Worried that Cydia will be too slow after the jailbreak? Don’t worry too much

By Jeff Benjamin on Jan 29, 2013

It’s the same story with almost every jailbreak. The new jailbreak is released, and folks rush to download all of their favorite jailbreak apps and tweaks. The result is a less than primed experience due to the stress that this places on Cydia and the repos hosting the various packages. After a new jailbreak is released, it usually takes a few days for everything to calm down to somewhat normal levels.

This time around, though, Saurik, and the repo managers appear to be taking preemptive actions to ensure a smoother experience immediately post jailbreak release. While nothing is assured until the inevitable deluge of user requests places stress on the system, you should look forward to a much better experience than in times past. Read More

 

Over 300 million devices now on iOS 6 and above

By Cody Lee on Jan 28, 2013

In addition to seeding the public version of iOS 6.1 this morning, Apple also published a press release announcing a number of interesting stats and milestones. The most notable landmark is that there are now more than 300 million users on iOS 6.0 and above.

That’s pretty wild, considering that last week the company said there are now more than 500 million iOS devices in the wild. That’s well over a 50% take rate in less than 6 months, which certainly bodes well for app developers. Keep reading for more details… Read More

 

The next batch of iOS devices could feature a 128GB model

By Jeff Benjamin on Jan 27, 2013

Is 64GB just not cutting it for you? Then you might be interested in this RT from iOS hacker iH8sn0w a few moments ago. It questioned the possibility of seeing 128GB iDevices in the near future, due to a new system partition key size in the iOS 6.1 BuildManifest.

Curious, I decided to investigate this file for myself. After extracting the iOS 6.1 beta and comparing the SystemPartitionPadding values with older 6.0.x firmware, it became clear as to what @iNeal, the author of the original tweet, was referring to.

While this doesn’t set anything in stone, it certainly lends evidence that Apple may be seriously considering up-sizing its next batch of iOS devices this time. Read More

 

Pin Lock screen reminders to a non-jailbroken iPhone with ‘Task Paper’

By Mike Schnier on Jan 25, 2013

We know that some of our readers who updated to iOS 6, or those of you who upgraded to the iPhone 5, get annoyed when we feature jailbreak tweaks. In for each article about tweaks we get at least one comment along the lines of, “Why are you covering tweaks when there’s no jailbreak!?!” It’s totally understandable, since you can’t take advantage of all the awesome tweaks we’ve showcased. Lucky for you, the clever developers at Renegade Apps have found a way to add functionality to the Lock screen without relying on MobileSubstrate.

Task Paper (not to be confused with the similarly named TaskPaper) is a to-do list app, available in iTunes, that allows users to create persistent Lock screen reminders through generated wallpapers. These wallpapers provide functionality similar to the Reminders+ tweak, all without a jailbreak… Read More

 

MuscleNerd, pimskeks, planetbeing and pod2g team up as the ‘evad3rs’

By Cody Lee on Jan 24, 2013

So this is kind of interesting. Amidst all of the recent talk of the iOS 6 jailbreak nearing completion, pod2g has made a rather unexpected announcement. Apparently he, and three other well known iOS hackers are forming a team.

That team is called ‘evad3rs,’ and it consists of MuscleNerd, of iPhone Dev-Team fame, pimskeks from the Chronic-Dev Team, planetbeing, who has been working diligently on the latest jailbreak, and of course there’s pod2g… Read More

 

iOS hackers can’t wait for Apple to release iOS 6.1

By Jeff Benjamin on Jan 23, 2013

On January 28th, a mere five days from now, iOS 6.1 beta 4 will expire. If the past is any indication, then Apple will act, either releasing a 5th beta for iOS 6.1, or releasing the iOS 6.1 golden master — a final baked version, which shortly precedes a public release.

Since the firmware expires on the 28th, then I don’t see Apple waiting until that day before making a move. The most realistic time period for it to drop a new release — whether it be beta 5 or the golden master — would be tomorrow, the 24th, or Friday, the 25th.

