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.
In a nutshell, Tenmetsu makes the iPhone’s rear-facing LED flash capable of exhibiting common LED flashlight functions, including SOS mode, strobe mode, and a timed flashlight mode. Those options are added to the bottom of the Control Center flashlight module, as depicted above, and tapping on them invoked their functions.
From left to right, you will notice the following:
- SOS: Invokes a flashing pattern tantamount to Morse Code for “SOS”
- Strobe: Invokes a hyper-fast on/off sequence
- Timer: Set the flashlight to turn off after a number of seconds (up to 240, or four minutes)
The timer configuration interface is shown below:
Once installed, Tenmetsu adds a dedicated preference pane to the Settings app where users can toggle the tweak on or off on demand:
A Respring button is also provided so that users can save the changes they make.
I’ve always been somewhat of a high-end flashlight aficionado, and I can attest to the fact that decent brand name flashlights like those offered by Fenix and Nitecore come with some type of SOS or Strobe function built in. While I don’t use these features very often, if at all, it’s still a nice touch to have. With that in mind, extending that functionality to my iPhone seems like an obvious and handy upgrade.
Those interested in trying Tenmetsu may purchase the tweak for just $0.89 from the Packix repository via their favorite package manager. The tweak supports jailbroken iOS 13 devices, and may support iOS 14 in the future.
Do you plan to upgrade your iPhone’s flashlight functionality with the new Tenmetsu tweak? Tell us why or why not in the comments section down below.