iOS

Checkra1n jailbreak user gets Ubuntu running on an iPhone 7

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 11, 2021

The checkra1n jailbreak utilizes such a powerful exploit that it offers a whole lot more than just a package manager and instant access to your favorite jailbreak tweaks. In fact, the hardware-based checkm8 bootrom exploit has proven more than capable of enabling a whole host of interesting hacks on compatible devices.

The latest of such hacks comes by way of Twitter user @RowRocka, who on Monday afternoon Tweeted a YouTube video of Ubuntu version 20.04 running on an iPhone 7 that had been pwned with the checkra1n jailbreak tool.

Jailbreak tweaks of the week: Eneko, Little12, TimerIcon, & more…

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 10, 2021

The jailbreak tweak release trickle effect continues as the community awaits a modern iOS & iPadOS 14-centric jailbreak for Apple’s latest devices, but theater hasn’t stopped some developers from launching notable releases for those already jailbroken.

In this roundup, we’ll go over all the latest jailbreak tweak releases and jailbreak news from this past week, spanning Monday, December 4th to Sunday, December 10th.

Eneko is a lightweight video wallpaper tweak for jailbroken devices

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated March 31, 2022

While the iPhone’s native wallpaper handling capabilities have certainly evolved over the years, one could still argue that it lags behind what many would consider to be freedom of choice by the end user. That’s because despite support for Dynamic, Still, and Live wallpapers, one thing is still obviously missing: video wallpapers.

AutoLockX prevents apps from overriding Apple’s Auto Lock feature

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 8, 2021

As many iPhone owners already know, the iOS operating system provides users with a feature called Auto Lock that, when configured by the end user, can automatically lock the handset after a pre-defined amount of idle time. In other words, when your handset isn’t being actively used, it goes to sleep to save power and to secure your important data.

Auto Lock takes effect in most circumstances, however there are a few exemptions in which the feature gets overridden, such as during media (video) playback and while playing certain games. Some users like this because of its convenience, while others find it to be a concern both in terms of battery life and data security.

Apple unsigns iOS 14.2, 14.2.1, and 12.4.9, thwarting downgrades

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 7, 2021

After officially launching iOS 14.3 to the public last month with new features and improvements, Apple has closed the signing window for iOS & iPadOS 14.2 & 14.2.1, a move that prevents affected iPhone and iPad owners from restoring their handset’s firmware version to anything but the current iOS & iPadOS 14.3 release.

In addition to iOS & iPadOS 14.2 & 14.2.1, the company has officially started unsigning iOS 12.4.9, which prevents older handsets that are incapable of being upgraded to iOS or iPadOS 13 from downgrading from the newer iOS 12.5 release.

LottieStatusBar brings Lottie-inspired animations to the Status Bar

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 30, 2022

It was only a couple of days ago that we showed you a jailbreak tweak dubbed LottieLockscreen by iOS developer MiRO. In a nutshell, it brought fun and quirky Lottie-style animations to the Lock Screen on jailbroken iPhones. The tweak’s popularity rapidly gained momentum following its release, and as such, we knew it would only be a matter of time before the developer expanded the concept to other interfaces of iOS.

LottieStatusBar is the latest of such expansions, and just as the tweak’s rather conspicuous name implies, it ports these Lottie-style animations to the handset’s Status Bar.

Facebook is still warning businesses of Apple’s incoming app tracking privacy changes in iOS 14

Evan Selleck ∙ January 6, 2021

Facebook, one of the world's largest social networks, is not happy about an impending new addition to iOS 14. That incoming privacy feature has the company up-in-arms, and it continues to warn other companies of the perceived pitfalls.

Guided audio walking workouts may be coming to the Apple Watch soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 6, 2021

The Workout app for Apple Watch in the current iOS 14.4 beta includes a new setting suggesting that guided audio walking workouts may be coming to the wearable device soon.

Give your older iPhone a bevy of modern handset features with Little12

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 6, 2021

When Apple launched the iPhone X back in 2018, we knew the company was transitioning into a new hardware era. It wasn’t long before Apple ditched Home Button-equipped handsets altogether, paving the way for a more advanced gesture-driven user experience that could be enjoyed on a larger edge-to-edge display.

For those who still have an older Home Button-equipped iPhone, the user experience isn’t quite as robust as it would be on a notched handset by comparison. For that reason, iOS developer Ryan Nair launched Little12, a free jailbreak tweak that back-ports several of the gestures and features from notched devices (and then some) to non-notched devices.

ButterflyEffect adds animated butterflies to the Home & Lock Screens

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 6, 2021

Do you enjoy butterflies? If you answered ‘yes’ to that question, then you might find yourself intrigued by a new, free, and rather conspicuously-named jailbreak tweak dubbed ButterflyEffect by iOS developer Pixelomer.

At first glance, ButterflyEffect causes animated butterfly-themed sprites to flutter over the top of your Home Screen and Lock Screen wallpapers. These animations traverse your screen from the bottom to the top and move slowly enough to be noticed, yet fast enough not to get in the way of your wallpaper viewing pleasure.

LottieLockscreen gives the Lock Screen quirky Lottie-style animations

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 30, 2022

One of the things I appreciate most about having a jailbroken iPhone at my disposal is that I can simply download a single jailbreak tweak and suddenly have a user interface that transcends the appearance of any stock handset in circulation. Whether you’re into making a native interface look more impressive than it does out of the box, or you want something flashy that will garner attention from anyone around you, there’s something for everyone.

One of the latest of such jailbreak tweaks is a new and free release dubbed LottieLockscreen by iOS developer MiRO, and as you’re about to witness for yourself, the tweak takes various angles of approach for augmenting the Lock Screen’s aesthetics.

TimerIcon gives the Clock app an animated timer countdown icon

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 4, 2021

It was only yesterday that we showed you a jailbreak tweak dubbed Gears, which animated the Settings app icon on the Home Screen such that the gears depicted inside the icon actually rotated, much like one used by the OTA software update mechanism from the days of iOS 7.

Today, we look at an entirely different type of animated Home Screen icon – one that impacts the likes of the Clock app to depict the current state of any active timers you might have counting down in the background. Such an icon is brought to us by way of a new jailbreak tweak called TimerIcon by iOS developer Idefix0202.