iPod Touch

Auxo designer creates concept video for silent Do Not Disturb alerts

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

On Monday, we reported on Sentry's Do Not Disturb concept. The original concept makes use of a "pull to refresh" gesture in Notification Center to toggle iOS 6's Do Not Disturb mode, instead of relying on a timer. The DND concept looked elegant and intuitive, and in many ways, Sentry outdid Apple's implementation of Do Not Disturb. In fact, Sentry even has one more thing up his sleeve to show us.

Early this morning Sentry posted another video to YouTube which expands on the original concept, this time focusing on Alerts in Do Not Disturb mode. Normally, in iOS 6, Do Not Disturb mode applies only when the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is locked, but Sentry has found a way to deliver silent, unobtrusive alerts while the device is still in use...

iOS concept video shows off Quick Settings, App Flow multitasking and more

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated December 20, 2017

André Luis Moreira, an animator who shares a name with a football player from Brazil, posted a video of a concept for an iOS overhaul back in September, which contains a few surprising features. Keep in mind this isn't a tweak, just a video concept produced with Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere.

The animation focuses on three main concepts for improving iOS. Quick Settings, a pane that collects the most used options from the settings page; App Flow Multitask, which adds a full screen preview to the app switcher panel; and Dynamic Settings, which provides shortcuts that allows users to quickly jump to a specific app's settings...

How to change button skins in Robert Broglia’s Emulators on iOS

Mike Schnier ∙ January 16, 2013

In the comments section of our article on Snes9x EX+'s release, one of our readers asked if there was a way to swap out the overlays for the on-screen buttons. I thought the question was interesting enough to answer in a full tutorial.

While there isn't a built-in option for skinning Snes9x EX+, nor are there any themes for the app currently available on Cydia, with a jailbroken iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, it's not too difficult to manually edit raster graphics used in any app. All you need to do is navigate to Snex9x EX+'s app directory and edit the overlay bitmap...

The best iPhone to PC file browsers

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated April 14, 2013

As someone who writes about iOS software and jailbreak tweaks for a living, I am constantly using software to connect to my devices. The right software can make it a snap to access the file system, transfer photos, manually install software, and make backups, but the wrong software can make your work flow slow to a crawl.

This is an overview of some of the most popular tools for browsing the iOS filesystem from a computer. Depending on your preferences, you might choose one tool over another...

Flex developer answers questions and explains how Flex patches work

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Yesterday iDownloadBlog reported on Flex, an upcoming jailbreak app that allows users to create their own tweaks on the fly. We had reason to be excited, as Flex can create custom patches for the Springboard or almost any app, all without requiring programming knowledge from users.

While we were optimistic about Flex, some of our readers were curious about how Flex works, and others raised concerns about the unreleased app. Because we felt these concerns deserved addressing, we got in touch with Flex's developer, John Coates, who was kind enough to answer our questions and provide more screenshots for our readers...

Want buttons for gaming in iOS? Here are your options so far

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

While there are certain video games that work well with touchscreen controls, if you're playing retro action games on an iPhone or an iPad, you're likely to find yourself craving the precise click of real buttons.

There are a few options for physical controls on non-jailbroken iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, but if you want to use classic controls for more than a handful of games, you will need to turn to tweaks. Luckily, we have you covered...

Supply cuts a result of Apple’s adoption of IGZO screens for upcoming iDevices?

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 15, 2013

The reduction in orders of iPhone 5 displays and other components isn't a sign of weak demand as sober analysts paint demand as robust. Nevertheless, the rumor has opened door for more speculation that the Cupertino, California company is winding down production of the iPhone 5 ahead of the iPhone 5S release in June or July.

Be that as it may, it would be very atypical of Apple to pull the current-generation model from shelves after just six months. Even as the company switches to a bi-annual refresh cycle, it will still want to continue offering the iPhone 5 at a reduced price after the next-gen model becomes available. According to a new report, these supply cuts are actually the result of Apple considering IGZO displays for upcoming iOS devices...

‘EnablePixelQuadrupling’ constant could suggest Apple is working on a “super Retina” device

Mike Schnier ∙ January 15, 2013

Users of retina iPhones and iPads are used to the phenomenon of pixel doubling, where two-by-two squares stand in for a larger, lower density pixel. But how would you feel about a display that needs pixel quadrupling?

Just hours ago Ryan Petrich, the developer behind excellent jailbreak tweaks such as BrowserChooser, FullForce, and Display Recorder, stumbled across a constant in Quartz Core which may suggest that Apple is working on a super retina device...

Write your own jailbreak tweaks on the fly with upcoming ‘Flex’ utility

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

John Coates, the developer behind the MissionBoard Pro jailbreak tweak, has posted a thread on Reddit about an upcoming jailbreak app called Flex. Flex is an exciting new app that allows users to make and share their own runtime patches, not just to iOS itself but to any app you have installed.

What can you do with Flex? From the looks of it, you can modify just about any app's behavior. In the preview screenshots, there are patches for unlimited skips in Pandora, removing the lock screen's camera grabber, nixing the ratings warning when downloading from the the App Store, and even cheating in games like Tiny Tower. Think of it as a Game Genie for iOS...

“Tap to unlock” from the lock screen instead of sliding with ‘tapUnlock’

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

tapUnlock is a new jailbreak tweak from the makers of MapsOpener and BrightVol. The tweak replaces the 'slide to unlock' bar with a 'tap to unlock' button. Personally I'm a fan of the classic slider, as it's part of how Apple introduced a new paradigm of capacitive screens to the mass market, and it's something I will always associate with the iPhone.

Unfortunately 'slide to unlock' isn't for everybody. If you know someone who has difficulty using the 'slide to unlock' gesture on the lock screen, maybe because of arthritis or another fine motor control difficulty, you'll get good mileage out of tapUnlock. Alternatively, you might just want it to have something different...

Robert Broglia releases ‘Snes9x EX+’ SNES emulator to Cydia

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Robert Broglia, the developer behind the free Snes9x EX jailbreak app, and a number of other commercial '.emu' emulators for other consoles, just released Snes9x Ex+. Broglia's latest branch of his popular iOS Super Nintendo emulator is based off of Snes9x version 1.53, which is the most recent available build of the PC software.

The more recent v1.53 codebase should provide near-complete emulation for a number of games, especially those that make heavy use of mode7 scaling or the Super FX co-processor...

How to get Facebook Messenger working on a jailbroken iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Facebook a week ago issued invites for a major news conference due tomorrow to “come and see what we're building”. One source claims the iPad version of the popular Messenger client will be on tap as the social networking giant's last-minute "one more thing" surprise.

What you may not have known is that the current iPhone build of Messenger already has the iPad interface and code in place. And if you happen to have your device jailbroken (as most readers who frequent iDB do), you may want to unlock Messenger for iPad right now. Just follow this simple guide and Jeff's easy to follow video instructions, embedded right past the break...