iOS 10

The best jailbreak tweaks for the Messages app

The Yalu iOS 10 jailbreak has been around for a few months now, and since developers have had ample time to launch some amazing tweaks for Apple's latest jailbreakable firmware, it would only make sense to follow up with a series of  themed recaps.

In this piece, we’ll discuss (in our opinion) the best jailbreak tweaks for the Messages app since the iOS 10 jailbreak was conceived.

A closer look at iOS 10.3’s streamlined App Store ratings and reviews capabilities

Following yesterday's OS update bonanza, Apple shared some additional details pertaining to iOS 10.3's new ratings and reviews capabilities that are available to developers.

As previously noted, iOS 10.3 is changing how reviews and feedback are handled within apps.

Rather than inundate users with endless prompts seeking feedback, like before, developers now have a new StoreKit API on iOS 10.3 at their disposal.

First and foremost, the StoreKit APIs allow users to provide ratings and reviews without leaving the app they're in. Developers simply choose when they’d like to prompt the user and identify places in their app where it makes sense to ask for feedback, and the system takes care of the rest.

Apple releases iOS 10.3 with Find My AirPods and other new features

Apple today released for public consumption the third major software update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. iOS 10.3 is now available via the Software Update mechanism in Settings and desktop iTunes more than six months since iOS 10 made its debut in September 2016 and more than two months following the current iOS 10.2.1 update.

iOS 10.3 (build 14E277) brings about a number of new features and improvements.

Add some squareness to iOS with ringUI

A handful of elements that make up the iOS UI in its entirety are round or have rounded corners; this includes, but is not limited to: passcode buttons, Control Center toggles, the corners of banner notifications, and Home screen folders, among other things.

If you’re not a fan of this system-wide rounded style, a new free jailbreak tweak called ringUI by CydiaGeek can be installed to make several elements on your device look much squarer.

Zeal is a battery management system for your jailbroken iPhone or iPad

Lots of people take their battery life seriously, and it goes without saying that Apple provides the bare minimum of battery health and information tools; it has often been up to jailbreak developers to fill in these gaps.

A new jailbreak tweak release called Zeal by iOS developers Rabih M. and Stijn aims to answer all the cries from battery sticklers that have yet to be answered by Apple. It provides both an informative battery management interface that you can invoke on demand to see more about how your battery is doing and conserve power.

Delay your Lock screen auto-dimming feature with this tweak

I often get asked about how to delay the Lock screen's auto-dimming feature, and it would seem that a viable solution has conveniently slipped into Cydia this week.

Dubbed CustomLockscreenDuration, this new free jailbreak tweak by iOS developer Andreas Henriksson lets you choose how long of a delay there is before your Lock screen falls asleep. This is great for anyone who uses Lock screen-related mods, because the screen sometimes tends to dim while you're interacting with the tweaks.

After installation, you can head right into the Settings app, where you will find a preferences pane tailored around configuring the dim timer:

This tweak brings a YouTube-inspired volume HUD to your iPhone

If you’ve ever used the YouTube app on your iPhone before, then you know Google has good taste in what a volume HUD should look like. Obviously, the monstrosity of a volume HUD that Apple continues to impose on iOS users is not something said users like to see, as it gets in the way of everything.

Because Google has the right idea, iOS developer midkin decided to create a YouTube-inspired volume HUD system that’s made to work across your whole iOS system. As a result, the new free jailbreak tweak YouTubeVolume was born.

Google previews Android O, check out the top new features ahead of iOS 11’s June beta

If you think Apple's innovation in the smartphone OS space has stalled, wait until you see the next major revision to Google's Android operating system.

Today, the search giant released a developer-only preview of Android O (it's the working title). While it won't release for public consumption before the fall, developers can download Android O and begin testing it right away. Android O adds many of the same features Apple customers have enjoyed for more than six months with iOS 10, or even longer.

These include things such as richer notifications, picture-in-picture modes, wide color gamuts in apps, limits on what apps can do in the background to improve battery life and more. Here's our preview of Android O's enhancements and new capabilities available to customers and developers.