iPad

From the latest news to the most comprehensive tutorials, learn how to get the most out of your iPad with our step-by-step guides and expert tips.

Keep Apple Music from shrinking album artwork upon pausing playback with this new tweak

One of the things you’ll notice when listening to Apple Music is that upon pausing media playback, the album artwork shrinks slightly until you tap on the play button.

Some like this effect and others don’t, but if you identify as someone in the latter group, then DontShrinkMyAlbumArt is a new and free jailbreak tweak by iOS developer Henryli17 that just might pique your interest.

Contacy provides jailbreakers with a better notification interface for messaging apps

The notification system on the iOS & iPadOS platforms hasn’t changed much in recent years. The stale interface is certainly due for an upgrade, and with iOS & iPadOS 15’s announcement just around the corner, there’s still no telling whether it will receive any changes in the next update.

Fortunately for jailbreakers, sitting around and waiting for Apple to change stuff like this isn’t the only option. That’s because Contacy is a newly released jailbreak tweak by iOS developer XCXiao that brings a popular iOS & iPadOS notification concept originally seen on Reddit to fruition.

This tweak auto-pauses media playback when muting your iPhone’s volume

Mute notifications while listening to music on iPhone with MutePlay.

There are often times when I’m forced to turn my iPhone’s media playback volume down so I can hear someone as they’re talking to me. But even with my volume turned all the way down, my media playback continues without an audience.

It’s odd that iOS and iPadOS haven’t adopted a user-friendly feature to auto-pause media playback when the volume is turned all the way down, especially since you wouldn’t even be able to hear it. While it wouldn’t be necessary for video playback, it would certainly be useful for music.

Apple stops signing iOS 14.5.1, thwarting downgrades from the newer iOS 14.6

Apple released iOS & iPadOS 14.6 to the public in May with some improvements for the company’s mobile operating systems, and as we know with most of Apple’s mobile software updates, they typically come closely trailed by the un-signing of the previous version.

That’s the case this evening, as it appears that Apple has officially stopped signing iOS & iPadOS 14.5.1. With this move, iPhone and iPad owners will no longer be able to easily downgrade from the newer iOS & iPadOS 14.6 using traditional methods.

Some iPad models may add OLED displays beginning in 2022

Before Apple officially made the switch to a mini-LED display in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, there was a bit of a back-and-forth going on in the rumors department. Some stories said Apple would make the leap to OLED. Others pointed to mini-LED.

And now we know that Apple chose the latter, going with that display technology for its largest and most powerful tablet this year. However, there is still an expectation that Apple's simply biding its time, still planning to adopt an OLED display in at least one iPad model in the near future. Indeed, many believe that switch will happen in 2022.

This tweak puts a white dot in the Status Bar when your LED flashlight is on

One of the things I really like about iOS and iPadOS is that a tiny colored dot manifests itself in the Status Bar when your handset’s camera or microphone activates. Not only is it a great way to be reminded that your hardware is being used in the background, but it also promotes privacy by ensuring you’re in the know whenever an app taps into your camera or microphone.

I can’t count on my own two hands the number of times I’ve witnessed someone who forgot their device’s flashlight on and failed to realize it either because they were out in the Sun or because the LED flash was being covered by something. Having said that, a similar Status Bar-centric indicator for the rear-facing LED flash could also benefit users.

Jailbreak tweaks of the week: IAmLazy, Liddel, NetFence, & more…

If you’ve got a jailbroken iPhone or iPad at your disposal, then you’ve likely got an itch for finding and installing the latest and greatest jailbreak tweaks.

Fortunately for you, we’re back with a new edition of the jailbreak tweaks of the week, where we’ll be discussing all the latest releases and jailbreak-centric news in one easy-to-digest piece.

Has an iPad replaced your Mac?

I have very down-to-earth goals for an iPad mini: I just want to use it to read books. And that form factor is still my favorite iPad size to date. But even I know my aspirations for the small tablet are insane.

Because while the iPad mini is a great tool to use Apple Books on, even if it has a dated LCD screen, that price tag makes it an outrageous eReader. And this is when someone would say, well, it's an iPad. You can use it for more than just an eReader, and that's the real appeal. And that person would be right!

NetFence is an effective outgoing firewall for jailbroken iPhones & iPads

Most people view the internet as a powerful tool for accessing information in an instant, but advertising companies see it in just the same way — often utilizing the very internet connection you depend on for said information to track your every move and report back with personally identifiable statistics.

A firewall can help preserve your anonymity and privacy over the internet by giving you the distinct choice to allow or deny these connection requests. That’s just one reason why a newly released jailbreak tweak dubbed NetFence by iOS developer FoxfortMobile might be of interest to you.