iOS

Tractor brings much-needed improvements to the Music widget

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 6, 2018

If you feel like iOS' stock Music widget leaves a lot to be desired, then you aren’t alone. In fact, iOS developer LaughingQuoll recently released a new free jailbreak tweak dubbed Tractor with the intention of improving Apple’s sad excuse for a Music widget.

In the before and after screenshots above, you can see how Tractor revitalizes the Music widget’s usefulness. Rather than displaying a list of available music inside the widget, Tractor implements the traditional music controls that you’d expect to see there.

Hands-on video walkthrough: 50 new features and changes for iPhone and iPad in iOS 12

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

iOS 12 is designed to make your iPhone and iPad experience even faster, more responsive and more delightful. Most of the work is focused on reliability and stability, but that doesn't mean that iOS 12 has nothing interesting to offer in terms of new features and improvements.

iOS 12 prevents Lock screen screenshots and Camera shortcut upon reboot

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2018

In a move that probably has to do with improving user privacy and elevating device security, iOS 12 prevents taking screenshots and accessing the Camera shortcut from the Lock screen when your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch has just been restarted or turned on.

On iOS 12, iPhone X owners no longer need to hold down on apps to force-close them

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2018

No longer are iPhone X owners required to perform an extra step of holding down on thumbnails in the app switcher in order to force apps to close. That's because iOS 12 has introduced subtle yet important changes that were designed to make invoking the app switcher and force-quitting apps behave consistently across iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Our first look at the Apple Books app on iOS 12

Bryan M. Wolfe ∙ June 5, 2018

Apple Books is the new name for the iBooks app for iOS. First announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the update includes many improvements that should make buying and reading books more fun and yes, more accessible too. Here's a first look at Apple Books on iOS 12.

When Face ID fails, iOS 12 lets you swipe up to rescan without entering passcode

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2018

Unlocking an iPhone X after an unsuccessful Face ID attempt is easier in iOS 12 than it used to be in iOS 11, thanks to an incredibly useful new gesture available right from your Lock screen.

iOS 12’s Face ID supports alternate looks that may be used to unlock iPhone X with two faces

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2018

While iOS 12 does not actually bring out official support for allowing multiple people to register their face with Face ID on a single iPhone X device, nor does it enable horizontal unlock as previously thought, customers are now permitted to at least set up an alternate appearance—a feature that can effectively be used to have an iPhone X recognize a second person.

81% of the more than one billion active Apple devices are now running iOS 11

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2018

iOS 11 is now installed on 81% of Apple's over a billion active iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices in the wild, up from the 76% adoption rate reported on April 25. By contrast, Android Oreo versions powered less than six percent of active Android-driven smartphones and tablets that had been accessing Google's Play Store during a seven-day period ending on May 7, 2018.

Apple gives a sneak peek at cool new frameworks for porting iOS apps to Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 20, 2019

Addressing a long-standing question of potentially merging the iPhone, iPad and Mac operating systems into one with a “no,” Apple did provide a sneak peek at upcoming new frameworks designed to help developers port their iOS apps over to the Mac without too much fuss.

Apple announces Shortcuts, a Workflow-like automation app for iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 20, 2018

Folks hoping to see Apple improve upon its digital assistant Siri in iOS 12 will be happy to hear it has announced a new app called Shortcuts. The app, which looks every bit like the Workflow automation app it acquired a year ago, will allow you to connect 'Shortcut' operations to Siri, making complex tasks as simple as speaking a command.

StatusBarX brings the iPhone X’s Status Bar to other iDevices

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 4, 2018

Love it or hate it, the iPhone X Status Bar looks different from the one on traditional rectangular-display iPhones. Its unique aesthetic accommodates the ‘notch’ at the top of the handset's display.

But if you have an iPhone with a traditional rectangular display and wish your Status Bar looked more like it did on the iPhone X, then you might want to try a new free jailbreak tweak called StatusBarX by iOS developer Adel Hammoud.

LeadMeHome, SafariPad, and 11 other jailbreak tweaks to try this weekend

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 3, 2018

Looking for some jailbreak tweaks to install on your pwned iOS 10 or 11 device? Then you’ve come to the right place.

This roundup will encompass all the jailbreak tweaks released from May 27th until June 3rd. As usual, we’ll kick things off by discussing our favorite releases in detail and then wrap things up by outlining the rest afterward.