working culture, but where — at least in California — schools won’t reopen until fall. Apple is doing whatever it can to help, however.

Apple insisted on Friday that there is no evidence to suggest serious security flaws in its Mail app have been exploited.

The company says the issues do not pose an immediate risk to iPhone and iPad users. Its statement seems to dispute earlier claims from security researchers, who published details of at multiple suspected “attacks” on Wednesday.

Woot’s spectacular sale on refurbished iPhones is back, with big savings to be had on a wide range of models. Prices start at a mere $119.99 for iPhone 7 and rise to just $509.99 for iPhone XS Max.

This sale is good for today (Friday, April 24) only. Enjoy it while you can!

iPhone 2024 anyone? Apple chipmaker TSMC disclosed in its annual report to shareholders Friday that it has kicked off its 2-nanometer R&D process for future chips.

Going by Apple’s record trend of adopting a major upgrade (or, in terms of size, nanometer downgrade) in A-series chipsets every two years, that would mean the early stages of a new processor for the 2024 iPhone. This year’s iPhone is widely expected to come with a 5-nanometer A-series chip. The iPhone 11 has a 7nm processor.