Mike Schnier

Lock Screen Drawer is another iOS 7 toggle concept

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

One of the annoying quirks of iOS is there's no way to quickly toggle battery-draining and data-thirsty features and services we like to use selectively. Of course, that's without jailbreaking. Considering BossPrefs (the precursor to SBSettings) was released in 2007, it's about time Apple caught up with the demand for an official quick toggle panel. But how would Apple approach the problem?

Jean-Marc Denis posted one possibility to Dribbble. It's a concept called 'Lock Screen Drawer', which would allow users to access toggles by pulling on a tab under the lock screen clock. Pull the tab, and a small tray slides out. In the concept, the tray is equipped with toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, airplane mode, and hotspot. We'd like to see GPS on the list too, so hopefully there would be a way to customize the toggles...

Create, add, and share beautiful filters for your photos with Digiback

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

There is an embarrassment of photography and filter apps on iTunes. If you're not keeping track, Hipstamatic allows users to play with swappable filters disguised as virtual camera equipment, Instagram shares retro-filtered photos to a community, while Snapseed gives mobile users fine control of photo editing on the go. That barely scratches the surface of iPhoneography. In a flooded marketplace, what else can an iOS photography app allow users to do?

Digiback is a recently released photography app that allows users to not only share pictures they've taken, but to also share their custom filters with other users. Not only can users create impressive photography effects for their own use, you can also share these effects with others, and then benefit from effects created by Digiback's community...

OkCupid launches ‘Crazy Blind Date’ app

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Ever tried OkCupid? It's a geeky little dating service that matches people based on their answers to multiple choice questions. Your answers determines what the site believes you care about, as well as your opinions on ethics, sex, religion, lifestyle, dating, and a host of other topics. The premise of the service is it can match its users with their ideal partners, before you're even introduced.

But is 'ideal' everyone's cup of tea? OkCupid recently launched an app called Crazy Blind Date that throws your pictures, answers, and meticulously crafted profiles out the window. Just pick an evening you're free, a place you'd like to go, and Crazy Blind Date will set you up with somebody who also happens to be free...

iOS 7 Quick Settings concept for the iPhone 5

Mike Schnier ∙ January 17, 2013

Remember the iOS concept video we saw earlier this week from André Luis Moreira? It turns out that Moreira had just posted an updated version of the concept on The Verge's forums. The updated concept is similar to what we've already seen, but features essential refinements to the original design, in addition to being resized to fit the iPhone 5's 4-inch screen.

Read on to see what's new, and what has changed in Moreira's new concept video...

Minecraft sold more on mobile than any other platform in 2012

Mike Schnier ∙ January 17, 2013

You might be tempted to think of Minecraft: Pocket Edition as the lesser version of Minecraft, a fun diversion but not the real game. When Pocket Edition was first launched in 2011, it lacked many of the desktop version's features, including crafting and survival mode. Now that Pocket Edition is catching up in terms of features, it seems the tide is turning.

In fact, Pocket Edition was the most purchased version of Minecraft in 2012, according to numbers released by Mojang last week. Minecraft: Pocket Edition sold over 39.1% of units, or 5,899,727 copies total. This was ahead of Minecraft for Mac/PC, at 27.7%, and the Xbox 360 edition, at 33.2%...

How to use your iPad as a shortcut keyboard for Mac OS X

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

Do you hate digging around in menus but have trouble memorizing all the key combinations for your most frequently used programs? Hotkeys is an app that allows you to use your iPad as a programmable shortcut keyboard, which comes with shortcut packs for Mac OS X and Photoshop preloaded.

While the preloaded packs are decent, you can also edit the packs to your liking or create your own packs from scratch. If you're a gamer, you might also find the labelled shortcuts handy...

Easily post reminders to the lock screen with Reminders+

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Reminders+ is a new jailbreak tweak recently added to Cydia that allows users to pin bulletins from Reminders+ to the lock screen. With the tweak installed, your reminders will stay on the lock screen; these notes won't be dismissed if you unlock your iPhone or go into the Reminders app.

To pin notes on the lock screen, all you need to do is go into the Reminders app, find a reminder you want to pin down, and then press down on the text. An Action Menu prompt for adding a bulletin will appear on top of the selected reminder. Once you tap the prompt, the reminder will appear on your lock screen...

When AirPlay is too laggy for games, use DisplayOut with a wired AV adapter

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

There is recent post on Reddit where a user was attempting to play classic NES games from an iPhone 4S, using a Wii remote for controls, with the whole thing mirrored to a TV through AirPlay. The redditor asked if there was any way to compensate for the 1 second lag he was experiencing through AirPlay, and I thought some of our readers might have come to the same question. Unfortunately, without resorting to time travel, it's not possible to technologically compensate for latency in current version of AirPlay.

While wireless displays are now feasible for gaming, just ask anyone with a WiiU, AirPlay mirroring is not your best option for streaming fast-paced games. A better solution is to plug your phone directly into a TV...

Auxo designer creates concept video for silent Do Not Disturb alerts

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

On Monday, we reported on Sentry's Do Not Disturb concept. The original concept makes use of a "pull to refresh" gesture in Notification Center to toggle iOS 6's Do Not Disturb mode, instead of relying on a timer. The DND concept looked elegant and intuitive, and in many ways, Sentry outdid Apple's implementation of Do Not Disturb. In fact, Sentry even has one more thing up his sleeve to show us.

Early this morning Sentry posted another video to YouTube which expands on the original concept, this time focusing on Alerts in Do Not Disturb mode. Normally, in iOS 6, Do Not Disturb mode applies only when the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is locked, but Sentry has found a way to deliver silent, unobtrusive alerts while the device is still in use...

iOS concept video shows off Quick Settings, App Flow multitasking and more

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated December 20, 2017

André Luis Moreira, an animator who shares a name with a football player from Brazil, posted a video of a concept for an iOS overhaul back in September, which contains a few surprising features. Keep in mind this isn't a tweak, just a video concept produced with Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere.

The animation focuses on three main concepts for improving iOS. Quick Settings, a pane that collects the most used options from the settings page; App Flow Multitask, which adds a full screen preview to the app switcher panel; and Dynamic Settings, which provides shortcuts that allows users to quickly jump to a specific app's settings...

How to change button skins in Robert Broglia’s Emulators on iOS

Mike Schnier ∙ January 16, 2013

In the comments section of our article on Snes9x EX+'s release, one of our readers asked if there was a way to swap out the overlays for the on-screen buttons. I thought the question was interesting enough to answer in a full tutorial.

While there isn't a built-in option for skinning Snes9x EX+, nor are there any themes for the app currently available on Cydia, with a jailbroken iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, it's not too difficult to manually edit raster graphics used in any app. All you need to do is navigate to Snex9x EX+'s app directory and edit the overlay bitmap...

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

Mike Schnier ∙ January 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." ...