The big question is whether or not Apple decides to push out another beta release, or feels comfortable releasing the golden master (final) version of iOS 6.1. While it’s not unheard of for Apple to go more than four releases deep into a beta period — iOS 5, for instance, saw seven different beta releases — it would be only the second time that this has happened for a non-major release.

The reason why the timing is so interesting for us, is because we believe that the hackers working on the iOS 6 jailbreak are waiting for a final version iOS 6.1 to be released, before finishing up and releasing the long awaited jailbreak. How do we know this? They basically told us as much… Read More

 

More developers spotted in the iOS 6 jailbreak effort

By Mike Schnier on Jan 22, 2013

You’re probably familiar with two developers by the name of David Wang and Cyril Cattiaux, also known as PlanetBeing and pod2g. If you’re reading this, you’re likely waiting for them to release an untethered jailbreak for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5. The good news is they’re not working on the jailbreak alone.

The iOS 6 jailbreaking effort seems to be picking up speed as other developers have begun contributing their own expertise to the movement. Here are the recent developments… Read More

 

Free Press launches AT&T petition site over FaceTime rules

By Cody Lee on Jan 19, 2013

Last week, AT&T announced that it was going to be opening up FaceTime over cellular to all tiered data plans. This is the latest in a string of policy changes made by the carrier to appease the Net Neutrality groups.

But it doesn’t look like the groups were very impressed. In response to AT&T’s decision to continue to exclude the feature from those on grandfathered unlimited data plans, the Free Press has setup a petition site… Read More

 

Pod2g and planetbeing make progress on iOS 6 jailbreak

By Cody Lee on Jan 19, 2013

So here’s something we haven’t heard in a while: good news on the jailbreak front. It looks like now that pod2g has completed his first iOS app, entitled podDJ, the security expert has turned his attention to hacking iOS 6.

His return alone is great news, since it seems like he’s been gone from the community forever. But to add to the excitement, the hacker just announced that he and planetbeing recently discovered two new vulnerabilities… Read More

 

AT&T opens up FaceTime over cellular to all tiered data plans

By Cody Lee on Jan 16, 2013

AT&T has announced this morning that it will be once again be expanding support for iOS 6′s FaceTime over cellular for its subscribers. It appears that all iOS users who are on a tiered data plan, will be able to utilize the feature from any FaceTime compatible device.

The carrier took quite a bit of heat last year when it initially announced that FaceTime over cellular would only be available to iOS users on its shared data plans. It later opened up the feature to legacy data plans, and then to LTE users. And now it’s available for all… Read More

 

Siri withholds information, can help you if you upgrade to iOS 6

By Mike Schnier on Jan 16, 2013

We haven’t seen a publicly released untethered jailbreak since iOS 6 debuted in September, and Apple hasn’t been making the wait easy for the jailbreak community. There are the little annoyances, like apps exclusive to iOS 6, over the air update alerts, and that pesky notification badge in settings that appears by default. Some of these are easy to deal with through tweaks, but what happens when Apple isn’t being subtle?

A user on Reddit asked Siri when the superbowl was starting, only to find that his personal assistant refused to comply. Siri’s response: “If you update to the latest version of iOS, I’ll be able to help you with that.” … Read More

 

Planetbeing says he has an iOS 6.0.2 untethered jailbreak now, but we must be patient

By Jeff Benjamin on Jan 4, 2013

iOS hacker Planetbeing posted on Reddit earlier today about the status of the iPhone 5/iOS 6 untethered jailbreak. While there have been many messages regarding the viability of a jailbreak, the famous iOS hacker insists that it’s only a matter of time before a jailbreak is a reality.

In other words, we need to be patient while the guys who have proven themselves time and time again put in work…

Read More

 

Ironically enough, Apple airs iPhone 5 commercial highlighting Do Not Disturb mode

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 1, 2013

Talk about ill-timed advertising! Apple’s first new television commercial in 2013 which highlights a Do Not Disturb mode on the iPhone 5 has been spotted in the wild. We reported earlier that some folks were irked to wake up this morning to muted alerts for incoming calls and messages despite their iOS Do Not Disturb mode being outside its scheduled time.

