Jailbreak tweaks of the week: Noctis9, ReachBoard, & more…

It's that time of the week again, and while things really haven't been that exciting for the jailbreak community these last couple of weeks, some jailbreak tweak developers have still been cranking out their fair share of modifications you can install to trick out your jailbroken iOS devices.

In this roundup, we'll show you all of the jailbreak tweaks that were released in Cydia this week, starting with the ones we consider our favorites, and then moving on to the rest afterwards.

For reasons unknown, Apple takes down theft-deterrent Activation Lock web tool

Apple recently took down its web tool for checking if a used iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple Watch was stolen. The firm gave no explanation for the move.

The link to the Activation Lock webpage no longer works and the support document detailing the feature does not contain any reference to the web tool as of January 24. It was unclear at post time if a new version of the tool might be returning in the future in one form or another.

Apple earns Louis Braille Award for advances in device accessibility

Apple has long been praised for its efforts in device accessibility. Back in 2015, for example, they received the American Foundation for the Blind's Helen Keller Achievement Award for the VoiceOver screen reader technology. The various Accessibility features available on iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS have now earned Apple the Louis Braille Award from the Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ASB).

Noctis9 adds a dark mode to many transparent interfaces in iOS

Many iPhone and iPad users have wanted some kind of dark mode setting for ages, and the energy was even more hyped up after Apple debuted dark mode on macOS for the first time.

That’s where a new jailbreak tweak called Noctis9 comes in, as it brings a system-wide dark mode to various transparent elements of iOS, including, but not limited to Control Center and 3D Touch menus.

tvOS 10.1 jailbreak could be a possibility, suggests nitoTV

In a series of tweets published on Friday, Kevin Bradley, also known as nitoTV, mentioned that although nothing is certain quite yet, there are chances that a jailbreak for tvOS 10.1 could be released in the near future. To prepare for the eventuality, nitoTV suggests to either restore or downgrade to tvOS 10.1.

Very little is known so far about that possible tvOS 10.1 jailbreak, but Bradley told iDB that the yalu102 jailbreak from Luca Todesco should be adaptable to tvOS. 

The best exercise apps for Apple Watch

One of the predominant selling points of Apple Watch has always been the notion of having a chummy, yet inspiring fitness pal on your wrist. Since its inception, Apple Watch’s App Store has therefore given rise to a plethora of apps, offering new ways to conduct and manage physical exercise, ranging from running to yoga companions and everything lying in between.

Focussing on one particular branch in the field of exercise - strength training from the comfort of your home or gym - we have put some time aside to cut through the clutter and size up todays’ most prominent apps in the segment. If you are currently on the lookout for a personal trainer on your wrist, here are the best exercise apps for Apple Watch you will want to consider.

How to downgrade (or update) to iOS 10.2

We recently covered the release of Luca Todesco's first build of yalu102. This tool will eventually allow all 64-bit devices to jailbreak iOS 10. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be able to use it on iOS 10.0-10.1.1, all other 64-bit devices will be able to use it on iOS 10.0-10.2.

As the signing window for iOS 10.2 could close at any time, the pressure is on to downgrade to iOS 10.2 if you are currently on a higher firmware. Some people on a lower firmware should also upgrade to iOS 10.2, but not everyone. In this guide, we'll talk you through how to upgrade/downgrade to iOS 10.2 from a lower/higher firmware, if you are one of the people who should be there.

Infuse updated with support for DVD videos, NFS streaming, Library and folder search & more

The versatile media player Infuse by aTV Flash Black developer Firecore was updated this week with several new features and enhancements, including the ability to play DVD videos saved as VIDEO_TS, .dvdmedia or ISO/IMG archives.

Other new features in Infuse 5.2 for iOS and tvOS include Library and folder search, the ability to stream media from NFS-formatted network shares, sort your media by release date and more.

Chrome 56 for Mac released with lower power consumption, performance boost & more

Google on Friday released Chrome 56 for Mac, Windows and Linux following a period of beta testing which began about a month and a half ago. In addition to various security enhancements, Chrome 56 offers nearly up to one-third faster webpage reloading times with 60 percent less validation requests. Google's desktop browser will now warn you when a website requests confidential information over an insecure connection. It also blocks Flash content, supports Web Bluetooth API and more. Chrome 56 for iOS should follow soon.

Apple officially joins non-profit AI research group as one of the founding members

Apple has officially joined the non-profit organization Partnership on AI as a founding member alongside other technology giants like Amazon, Facebook, Google, IBM and Microsoft. Apple has been involved and collaborating with the Partnership on AI since before it was first announced last year and is “thrilled” to formalize its membership, the organization said Friday.

According to Bloomberg, joining the non-profit is the latest sign that Apple is opening up more and becoming less secretive when it comes to artificial intelligence.

ReachBoard lets you peek at your iOS clipboard in the Reachability view

For a lot of people, the space that comes up when you invoke Reachability is considered wasted space. It becomes a giant gaping hole of nothingness on your screen any time you use the feature to one-handedly use your large-screened iPhone.

A new free jailbreak tweak called ReachBoard aims to make good use of that empty space by filling it with anything that may be residing in your clipboard.