Flash

Apple tried to make Flash work on the iPhone, but the performance was just “abysmal”

Apple used to derail Adobe's now-defunct Flash software as an outdated technology past its prime. But former iOS chief Scott Forstall has revealed a little-known fact: the Cupertino tech giant actually did work with Adobe on trying to make the once-ubiquitous multimedia software work on the iPhone, but the results were just “abysmal” and “embarrassing.”

Tenmetsu makes the iPhone’s rear-facing flash more like a pro flashlight

In addition to being a phone and an internet communications device, the iPhone could be described as a digital multitool. A great example is the handset’s rear-facing LED flash, which doubles as a flashlight when we find ourselves stranded in the dark.

Out of the box, a stock iPhone supports use of the aforementioned LED flash as a flashlight via the Lock Screen Quick Action button or the dedicated Control Center module. Users may also adjust the LED brightness in steps if they wish. Unlike a lot of flashlights on the market today, however, the iPhone’s LED flash seems lackluster in the feature department. That’s where a new jailbreak tweak dubbed Tenmetsu by iOS developer Plat-Ykor comes into play.

FlashNotify ensures you never forget when your iPhone’s flashlight is on

If a notched iPhone is your daily driver, then you might be familiar with just how easy it is to accidentally activate the rear-facing LED flashlight from the Lock Screen. Even more annoying is when it’s a bright and sunny day outside and you can't see that you have the flashlight feature turned on, therefore forgetting all about it and imposing unnecessary battery drain on your device.

FlashNotify is a newly released and free jailbreak tweak by iOS developer Greg0109 that was created to prevent the two aforementioned scenarios from happening to you. As the tweak’s name implies, FlashNotify works by notifying you when you forget to turn off your handset’s rear-facing flash and provides intelligent features for turning it off when this happens.

ShakeLight lets you use your iPhone’s LED flashlight with a shake

I often find myself in situations where I require a flashlight, and when one isn’t readily available. When this happens, I’ll do the only logical thing and grab my iPhone to use the LED torch functionality.

There are some cases, however, when using the touch screen to activate my iPhone’s LED torch just isn’t an option, and that’s one reason why I’m excited about the release of a new and free jailbreak tweak called ShakeLight by iOS developer Kritanta.

This tweak automatically turns off your iPhone’s LED flashlight if you forget it

iPhone 5s LED flashlight.

Your iPhone’s rear-facing LED camera flash becomes an excellent makeshift flashlight in a pinch, but have you ever glanced at your handset’s battery level after accidentally leaving your LED flash turned on? I have… and it wasn’t pretty.

With a newly-released jailbreak tweak dubbed OhMyFlash by iOS developer NoisyFlake, you can prevent this from happening. The tweak implements a customizable timeout period, after which your iPhone’s rear-facing flash is automatically turned off.