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.

SearchAutoFocus eliminates the step of tapping on a search bar to use it

One thing that I’ve always found rather convenient about iOS’ Spotlight search feature is that the focus starts with the search bar from the moment the interface appears. In other words – the keyboard instantly appears and you’re ready to begin typing out your search query.

Search bars can be found throughout the iOS platform, and the aforementioned instant-focus experience unfortunately doesn’t extend to all of them. That’s why iOS developer Dimitar Nestorov created a new and free jailbreak tweak dubbed SearchAutoFocus.

Jailbreak tweaks of the week: BetterAlarm, Titan, XPad, and more…

Regardless of the fact that Apple just unveiled iOS and iPadOS 14 this past week, many iPhone and iPad users are jailbroken on iOS 12 or 13 and looking for the best and latest jailbreak tweaks.

In this roundup, we’ll show you all the latest jailbreak tweaks released from Monday, June 22nd to Sunday, June 28th. As usual, we’ll kick things off by discussing our favorite releases first and then wrap things up with an outline of the rest afterward.

Finical lets iPhone users dismiss a lingering or unwanted Now Playing widget

iOS’ Now Playing widget manifests itself on the Lock Screen any time there’s music playing when your iPhone is locked. The Now Playing widget can be useful at times, but as a number of users have pointed out over the years, it has a tendency to linger even after you’ve stopped listening to music.

While most would write this off as some sort of quirk and go about their busy lives, some tend to be a bit more disturbed by this apparent flaw. Fortunately, a newly released jailbreak tweak called Finical by iOS developer FivePixels offers a simple solution: merely swipe the Now Playing widget out of the way whenever you don’t feel like looking at it.

Modern Battery upgrades the Status Bar battery indicator on notched iPhones

Lots of iPhone users aren’t happy with the fact that you can’t have a numeric battery percentage in the Status Bar on a notched handset, and you could count me in that camp. As someone to consistently enabled this feature on the older and more traditional iPhones all the time, it felt like culture shock adapting to a user experience without it.

Fortunately, a newly released and free jailbreak tweak called Modern Battery by iOS developer Jax Roth can help in this department, as it can put a numeric battery percentage indicator directly inside of the native Status Bar battery icon.

GreenPotion adds a quirky potion-style battery animation to the Lock Screen

Battery information is a bigger deal to some than others, but if you wish battery monitoring could be a bit more fun than it is out of the box on a stock iPhone or iPad, then we think you’re doing to love a newly released jailbreak tweak dubbed GreenPotion by iOS developer Plat-Ykor.

The name “GreenPotion” is a dead giveaway in terms of what you can expect this tweak to do. Once you install it, you can tap on a new button situated between the Lock Screen’s Camera and Flashlight shortcut buttons to invoke a potion-like animation that displays real-time battery information, as shown in the screenshot examples above.

Arise lets jailbreakers customize and automate the Lock Screen

The iPhone’s Lock Screen is a straightforward interface that acts as a gateway between the user and the Home Screen or last-used interface. While it does its job, many would likely agree that it could do with improvements — some major and some minor.

Enter Arise, a newly released jailbreak tweak by iOS developer EthanDoesMC that aims to make any jailbroken iPhone’s Lock Screen more lively with exiting and obvious features that will make you question Apple’s own innovation.

Sam Bingner teases Cydia on iOS 14

Apple officially unveiled iOS and iPadOS 14 for the first time on Monday as a part of its WWDC 2020 Keynote, and just this morning, checkra1n team co-developer Dany Lisiansky teased a screenshot of the checkra1n jailbreak working on an iPhone running iOS 14. If the words “that was fast” uttered from your mouth upon seeing this, then you’re not alone.

Lisiansky admitted that there was still a lot more work that needed to be completed before checkra1n could be deemed iOS 14-compatible, but as you might come to expect, things are progressing rather quickly thanks to the unique talent encompassed within the checkra1n team. Just this evening, checkra1n team co-developer Sam Bingner teased a screenshot of the Cydia package manager operating on an iPhone X running iOS 14:

The best free iPhone and iPad math apps for kids

Math Apps for Kids - Moose Math Counting

Educational apps for iPhone and iPad are plentiful. And it’s with good reason. Putting a device in the hands of your child can help teach them something new or practice what they’ve already learned. And since math can be a difficult subject for kids of any age, using a teaching tool that makes it more enjoyable for them is a great way for them to learn.

If you’re thinking about getting a math app for your child, we’ve assembled a terrific list. All apps are available for free but some come with in-app purchases for extra features - like many free apps. But this gives you a wonderful way to try out the app to see if you and your child like it before spending any money.