Right now it seems like Apple is set for a collision of sorts with the Chinese government — and things may not be helped by the fact that a state-owned Chinese company just bought a stake in Imagination Technologies, a British chip design company Apple was previously reported as being in “advanced talks” to acquire.

Drake certainly won’t regret making his latest album, Views, an Apple exclusive. The company helped rack up 1 million sales in just five days, with more than 600,000 of those coming within the first 24 hours of the record’s availability.

After Apple Maps got off to a rocky start, it is continuing its quest to become the go-to maps service on mobile by adding transit information for yet another city — meaning that the app will provide detailed information on transportation options ranging from buses to railway lines.

The latest city to get the Transit treatment? Sacramento, CA.

In another piece of evidence that September’s iPhone 7 may not offer a radical redesign of the curvaceous iPhone 6 or 6s, a newly-released schematic suggests that the next-gen iPhone 7 will boast an identical height and width to last year’s 2015-era iPhone refresh.

Good thing or not? Either way, check out the picture below.

Paying for VPN services for your iPhone and iPad just became a thing of the past, thanks to Opera.

The company is today launching the first free and unlimited VPN for iOS, allowing you to browse the web anonymously, access content that’s blocked in your country, and more — without coughing up a single penny.

Apple reportedly hosted a meeting between Eddy Cue and seven leading podcasters last month in Cupertino, in which the company listened to the concerns they had for Apple’s podcast services going forward.

Some of the most pressing issues are said to involve the ease of sharing podcasts on social media, the possibility of offering paid podcasts, and providing podcasters with data about their audience which could then be used to help generate more money.

Take a trip down memory lane to see some amazing Apple memorabilia — if you’re in Prague, anyway. With a collection that spans the years 1976 to 2012, nearly every Apple computer, printer, mouse, joystick, and piece of software is represented.

Learn more about this fascinating museum and the story of its founders in this week’s jam-packed Cult of Mac Magazine. Plus, Tim Cook’s promises of undreamt-of future iPhone features, backing up an iPhone to an external drive, luxurious Apple Watch bands, and Mac spring cleaning.

All this, and much much more, in Cult of Mac Magazine, free for you right now.

Here are this week’s top stories.

In a week in which we heard about the impending Apple Music refresh, Drake’s Views album proved a smash hit for Apple, and the LAPD revealed that it had successfully hacked the iPhone 5s as part of a high-profile murder investigation, some great new — and newly-updated — apps arrived in the App Store.

Check out our picks for the week’s best below. What better way to spend a lazy Sunday?

Each week we share great deals on standout products and lessons, but some deals are greater and standout-er than others. To make sure you get a shot and the best of the best, every Sunday we’ll be posting a roundup of the especially special deals we find each week. This week, we’re reminding you of a wearable that makes sure you never miss a call, lessons in ethical hacking, a tough and classy iPhone wallet, and a camera that revives the Polaroid format.

Take a look:

Another week, another round of deals on tools and tech at the Cult of Mac Store. This time we’ve got universal remotes, training in Adobe suite, a first-class iPhone wallet and a whole bag of awesome apps. Take a gander and treat yourself to something you didn’t know you needed.

My biggest gripe with my Apple Watch is not the sluggish hardware, the lack of GPS nor the dependance on my iPhone. These are all problems to be sure. But it is the bad user interface design that often drives me so mad that my force-taps turn into force-thumps of frustration.

With an update to the Apple Watch operating system expected at the Worldwide Developers Conference next month, here’s my top 10 list of interface improvements I’d like to see in the upcoming watchOS 3. These essential changes would spare my wrist from future incidents of wrist rage.

You’ve done it now, Apple Music-phobes. Now Snopes is involved.

The myth-busting website, which has ended several of my burgeoning Facebook arguments before anyone could call anyone else a Nazi, has turned its attention to this week’s claims that Apple’s streaming service is just reaching into your computer and absconding with your music. And it has good news for the people who are frantically clutching their tunes like virtual teddy bears.

According to Snopes, the rumors we’ve heard are “Mostly False.” But here’s what that means.

