When Apple released iOS & iPadOS 13 last Summer, one of the exciting new features that the company added to the iPhone and iPad experience for the very first time was a built-in download manager for the native Safari web browser. As necessary as this was to make Apple’s platforms both usable and competitive with the rest of the mobile device market, it still left quite a bit to be desired — par for the course when it comes to Apple.
Jailbreakers have significantly more options to choose from when it comes to augmenting this user experience, and with the help of a recently-updated jailbreak tweak dubbed Safari Downloader+ by iOS developer Jalal Ouraigua, jailbreakers can both expect more and get it, especially in terms of the Safari file-downloading experience. The all-new version 5.0 of the Safari Downloader+ adds full support for iOS & iPadOS 13 for the first time.
So why would users need Safari Downloader+ following the release of iOS 13? The simple answer is that this tweak incorporates a plethora of handy utilities to make downloading certain things from different websites easier.
For starters, Safari Downloader+ includes handy buttons to aid with downloading media from popular video hosting websites including Dailymotion, Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo, and YouTube to name a few. Then, after downloading said media, users will then be able to easily import it to their media library for offline viewing whenever they want.
As depicted in the screenshot examples above and below, Safari Downloader+ bakes itself directly into the Safari web browser user interface. It appears as a download button just to the left of the tabs button, and by tapping on it, users can interface with all their previous downloads and configure the Safari Downloader+ tweak however they want to suit their use case.
You’ll also notice that the media downloading and importing options are simplistic and easy to follow. Upon using the tweak on a supported media-hosting website, you can choose the download quality, where it gets saved, and then monitor download progress via the built-in download manager interface. Once finished, you can use powerful tools to fetch metadata and then incorporate those downloads into your native media library via any app of your choosing.
As for configuration, Safari Downloader+ comes with plenty:
Here, users can:
- Automatically detect MME types
- Enable or disable the “open in YouTube” option
- Enable or disable the “show welcome slides” option
- Enable or disable vibration upon completed download
- Enable or disable notifications upon completed download
- Enable or disable two-finger swipe to dismiss
- Select supported file types and compressed file types
- Configure the maximum number of allowed concurrent downloads
- Configure the maximum number of allowed concurrent imports
- And much more…
In short, while iOS 13’s native Safari download manager lets you download files that were meant to be downloaded, it tends to be somewhat limited when compared with Safari Downloader+’s built-in media downloading capabilities for third-party websites. Furthermore, iOS 13’s native Safari download manager doesn’t come with the same powerful media importing capabilities that Safari Downloader+ does, which means the tweak brings a lot more to the table then a stock iOS 13 device would.
Those interested in giving Safari Downloader+ a try can purchase the tweak from the Packix repository for $3.99. Safari Downloader+ supports jailbroken iOS 12 and 13 devices, which also makes it a great option even for iOS 12 users who don’t have access to a native Safari download manager at all.
Do you plan to upgrade your device’s native Safari downloading capabilities with the new Safari Downloader+ tweak? Share why or why not in the comments section below.