LED Flash

Flash jailbreak tweak updated with improved Ambient Light Sensor level adjustments

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Flash, the jailbreak tweak that uses the iPhone's Ambient Light Sensor to display a shortcut to the LED flash, has been updated with a new preference panel. The 2015 jailbreak tweak of the year nominee now incorporates one of the suggestions from our review, and the result is a much better tweak overall.

This is a tool that allows you access to a quick flashlight shortcut on the Lock screen while in a dark environment. With the previous version of the tweak, the shortcut would appear at the slightest hint of darkness. With the update, users now have the option of adjusting the Light Level, making the tweak much less sensitive, which helps to reduce false positives.

How to have your iPhone LED light blink and flash when you get a call, text message, or app notification

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 19, 2022

Your iPhone usually lets you know when there is an incoming call, text, or app notification using sound, vibration, or both. But in certain situations, audible alerts and vibrations won't be enough to attract your attention, like when in a loud environment such as a nightclub. Or perhaps you simply don't want to be disturbed by sound or vibration at all.

Thankfully, iPhones can use the LED flash next to the rear camera to alert you of incoming calls, messages, and other app notifications. In this post, we'll show you how to enable LED flash alerts on your iOS device.

‘Flash’ automatically displays a Lock screen flashlight shortcut when in a dark environment

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated June 12, 2018

From time to time I've been known to question the idea of jailbreaking my iOS device. I tend to waffle back in forth between loving it and being a little ho-hum on the idea.

Make no mistake, I'll likely always be a jailbreaker as long as its possible, but using a jailbreak on my daily driver is something different altogether. Right now, my jailbreak has been relegated to my iPhone 6 Plus, my test device; but tweaks like Flash make me wish I still had Cydia on my main device.

Flash is a clever jailbreak tweak that presents a flashlight shortcut on your Lock screen when the iPhone's Ambient Light Sensor detects you're in a dark environment. Watch our video inside to see it in action.

‘CandleLight’ will disable your iPhone’s flashlight after a preset interval

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

There have been several times when I've woken up to a dead or almost dead iPhone, and then later realized that I sat it down with the flashlight still on. This always happens at night, where I use the iPhone's LED flash to traverse the treacherous terrain that is my dark bedroom. Wouldn't it be nice if the iPhone was smart enough to disable the flashlight after a certain amount of time?

New iPhone 6 rear shell photos show protruding camera lens and round True Tone LED flash

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Although everyone's favorite parts leaker, Australia-born Sonny Dickson, has remained mostly mum in terms of iPhone 6 component leaks this year, Tuesday morning he took to Twitter to share high-resolution photos of an alleged iPhone 6 rear shell which seem to match up nicely with the leaks we recently saw.

In addition to the antenna breaks at the top and the bottom replacing the glass cutouts seen on the iPhone 5/5s, the images appear to depict an iPod touch-style protruding lens for the device. Also clearly visible on the photos: a circular dual-LED flash module that Apple calls 'True Tone' flash...

iPhone 6 has round True Tone flash, leaked part indicates

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 11, 2014

Virtually every major leak pertaining to Apple's upcoming iPhone 6 has depicted a round flash hole on the back rather than the pill-shaped opening seen on the iPhone 5s.

In turn, several watchers have speculated that Apple may have abandoned True Tone flash altogether and switched back to the inferior single LED flash design.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

True Tone flash is part of the iPhone 5s's improved camera performance. Can anyone in their right mind say that Apple engineers would be willing to forgo dual-LED flash design and therefore sacrifice better highlights and more natural-looking skin tones?

I consistently argued Apple must have instead found a way to engineer a round dual-LED flash. Indeed. Lo and behold, among a plethora of purported part leaks published earlier this morning by a French blog is a component featuring both white and amber LED lights packaged together in a round-shaped part...