We know that emoticons and Emojis are for expressing yourself when words fail you, but what does it mean when you put flowers around your text bubble? According to Facebook Messenger, that just means it’s Mother’s Day.

The chat app has rolled out a weird feature in advance of Sunday’s mother-loving holiday to let you festoon your messages with happy little flowers.

Here’s how you get in on the festivities.

A new Mac art print takes a festive look at the machine that launched the brand.

It comes courtesy of online art shop We Are Dorothy, and the piece features a cutaway view of the 1984 classic. And rather than just showing what actually made the original Mac run, the framable version crams its machine full of shining happy people and sly references to Apple culture.

Check it out in full below.

Apple Music’s existing interface is quaking in its boots. In just one month, it could be given its marching orders as Apple looks to make way for a fancy new design that hopes to attract even more subscribers to its streaming service.

But does Apple Music really need a major revamp?

Some say its user interface is already familiar if you’re a long time iOS user — and even if you’re not, it’s arguably still prettier than those offered by rival streaming services. But others say it’s just not friendly enough, and too tricky to learn.

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over Apple Music’s rumored redesign!

Fans hoping Apple will bring the new Smart Connector from the iPad Pro lineup over to iPhone 7 may be in for some disappointment this fall.

The iPhone 7 won’t feature a Smart Connector, according to a new report from Asia that claims Apple has shelved the idea for now.

Apple kicked off the Mother’s Day celebrations early when it rolled out its latest Shot on iPhone ad earlier this week. And now you can create a personalized version by adding a photo of you and your mom to the clip.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to make another major public appearance in the lead up to WWDC next month.

Startup Fest Europe revealed that Cook will be the opening speaker at the conference on Tuesday May 24th. It’s unknown what Cook’s keynote will focus on, though his remarks may touch on his mastery of streamlining processes for business and possibly enterprise, which has become a bigger focus for the company recently.

Serious Apple prototype collectors usually know exactly what they are looking for as they try to build a physical timeline of each distinct device ever made. A Holy Grail artifact would be an Apple I. Fewer than 50 are said to exist.

Hap Plain wants the pieces none of us, including him, have ever seen.

He is one of a very select subculture who search the world over for Apple prototypes. Before being polished into the personal computing icons of our lives, Apple computers, iPods, iPhones and other devices start out as crude, unfinished test models so glitches and user experience hangups can be identified and worked out before hitting the market.

Thanks to the Illum, we may need to reconsider what the word “picture” means. Lytro’s game-changing camera takes “living images” that can be refocused and explored in 3-D, like some kind of precursor to a hologram.

As a light-field camera, the Illum does this by capturing the direction of every ray of light in an image, an advanced new imaging technology that’s being put to amazing use in creating virtual reality experiences. We’re thrilled to offer a Cult of Mac exclusive on the Lytro Illum for just $339.99 — that’s almost $1,000 off list price!

The labels may have resisted music streaming early on, but Warner Music Group will be grateful it’s big business today.

So big, in fact, that thanks to services like Apple Music and Spotify, streaming music just raked in more revenue than anything else last quarter.

Bob Kupbens isn’t sticking around to get an early glimpse at the iPhone 7. According to a report citing multiple sources, the former online retail chief, who joined Apple in 2014, has left the company to take up a new position elsewhere.

So far this year, vulnerabilities have been exploited to help unlock the older-generation iPhone 5s and 5c, both as part of murder investigations. However, the newer iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, and 6s Plus remain secure devices no government has been able to break into.

Although that record may have been broken in India, according to the country’s telecom minister.

Tim Cook is set for a verbal shootout in China as he meets with high-ranking officials in Beijing later this month to discuss some critical issues Apple faces in the country.

The visit comes at a time when Apple is facing various problems in China, including the loss of its exclusive iPhone trademark, and the Chinese government’s decision to ban the company from operating its iBooks and iTunes Movies stores locally.

From the sound of things, Apple is focusing a lot of attention on next year’s iPhone launch as the biggest handset refresh since 2014’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Alongside OLED displays, wireless charging, an all-glass enclosure and a lack of physical home button, the iPhone 7s (or possibly iPhone 8 if certain rumors are to be believed) will also include a next-next-gen A11 chip. And Apple’s already working on it.