I guess Apple’s ad agency wasn’t keeping tabs on tech news today. The 30-second clip above features tennis celebrity Serena Williams and her sister Venus. The ad can also be found on Apple’s official YouTube channel in its high-def glory… Read More

 

Auxo now available on Cydia

By Jeff Benjamin on Dec 24, 2012

Ladies and gents, it has landed. Yes, Auxo, the highly anticipated jailbreak tweak that reinvents the iOS app switcher has gone public on Cydia.

Last week we brought you an exclusive first look at the tweak in action, and needless to say, nearly 200,000 views later, many of you are looking forward to trying it out for yourselves. If you have a jailbroken iPhone running iOS 6, I’m happy to report that you can now download Auxo from Cydia’s BigBoss repo for just $1.99. Read More

 

Apple seen stepping up security in iOS 6.1

By Cody Lee on Dec 24, 2012

Apple seeded beta 4 of iOS 6.1 to developers last week. The word is, this could be the final beta, meaning a public release for the new firmware would be just around the corner.

Don’t get too excited though. We’ve seen few changes in 6.1 that will be worth updating for. And if you’re planning on jailbreaking, it looks like you’ll definitely want to stay away… Read More

 

JavaScript bug found in iOS 6′s Smart App Banners

By Cody Lee on Dec 22, 2012

This is kind of weird. A new bug has been discovered in iOS 6 that has to do with the Smart App Banners feature. It seems that the banners, which websites can implement to give users a direct link to apps, will turn on the JavaScript setting in Safari without warning.

On the surface, this may not seem like a very big deal. After all, most folks don’t mess with the JavaScript settings on their iOS devices because a lot of web sites require it. But the fact that these Smart Banners are turning it on, unbeknownst to users, is a bit troubling… Read More

 

This jailbreak tweak allows you to fake certain statistics on your iPhone

By Jeff Benjamin on Dec 21, 2012

I’ve been known to give jailbreak developers a pass when it comes to developing what many deem as “worthless” tweaks, because I know that there is always someone who will find a tweak to be useful. The latest such item to teeter upon this fine line is Fake iOS 6 About — a jailbreak tweak that allows you to fake statistical information about your device.

If you’ve ever wanted to pretend that your device could hold a million songs, or that you reside on a carrier not available in your country, then Fake iOS 6 About is the tweak for you. In most cases, many will feel that such a tweak is worthless. I’ll be totally honest with you; this time, it’s hard not to agree with those sentiments. Read More

 

Chitika: recent iOS 6 adoption spike due to China iPhone 5 launch

By Cody Lee on Dec 21, 2012

Earlier this week, a report surfaced from MoPub, a mobile ad serving platform, suggesting that the recent release of Google Maps caused a 30% spike in iOS 6 user adoption. And of course, it made sense that some folks were holding out on updating until they were sure they’d have a proper Maps app.

But what didn’t make sense was how far off MoPub’s findings were from Chitika’s. You see Chitika, another large ad network, also looked at iOS 6 user adoption after the Google Maps release, and it only saw a 0.2% bump. So why the huge discrepancy? It likely has to do with the firms’ coverage areas… Read More

 

Siri’s reliance on Google cut in half since iOS 6

By Ed Sutherland on Dec 20, 2012

Siri, what happened to Google? The voice-activated personal assistant (which debuted alongside the iPhone 4S last October) and the Internet giant aren’t as close as before. Apple’s digital secretary is fast becoming a stranger to Google as one Apple watcher says Siri’s reliance on Google has been cut in half since iOS 6.

While 60 percent of Siri queries sent iPhone owners using iOS 5 to Google data, iOS 6 reduced the percentage to 30 percent. Apparently, Google Maps took the heaviest hit as Apple Maps became the destination for 24 percent of Siri’s answers, up from zero percent in iOS 5. Siri – now competing with Google’s own voice assistant – is also a wee bit more accurate… Read More