How to customize your app icons without jailbreaking

When your iOS device is jailbroken, customizing how it looks can be as easy as installing a WinterBoard theme. There's literally thousands of them in Cydia to choose from. The options get much more limited, however, if your device is hack-free.

But that doesn't mean it's impossible. We've covered a number of ways to modify a stock iOS device in the past, and we've got another one to show you today. Here's how to customize your iPhone or iPad app icons, no jailbreak required...

The iDownloadBlog top news stories of the week – May 26, 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+.

Jony Ive’s iOS 7 remake: black, white, flat all over How to use iLEX RAT to restore your jailbroken device back to “stock” This is how SemiRestore allows you to restore without losing your jailbreak Badger lets users view unread notifications by tapping the app icon badge Add handy information tiles to your device’s Lock screen with LS Squares Create shortcuts for up to 7 of your favorite apps with SubIc0ns Circul8: an outstanding theme for iPhone and iPad Hacked AT&T carrier update could improve your device’s network performance Siri vs. Google Now video faceoff New report claims budget iPhone production begins soon, 5S has dual LED flash Microsoft uses Siri to highlight iPad flaws in new Windows 8 ad Inteliscope mounts an iPhone to your favorite tactical firearm Water-resistant iPhone 6 concept envisions wireless charging, notification LEDs and more Xbox One unveiled: Apple should be worried 8 apps to give you something to do this Memorial Day weekend

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

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Pics show iPad mini prototype with 2 microphones

Last fall, the rumors leading up to the iPad mini event suggested that the 8-inch tablet would have a microphone located in the top-middle of its rear shell. Just like on the iPhone 5, it was to be used for noise-canceling and to improve audio pickup.

Obviously, the rumors never materialized, as the production version of the first-gen mini does not have a hole in the top of its rear casing. But looking at some new pictures of a purported prototype for the slate, that may not have been Apple's plan...

Give your iPhone’s UI a reboot with Motif

I'm not usually a theme kind of guy. I know there are a lot of people out there that love customizing the look of their devices, and that's awesome, but I'm more about functionality and minimalism.

That doesn't mean, though, that I won't give new and interesting themes a shot. I used ayecon for a long time, and then I had iMIUI for a bit. And over the past few days, I've been testing out Motif...

Ensure your iPhone’s screen stays dim during phone calls with DimInCall

Have you ever been in the middle of a phone call on your iPhone and noticed your cheek was pressing buttons? Sure, there's a proximity sensor there that's supposed to keep this from happening. But any kind of jostling can thwart its efforts.

Luckily there's a jailbreak tweak that can help with this problem. DimInCall, by developer snakeninny, will automatically dim your screen when it detects your iPhone has established a call connection. And it'll keep it dim until the call is over...

EarSkinz for EarPods offer both comfort and style

Apple was really proud to unveil its new and improved earbuds, dubbed EarPods, last fall. The company says it spent more than three years designing the headset, and tested a total of 124 different prototypes on over six hundred people, to get the right fit.

But even with all of that research, it's inevitable that the EarPods are still not going to fit quite right for some people. And if you happen to be one of those people, you might want to check out these new EarSkinz covers, which promise to fix that for you...

OS X 10.8.4 build 12E55 seeded to developers

Registered OS X developers may be interested to know that Apple has seeded a new build of OS X 10.8.4 today. The update marks the eighth beta of the firmware, and comes just 9 days after the previous release. As before, As before Apple is asking developers to focus on specific areas of the OS, namely Wi-Fi, Graphics Drivers and Safari...

Google looking to develop wireless networks in emerging markets

Say what you want about Google, but the portfolio of its 'X' lab is quite impressive. The secret department is responsible for churning out Jetson-like projects including self-driving cars and computerized glasses. It even dabbles in TV services, and gigabit internet.

And it looks like they're about to take on another ambitious venture: building out wireless networks. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, the tech giant is in talks with regulators, in a few different countries, about their plans to go wireless...

Little Viking Dungeon of Doom will make you flip

Dungeon crawl games are a gem for old-school gamers and a joke for newer generations. The old folks love the repetitive, monotony of going room-to-room, unlocking chests and killing baddies with no other distinctive plot. While young whippersnappers think dungeon crawls are boring and a waste of time.

Little Viking Dungeon of Doom mixes a bit of the dungeon crawl genre with a more modernized gameplay. Instead of just roaming around killing orcs and collecting treasure, you are solving action puzzles while roaming around killing orcs and collecting treasure…

Skycore launches cross-carrier delivery of Apple’s Passbook items by MMS

Apple's Passbook reads data from .pkpass files, which can be attached to email messages and embedded on web sites. The system lets Safari and Mail clients running on Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad devices to automatically import tickets, digital coupons and other items into the Passbook application and sync them across devices via iCloud. That's all fine and dandy, but what if there was an easier way to share Passbook passes? Thanks to a company called Skycore, Passbook items can be now delivered to users via MMS...

Good deal: 25% off Smarter Stand for iPad

Folks in search of a fun new iPad accessory, or an early Father's Day/graduation present, should check out this sweet little deal going on over Stack Social. The deal site has the Smarter Stand clips for iPad on sale right now for under $15.

As you may recall, we mentioned the Smarter Stand in passing last fall when the Kickstarter project went viral and exceeded its funding goal by nearly $150,000. Backers were enamored with the product, and now you can be too, at a nice discount...

Concept imagines iWatch maps

Renowned 3D artist Martin Hajek today shared a new batch of interesting conceptual renderings that strive to envision how Apple's rumored iWatch might seemingly lend itself to maps, which have long been the killer app category on mobile devices.

Indeed, with power-savvy Bluetooth Smart technology and iOS allegedly powering the device, a smartwatch from the people that brought you the iPhone could theoretically retrieve a user's geographical location by tapping the iPhone's GPS sensor, simply acting as a second screen for turn-by-turn directions...