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.

Video: iPhone connected to Nokia’s Linux-based N810 Internet tablet

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 28, 2020

iDownloadBlog reader Niles Mitchell has illustrated why Apple made a step in the right direction when it added support for USB storage devices and file servers to the Files app in iOS 13. Now, Niles has been successfully connecting retro devices to his iPhone, which in some cases requires creative solutions to make it all work. But there's one device I'be been anxious to see in his "Will it Work?" video series — the legendary 1996 Nokia Communicator.

Blanca brings sexy leaf-shaped notifications and more to iOS

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 28, 2020

Looking for a quick and easy way to upgrade your iPhone’s Notification Center experience? If so, then you’re in for a treat. Blanca is a newly released jailbreak tweak by iOS developer Phoenix Dev that lets users redesign the native Notification Center interface with custom aesthetics.

As depicted in the screenshot examples above, Blanca can redesign notification banners, Today widgets, and even the Now Playing media player. Furthermore, Blanca users will be able to choose how many preview lines appear in their notification banners and fine-tune the banner corner radii, among other things.

AlbumPref lets you choose a favorite photo album for iMessage sharing

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 28, 2020

If you’ve ever tried to send somebody an image from your Photo Library via iMessage before, then you’ve probably noticed how it always defaults to the Recent Photos album. This tends to be convenient if you plan to send someone a recent photograph, but not so much if you’re trying to look back on older images.

Here to address this problem is a newly released and free jailbreak tweak called AlbumPref by iOS developer Julio Verne. Just as the name implies, AlbumPref lets users choose a preferred album that will appear when attempting to access the Photo Library browser in the native Messages app.

YouFold helps folders take better advantage of your iPhone’s tall display

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 28, 2020

Folders can make organizing your iPhone’s Home screen a lot easier, but the native implementation leaves a lot to be desired. For example, why would anyone want to have a square-esque full-screen folder on a portrait-oriented rectangular display?

YouFold is a free and snazzy new jailbreak tweak by iOS developer Plat-Ykor that addresses this concern head-on by replacing the traditional full-screen folders in iOS with something more friendly to the iPhone’s natural display shape.

10 tips and tricks for new iPhone SE owners

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 27, 2020

With the new iPhone SE a reality, folks who haven't owned an iPhone in years are sharing their tips for using the handset. We've rounded up a few common tips we think new iPhone SE customers will love. Watch our hands-in video walkthrough and learn something new today!

Halide and Spectre updates enable iPhone SE Portrait mode for inanimate objects and pets

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 27, 2020

The powerful Halide Camera app for iPhone, as well as the long-exposure Spectre app from the same developers, have been refreshed on the App Store with some cool new features bringing depth-of-field photography support for pets and inanimate objects to the new iPhone SE.

iPhone SE (2020) unboxing and color comparison: White vs. Black vs. PRODUCT(RED)

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 27, 2020

Apple's new $399 iPhone SE smartphone landed last Friday as its most powerful inexpensive handset, with reviewers and reports from early adopters suggesting that the Cupertino tech giant potentially has a massive hit on its hands. With that in mind, we thought we'd compare each color of the new handset and, of course, film the entire unboxing experience.

Groups helps jailbreakers organize conversations in the native Messages app

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 27, 2020

There are two types of people in this world: 1) those that proactively partake in conversation thread thinning in the Messages app to keep things clean and organized; and 2) those that let conversation threads build up over time in their Messages app, resulting in a seemingly endless list of conversations.

If your mannerisms align with the packrat-esque folk in the latter group, then we’ve got some great news for you. A newly released jailbreak tweak called Groups by iOS developer Ryan Trent can help you get organized by permitting you to sort conversation threads in the Messages app into… you guessed it… groups.

Hate the iPhone’s native incoming call interface? You may like Scorpion

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 27, 2020

It’s honestly rather embarrassing that Apple’s incoming call interface on the iPhone still looks the way it does in 2020, and that’s one of the reasons why I’ve always advocated for jailbreak tweaks that unlock minimized incoming call interfaces that are far less intrusive and more visually stunning than the native UI.

With the above sentiment in mind, it may not come off as much of a surprise that I’m having trouble containing my excitement about the likes of a newly released jailbreak tweak dubbed Scorpion by iOS developer Esquilli.

Jailbreak tweaks of the week: Edictus, WeatherGround, WonderBar, and more…

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 26, 2020

If you have a jailbroken iOS device at your disposal, then chances are you’re looking for new and quirky ways to get the most out of it. Fortunately, we’re here to help with that.

In this roundup, we’ll discuss all the latest jailbreak tweaks to be released from Monday, April 20th to Sunday, April 26th. 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.

This tweak lets you set a custom auto lock timer when Low Power Mode is on

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 26, 2020

I use Low Power Mode so often that I sometimes feel like something’s wrong when I don’t see the little yellow battery icon in my Status Bar. The point is, I like saving battery whenever I can – even when my handset isn’t low on juice. On the other hand, using Low Power Mode isn’t without its downsides.

For example, you can’t change the amount of time it takes before your handset falls asleep automatically from inactivity. But that’s where a newly released and free jailbreak tweak called LPMAutoLockTime by iOS developer smokin1337 comes into play.

Make your jailbroken installation of iOS 13 more stable with StopCrashingPls

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 26, 2020

If you’ve started distinguishing some rather peculiar instabilities after jailbreaking iOS 13, then you may not be alone. iOS developer Adam Demasi of HASHBANG Productions seems to have recognized a similar wave of patterns that urged him to create a hot-fix in the form of a newly released jailbreak tweak called StopCrashingPls.

Citing the brief Cydia description for StopCrashingPls, it was designed as an experimental workaround for iOS 13’s jetsam crash issue. This apparent issue could be exacerbated by certain jailbreak tweak installations, resulting in unwanted battery drain and overall system instability.