Bulb: add a status bar indicator for the iPhone’s LED flashlight

Jeff Benjamin ∙ May 18, 2014

The flashlight toggle in Control Center was a great addition to iOS 7, but it always baffled me why Apple didn't place some sort of indicator in the status bar to tell you when the flash was active. Obviously, most people can see when the flash is on, but there are certain circumstances that one can encounter, which would make such an indicator useful.

What about when you sit your phone down on a table with the LED flash covered? It's possible that the iPhone's battery could die due to the flash being on for a long period of time. I know that may seem far-fetched, but it has happened to the developer of this tweak, and it has happened to me on a few occasions.

Bulb is a jailbreak tweak that will help make users more aware of the status of the LED flash. It places a lightbulb indicator in the status bar whenever the flash is active. Have a look at our video walkthrough for more info.

Alleged iPhone 5S glass wedge part with dual-LED flash hole surfaces

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 12, 2013

Apple's upcoming iPhone 5 refresh, the iPhone 5S, is expected to further appease to iPhone photographers by increasing the back iSight camera resolution from eight megapixels on the current model all the way up to twelve megapixels.

Pixel count matters but there's more to photography than megapixels (hint: more powerful LED flash).

Apple is thought to be giving the iPhone 5S a dual-LED flash module, a first for the iPhone. The technology should allow for improved low-light shooting and more natural looking photographs, especially those taken under artificial light.

The French blog NowhereElse.fr on Monday published a photo showing what looks like a back iPhone part - the top glass strip to be precise, with a taller LED flash hole next to the iSight camera hole...

The iPhone 5S may incorporate dual-LED flash independently of camera lens

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

The not-entirely-accurate Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes back in June 2011 incorrectly reported that the then rumored iPhone 5 would incorporate dual-LED flash. That hasn't panned out, but the rumor lives on. Numerous reports and a purported backplate seemingly point to Apple adopting dual-LED flash on the iPhone 5S.

But unlike the standard implementations, Apple engineers may have chosen to incorporate the LED flash module completely independent from the camera lens, potentially reducing interference with the camera module...

‘TorchNC’ and ‘InstaSnap’ spice up Notification Center on jailbroken iPhones

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Two new jailbreak tweaks have recently appeared in Cydia by the same developer, and they both happen to focus on Notification Center. Specifically, these tweaks aim to add handy shortcuts to the Notification Center pull-down pane.

The first tweak on the docket, TorchNC, adds a shortcut to activate the iPhone's LED flash. There are other tweaks and apps that perform flashlight functions, but I always find it useful to have it within Notification Center, or directly on the Lock screen.

The second tweak, like the first, is a shortcut for Notification Center. Instead of interacting with the iPhone's LED flash, InstaSnap is a tweak that allows you to quickly access the camera from within Instagram. Seeing as though this tweak doesn't require the iPhone only LED flash, it works with both the iPhone and iPod touch perfectly fine.

Take a look as we profile both InstaSnap and TorchNC in our walkthrough videos inside...

MyLED brings external notifications to your iOS device

Cody Lee ∙ November 29, 2012

Despite the many improvements Apple has made to the iPhone over the past five years, there are still some things missing from the handset. One of the biggest omissions, for a lot of folks anyway, is the lack of external notifications.

And Apple must agree, to some extent, because it added the LED Flash for Alerts feature in iOS 5. But the makeshift solution doesn't quite cut it for everyone, and that's where the myLED external notification light comes in...

‘Torch’ is a new flashlight toggle for your iPhone’s Lock screen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Whenever you find yourself in a dark place, chances are you don't have a flashlight on your person, but you do have an iPhone. For that reason, it's a good idea to install a jailbreak tweak that allows you to easily use the iPhone's built in LED flash as a flashlight.

There are already a handful of decent flashlight tweaks available on Cydia, but this latest one called Torch is one of the better implementations. Torch is a tweak that places an easily accessible flashlight button on your Lock screen that will enable or disable the LED flash.