‘Pyx’ adds smooth animations to the iOS app switcher

Pyx Effects

Looking to change up the look of the App Switcher animations on iOS 8? If so, then look no further than Pyx, a $0.99 jailbreak tweak that allows you to add over half a dozen animations to the App Switcher.

As you’ll see from our video walkthrough inside, Pyx isn’t the most elegant tweak that you’ll run across, but it works well enough to leave most satisfied with the results. Have a look at our video for the full scoop.

After installing Pyx, go to the Settings app and find its preferences. There, you’ll find a single section for selecting the type of animation that you’d like to use for the app switcher. The animations are as follows:

  • Fade
  • Slide From Top
  • Slide From Bottom
  • Flip Vertically
  • Flip Horizontally
  • Spin Clockwise
  • Spin Counter Clockwise
  • Slide From Bottom With Bounce
  • Slide From Top With Bounce

The developer notes that it may take a few seconds before the effect is activated, which I did find to be the case in some instances, as you’ll see in our video. Thankfully, though, you don’t have to respring in order for an effect to take place.

Pyx causes animations to occur when you invoke the app switcher, as you swipe between the app switcher cards, and when you tap on an app switcher card to switch to an app.  The animations are smooth, but I do wish that an option was included to adjust the speed of such animations.

Pyx Preferences

I also felt that the preferences in general were a bit clunky. For example, the description text was in all caps, which looks and feels a bit amateurish. Pyx’s developer, Bradley Friedman, has been in the tweak game for a long time now and is anything but an amateur, so it’s a bit disappointing to see such a thing. You’ll also notice how the text for the tweak’s description is a bit cut off in Pyx preferences as well. Again, these aren’t deal-breaking issues, but they surely cut down on the tweak’s elegance.

Nonetheless, Pyx is a good tweak. Its effects are smooth, fluid, and there are quite a few to choose from.

You can download Pyx for $0.99 on Cydia’s BigBoss repo. I do recommend it if you’re looking for this sort of effect in the App Switcher. What do you think?