iOS

This tweak eliminates the two-step process to force-close apps on the iPhone X

Although I love using my iPhone X, I have a gripe with how the App Switcher works on this particular device. More specifically, you need to tap and hold on App Switcher cards before you can swipe up to force-close their respective apps.

Given that this two-step process isn’t required on any other Apple handset, it took me a while to get used to, and I still don’t like it. On the other hand, anyone on the same page can now take advantage of a new free jailbreak tweak called SwipeUptoKillX by iOS developer CydiaGeek.

SilentAir makes the AirDrop receiving pop-up less intrusive

AirDrop comes in handy when you want to wirelessly send files from one device to another, but the user interface leaves a lot to be desired, especially when receiving large files.

The single most significant complaint is that the intrusive AirDrop receiving pop-up appears on the screen for too long, blocking you from doing anything else until the pop-up vanishes. But a new free jailbreak tweak called SilentAir by iOS developer Muirey03 aims to change that.

How to search songs by lyrics on Apple Music

Searching by lyrics in Apple Music on iPhone

The Apple Music app has a built-in lyrics search feature. With it, you can find songs even if you don’t know the track’s name, who the artist is, or other such details.

All you need to do is remember a small part of the song’s lyrics, and the Music app will find tracks on Apple Music or in your library that match the typed lyrics.

ApolloOpener, DontSwipe, LatchKey, and more jailbreak tweaks to try this weekend

Jailbreak Tweaks to check out

It feels like a ton of jailbreak tweak developers are back in action following the release of Electra1131, and that means that the jailbreak community can expect to see several new ways of customizing their handsets.

In this roundup, we’ll talk about all the jailbreak tweaks released in Cydia from July 23rd to July 29th. As always, we’ll begin by showcasing our favorites, and then we’ll outline the rest afterward.

TextEmojis lets you type Emojis and more with text shortcuts

A variety of popular third-party messaging apps, including Discord and Slack, let you enter Emojis by typing a colon followed by a specific shortcode. Apple doesn’t provide users with a comparable feature throughout the rest of iOS, but wouldn’t it be nice if they did?

If you answered “yes” to the question above, then you might be happy to learn about a new jailbreak tweak dubbed TextEmojis by iOS developer Andreas Henriksson. Once installed, you’ll be able to input Emojis and other quirky text faces by typing pre-configured text shortcuts.

Duo adds a second page to Control Center in iOS 11

The modular Control Center interface in iOS 11 is great because you can customize the toggles and shortcuts that appear there. Unfortunately, Apple limits the how many you can have, and that’s where a new jailbreak tweak called Duo by iOS developer Muirey03 comes into play.

As the name “Duo” infers, this tweak gives you a secondary page in Control Center that provides additional space for more toggles and shortcuts.

Palette lets you colorize your notifications and widgets

If you’re a jailbreaker, then chances are you enjoy standing out from the rest of the crowd. One way you can accomplish this is by changing the look and feel of your iOS device, and a new free jailbreak tweak called Palette by iOS developer Maxwell Dausch can help you do just that.

As the name implies, Palette produces a handful of colorization options for your jailbroken handset. More specifically, it focuses on incoming notifications and widgets, which most people interact with every day.

LightsOn enables Portrait Lighting mode on the iPhone 7 Plus

If you have an iPhone X or 8 Plus, then you might be familiar with the Portrait Lighting feature that Apple conveniently bundled into your handset’s stock Camera app. It applies professional lighting effects to your photo subject with the help of your device’s dual camera setup and powerful processor.

The iPhone 7 Plus also sports a dual camera setup and a powerful processor, but Apple uses software to limit Portrait Lightning to the iPhone X and 8 Plus. Fortunately, a new free jailbreak tweak dubbed LightsOn by iOS developer Voltized can fix that.