Aion combines elements of the classic iOS 6 App Switcher with modern widgets & fun features

As lovers of ongoing interfaces changes throughout iOS iterations, we wouldn’t fault you for starting to get bored of the iPhone’s same old App Switcher interface. After all, it’s beginning to show its age. Fortunately, iOS developer SparkDev is out with a new rootless jailbreak-supported tweak called Aion that now only provides a novel user experience, but may even evoke some hints of nostalgia if you’ve ever used iOS 6.

Aion examples.

As you’re going to see in the screenshot examples above, Aion opens from the bottom of the display just like the classic App Switcher in iOS 6 and earlier did before changing to the newer page-style App Switcher in iOS 7. But Aion does more than just bring back a classic App Switcher look and feel — it also builds novel features into it, such as the ability to page between various widgets, which are shown in the screenshot examples above.

The screenshots you see above depict just some of the widgets that are offered by Aion, including the App Switcher itself, the Now Playing interface for background media playback, and the Siri interface (whether you prefer the modern orb, or the classic waveform). Additional widgets, such as one for displaying the weather, can be downloaded separately.

As you might come to expect, Aion is summoned by swiping up and pausing on the Home Bar. Tapping and holding on an app icon in Aion invokes a ‘jiggle’ mode that feels similar to the Home Screen’s editing mode. When you do this, you will be able to tap on the ‘x’ buttons on any app icon to force close the app’s suspension in your device’s memory. Alternatively, you can swipe up on any app preview on the top half of the interface to accomplish the same thing.

Once installed, Aion adds a preference pane to the Settings app where users can configure a few options to their liking:

Options to configure for Aion.

Things you can do here include:

  • Enable or disable Aion on demand
  • Hide or show App Switcher snapshots of apps
  • Hide or show notification badges on App Switcher app icons
  • Configure favorite widgets
  • Hide snapshots for favorites
  • Choose what happens on first activation
    • Keep current page
    • Return to first app page
  • Set a default music app
  • Enable or disable the quick switcher
    • Swipe up from left to activate
    • Swipe up from right to activate
  • Customize the Aion user interface (more on that below)
  • Respring your device to save any changes you’ve made

As we noted above, the Aion user interface can be customized to your liking. The preference pane for configuring those options looks something like this:

Aion additional options to configure.

The things you can customize here include:

  • Selecting presents
  • Clearing all current settings and resetting them to default
  • Enabling and selecting a custom background image
  • Choosing a background image fill mode:
    • Aspect fill
    • Aspect fit
    • Scale to fill
    • Center
  • Configuring a background color
  • Hide or show app icon shadows
  • Override app icon shadow color
  • Choose a custom app icon shadow color
  • Adjust the app icon shadow opacity
  • Adjust the app icon shadow radius
  • Adjust the app icon shadow X & Y offsets independently of one another
  • Show Music icon shadows
  • Override Music icon shadow color
  • Choose a custom Music icon shadow color
  • Adjust the Music app icon shadow opacity
  • Adjust the Music app icon shadow radius
  • Adjust the Music app icon shadow X & Y offsets independently of one another
  • Show the app card shadow
  • Override the app card shadow color
  • Choose a custom app card shadow color
  • Adjust the app card shadow opacity
  • Adjust the app card shadow radius
  • Adjust the app card shadow X & Y offsets independently of one another

While Aion certainly looks like an iOS 6 App Switcher at first glance, it’s apparent with the addition of all the modern widget features, top-based app card, and customization features that you’re getting so much more than iOS 6 ever provided. With that in mind, Aion doesn’t feel like you’re moving back in time, but rather combining some of the best aspects of the classic App Switcher with modern features of iOS. The result if oddly satisfying.

Anyone who might be interested in giving Aion a try can download it from SparkDev’s personal repository via their favorite package manager app. The tweak supports jailbroken devices using rootless jailbreaks on iOS or iPadOS 15 or 16. While Aion is a free download, you will need to pay to activate it after the fact by becoming a Member Plus Patron member for $4.00. Add-ons for Aion, such as the Weather widget, are free downloads to add to Aion later on.

Those not already taking advantage of SparkDev’s personal repository can add it to their package manager app of choice by using the URL provided below:

https://sparkdev.me/

Are you planning to take advantage of Aion, or are you satisfied with the stock App Switcher? Let us know in the comments section down below.