iPhone News

Message Send Percent is a status indicator for your outgoing messages

We try to cover as many new jailbreak tweaks as we can here at iDB, from game-changers like Velox to the smallest of UI changes. And this next one we're going to be talking about definitely falls in the latter category.

Message Send Percent, by developer greensnow, is a simple little UI tweak that adds a percentage indicator to your Messages app. This enables you to get a more precise readout on the progress of your outgoing messages...

Axis could be the iPhone’s best Lock screen launcher

There's no shortage of new Lock screen launchers as of late. You have Atom, Grabby, JellyLock, and a plethora of others. But there's a newcomer on the block that's trying to stake claim as the king of Cydia's Lock screen launchers — it's called Axis.

Axis is a jailbreak tweak designed by Sentry, and coded by an enigmatic, but an obviously talented young man by the name of rud0lf77. We've had our share of run ins with Mr. rud0lf77 in the past, but talent's talent, and he's apparently got some of it.

Sentry really needs no introduction. He's been a part of a string of hits on Cydia as of late, and has even more in the way of concepts. He's been the inspiration for numerous tweaks that have made their way to the Cydia store, and he's showing no signs of slowing down.

At first glance, his new Lock screen launcher tweak may seem familiar to you. It's actually pretty similar to the aforementioned Grabby Lock screen launcher tweak recently released by Ryan Petrich. In what seems to have been nothing more than a pure coincidence, both tweaks take the same basic idea, but the approach is different enough to make each tweak stand on its own.

Take a look inside, as we break down what makes Axis such an appealing new tweak. We go hands-on in this detailed video walkthrough.

iPhone, iPad granted security clearance for Pentagon’s network

It appears that all of that talk regarding iOS devices being close to gaining Pentagon clearance was spot on. Bloomberg is reporting this weekend that the US Department of Defense plans to give Apple security clearance later this week.

As we've discussed before, the DoD's approval would mean a lot for the Cupertino company, who has been trying to get its iPhone and iPad into government buildings, that were once reserved for BlackBerry, for quite some time now...

Kill apps in a single swipe with Slide2Kill

Like Sebastien, I uninstalled the popular jailbreak tweak Auxo earlier this year. Though beautifully designed, the app switcher replacement felt a little too bloated for me, and I was convinced that it made my iPhone slower.

I do miss a few of Auxo's features though, like its revamped iPod controls and the ability to swipe down on an app icon to close it out of the switcher. But luckily, a new tweak just came out that takes care of the latter for me...

The iDownloadBlog top news stories of the week – May 12, 2013 edition

Like every Sunday, we bring you the stories that were the most popular on iDB during this past week. Whether it is a news piece, an editorial, a tutorial, a new jailbreak tweak, or an accessory review, we sum it all up in one convenient place.

If you like what you're reading, please make sure to spread the love by sharing our posts on your favorite social network.

We're usually hanging out a lot on Twitter and Facebook, more rarely on Google+.

New iOS 7 concept depicts Zen-like simplicity How the iPhone camera has improved over the years iOS 7 spikes in web traffic logs ahead of WWDC Luna now available in Cydia MiniPlayer 2.1 is a beautiful update to a great jailbreak tweak Velox updated with new activation method and several bug fixes This new Velox add-on lends a stopwatch to your Home screen How to open your folders Velox style Ruin your productivity with Dots for iPhone Kwikset outs iPhone-exclusive wireless door lock 8 apps and games you should check out this weekend

Of course, don't forget to listen to the latest episode of our podcast, Let's Talk Jailbreak:

We’re social! Find iDB on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, App.net, YouTube, and in your RSS reader. Also make sure to subscribe to our new podcast!

Increase T-Mobile LTE download speeds on iPhone 5 thanks to a hacked carrier update

T-Mobile subscribers are still getting used to having access to the iPhone, and those with existing AT&T unlocked iPhone 5 received a carrier update to add LTE support for T-Mobile's frequency. Unfortunately, that's not all it did.

Turns out that update may have also limited the bandwidth available to T-Mobile customers using one of those unlocked handsets, leaving them with something of a gimped LTE service. Bummer, right?

Well, remember the guy that worked out how jailbroken iPhone users could enable T-Mobile's LTE before the aforementioned carrier update? That same clever man has also worked out how to give T-Mobile the bandwidth you'd expect from one of the hottest LTE handsets on the market. And you don't even need to be jailbroken for it to work...

Quickly clear your Messages text field with Triple Tap To Clear

Inputting text on the iPhone can be a tedious task. It's not so much the typing. But due to limited display space, editing can be irksome. It seems like doing things such as copying or deleting text are more complicated than they need to be.

Case in point, try typing a lengthy message in your Messages app. Now delete the whole thing. As it stands, the fastest way to do this is to tap on your text, 'Select All' and then delete it. But as with most things in iOS, it could always be faster....

Customize the look of your Home screen icons with Athena

Folks who enjoy customizing their iOS devices, but hate overweight theming apps like WinterBoard, might want to check out Athena. The new jailbreak tweak, developed by SuperDev, allows you to completely change the look of your Home screen icons.

Want dark icons? No problem. Want pink icons? No problem. Athena has a wide array of settings that enable you to change nearly everything about the color attributes of your app icons, providing you with seemingly endless customization options...

Major changes reportedly coming to AppleCare this fall

Apple reportedly held a town hall session with its employees this week to discuss some significant changes coming to its AppleCare warranty service. The new policies are expected to start rolling out in the US 'very soon,' and international shortly after.

So what's going to be different? According to the report, one of the biggest changes has to do with how Apple Store employees handle iPhone repairs. Apparently, staff have been told that they will be doing a lot more in-store repairs, and less exchanges...

How the iPhone camera has improved over the years

The iPhone may be one of the most popular cameras in the world today, but it hasn't always been like that. The original iPhone (and the iPhone 3G) had just a 2MP camera, with no flash, putting the handset well behind the competition in terms of photo-taking.

Since the 3G, however, Apple has made sure to update the phone's camera with ever iteration. It went from a 3.2MP sensor to a 5, and then to 8. And wouldn't you know it, someone has created an image showing its improvement in picture quality over the years...

New iOS 7 concept depicts Zen-like simplicity

Another day, another iOS 7 concept. In an attempt to depict what Jony Ive-ified, flattened user interface in iOS 7 might look like, digital agency Simply Zesty created this elaborate concept.

The video focuses on a clean look UI and pictures Lock screen widgets, a revamped Notification Center as well as a beautiful new Windows Phone 'Metro'-fied stock apps like Calendar, Music, Siri and Camera.

I love the cleaner Notification Center with animated widgets. If that's the future of iOS 7, then I'm very much looking forward to it...

Apple orders messaging app ‘Line’ to remove paid virtual gifts

Apple's app approval team has seemingly been on a warpath lately, pulling popular titles like AppGratis from the App Store without much warning or explanation. It's clear that the company is in the process of revamping some of its policies.

Case in point, LINE, a popular free messaging app, was forced by Apple to remove one of its key features today. Per company orders, the developers had to eliminate the ability for its users to purchase and send sticker sets as gifts to friends...