iPhone

Stay up-to-date on the latest iPhone news and learn new tips and tricks with our comprehensive tutorials. From software updates to new features, we’ve got you covered.

Key+ supercharges the keyboard on jailbroken iPhones in more ways than one

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 5, 2021

I sternly hold the opinion that Apple offers one of the best touch screen-based keyboards in the smartphone industry today, but that hasn’t stopped me from thinking about ways that Apple could make it better. Perhaps my biggest gripe has to do with the amount of wasted space on notched devices — especially at the bottom of the keyboard interface.

Key+ is a newly released jailbreak tweak by iOS developer XCXiao that makes much more productive use of said wasted space on the keyboard interface by filling it with useful commands and shortcuts. These include but aren’t limited to text editing shortcuts for cutting, copying, and pasting text, a way to customize the output of key swipes, a way to rapidly enter pasteboard items, and a quick entry Emoji bar.

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Give the Now Playing interface an attractive background effect with MusicBackground

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated November 19, 2021

Listening to music is a popular activity among iPhone owners, but regardless of what music streaming app you use to jam out to your favorite tunes, one thing is certain: the Now Playing interface can be downright boring.

MusicBackground is a new jailbreak tweak by iOS developer Ethan Whited that hopes to solve this longstanding problem by incorporating eye-catching background effects, and it does this for the Now Playing interfaces in the Apple Music app, Spotify Music app, Tidal app, and even those found in Control Center and on the Lock Screen.

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Sonyfy lets jailbreakers toggle noise cancellation mode on certain Sony headphones via Control Center

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 5, 2021

Apple’s AirPods Pro sent a shockwave through the earbud industry when they became some of the first wireless earbuds to support active noise cancellation. Fast-forward to today, and even Apple’s newer AirPods Max over-ear headphones support this feature along with transparency.

But Apple isn’t the only brand pumping out earbuds and headphones with active noise cancellation and features similar to that of the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. Sadly, the company limits iOS’ native controls to the first party audio consumption devices — requiring the use of third party apps to control third party accessories (eww).

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Apple stops signing iOS 14.4.2, preventing downgrades from newer firmware

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 3, 2021

After officially launching the highly anticipated iOS & iPadOS 14.5 update a week ago with support for Face ID authentication while wearing a mask and 5G connectivity whilst utilizing dual SIM mode among other things, it should come as no surprise to anyone that nearly one week later the Cupertino-based company is pulling the plug on the previous iOS & iPadOS version — 14.4.2.

Apple’s decision to stop signing iOS & iPadOS 14.4.2 means that iPhone and iPad users will be unable to downgrade to this particular version of Apple’s mobile operating systems under most circumstances, with the lone exception being that users have their .shsh2 blobs saved from a time when that firmware was being signed.

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Want a second carrier for your iPhone that won’t break the bank? Try Visible by Verizon Wireless

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated August 4, 2021

It wasn’t long ago that I shared my personal experience with using the Google Fi cellular service as a secondary carrier on my iPhone. But my curiosity pertaining to a dual carrier setup on my iPhone led to me to research several other Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), and you can probably take a few accurate guesses as to where that rabbit hole took me.

Upon being blown away by Google Fi’s cellular reception and data speeds, I decided to drop AT&T as my primary carrier and switch over to T-Mobile. To those asking why – the T-Mobile network powers Google Fi in my region, and the un-carrier provided an enticing offer after announcing its new truly unlimited Magenta MAX plan earlier this year for a fraction of what I was paying AT&T.

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Conditional gives jailbreakers more control over how and when apps can connect to the internet

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated September 13, 2021

Right out of the box, iPhone and iPad users are able to choose which apps can and can’t use cellular data. This can be particularly helpful for those who might be subscribed to capped data plans with their cellular providers since it’s easy to blow through a couple of gigabytes with certain apps.

Oddly enough, neither of the aforementioned devices offer a way to choose which apps can and can’t use Wi-Fi networks, which seems like a no-brainer given that even some home Wi-Fi plans have data caps. With that in mind, a newly released and free jailbreak tweak called Conditional by iOS developer daniel seems like it could be useful for anyone under this umbrella.

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Jailbreak tweaks of the week: Mochi, ProKeys, & more…

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 2, 2021

Those sporting jailbroken iPhones and iPads generally embark on a continuous adventure to find the best and latest jailbreak tweaks to trick out their handset. Whether it’s improving a feature, adding a missing feature, or making the device look different, these add-ons offer a plethora of benefits.

Since it can be a daunting experience to try and find all the best or latest jailbreak tweaks for yourself, we at iDownloadBlog cover all the latest releases as they happen and come at you with an easy-to-digest roundup every Sunday that encompasses all of them. This Sunday is no exception.

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Loupe brings the magnifying glass back to iOS 14’s text editing experience

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 2, 2021

Anyone that does any capacity of text editing on their iPhone, whether it’s writing a document in Microsoft Word, modifying something drafted out in the Messages app’s text field, or some other form of the matter, may have noticed that the magnifying glass no longer appears when moving the cursor somewhere specific in the body of text.

Apple made this change because you can now pan the cursor across your body of text by tapping and dragging on the keyboard. But that hasn’t stopped a growing number of nostalgic iPhone users from wishing that the classic magnifying glass was still a thing. Said nostalgia is only amplified by the fact that the magnifying glass still exists on the iPad in the latest versions of iPadOS 14.

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