iOS

This tweak keeps you from accidentally marking your email inbox as unread

A lot of times we perform bulk actions in the Mail app with the intention of saving time, but sometimes we make mistakes, like marking all the emails in our inbox as unread by accident.

A new free jailbreak tweak dubbed Mark as Unread Alert by iOS developer i4M1k0SU helps mitigate the changes of this accident from happening by forcing you to confirm your action before it takes effect.

FunAppocalypse simulates the iPhone apocalypse in the skit from Apple’s WWDC keynote

When Apple kicked off the WWDC 2017 keynote this year, they presented a hilarious comedy skit that put into perspective just how important mobile apps are in our daily lives. As every iOS device went kaput, the world quickly delved into chaos.

iOS developer CPDigitalDarkroom decided it would be fun to recreate the apocalyptic scenario, and so he created a new free jailbreak tweak he calls FunAppocalypse that simulates the visual effects and sounds that were illustrated in the keynote skit.

The 13 features in iOS 11 borrowed from the jailbreak community

Apple releases a major new firmware upgrade for its mobile device lineup every year, and with the announcement of iOS 11 at the WWDC 2017 keynote on Monday, it’s somewhat ironic that Apple has once again borrowed many of its new feature ideas from the brilliant minds that make up the jailbreak community.

In this roundup, we’ll discuss 13 new features in iOS 11 that have previously existed in Cydia as jailbreak tweaks before the new firmware, which is set to release this Fall, was ever even announced.

Apple honors select app developers in its 2017 Design Awards

Unlike the name might imply, Apple’s Design Awards are not exclusively dedicated to chasing the pinnacle of visual design, but more comprehensively appraise other app elements such as user interface innovation, sound design and also gameplay for apps offering unique gaming experiences. The latter, games, have easily stolen the show this year with 5 out of the 12 winners coming from said category.

In a slightly embellished press release, Apple announced the names and links of all twelve winning applications, each coming with a punchy story to explain and celebrate the selection in addition to screenshots and pictures of each developer team.

iOS 11 makes it a cinch to share your Wi-Fi password with nearby devices

iOS 11 provides a nifty new feature for sharing your Wi-Fi hotspot password with nearby devices, without having to type the password on another device. When a nearby device running iOS 11 attempts to connect to your password-protected Wi-Fi network through Settings → Wi-Fi, a new message informs the owner they can now request access to the network.

To request Wi-Fi network access, they simply hold their device near an unlocked iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac that's already connected to the network. A Wi-Fi sharing card pops up on the device already on the network, resembling the seamless AirPods pairing interface.

As first discovered by 9to5Mac, the device that has the network password automatically sends it to the nearby device over the air, allowing the receiving device to quickly and securely connect to your local wireless network.

This feature uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth proximity information.

The beauty of this method, as I mentioned earlier, is that it just works—the device requesting access to your Wi-Fi network never sees the actual network password.

macOS High Sierra will support this time-saving feature as well.

Speaking of which, iOS 11 includes automated first-time setup and account login features.

For instance, a feature called Automatic Setup lets you securely import most of the settings and data to your new iPhone or iPad by holding it near an iOS device or Mac you already own, using a process that's very similar to that of pairing an Apple Watch to a nearby iPhone.

iOS 11 is compatible with all 64-bit iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. The software update will release as a free download to all customers this fall.

iOS 11’s volume slider no longer covers fullscreen videos

One of the most interesting changes in iOS 11 that hasn't been talked about at all during Monday's WWDC 2017 keynote is going to make a lot of you happy: the volume indicator on iOS 11 no longer obstructs the center of the screen obnoxiously.

As noted by users on Twitter, the redesigned slider only appears when playing video in fullscreen mode. In other words, the good ol' volume control centered on the screen isn't going anywhere, it's just that playing video in fullscreen mode replaces the standard volume control with an unobtrusive slider that sits in the top-right corner of the screen.

This is actually part of a bigger update for iOS 11's system video player.

The iOS 11 video player has controls for subtitles (including YouTube's auto-generated subtitles), AirPlay and more. Plus, it supports full keyboard control so you can control video playback with more than a dozen shortcuts via your physical wireless keyboard.

iOS 11's new minimalist volume slider does not appear in apps and on websites that implement their own custom video player. As an example, many video-streaming apps, including HBO NOW and Netflix, override the system video player and use a bespoke one.

Google's mobile YouTube app also recently updated its video player with a thin volume slider positioned unobtrusively at the very top of the currently playing video.

iOS 11 is compatible with all 64-bit iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. The software update will release as a free download to all customers this fall.

iOS 11 lets AirPods owners skip forwards and backwards between tracks with a double tap

The most common complaint about AirPods is their inability to change the currently playing song directly on the earphones, without invoking Siri. Well, YouTuber Appsolutely Tech has discovered that iOS 11 solves this customer pain point by adding the ability to skip forwards and backwards between tracks with a double tap.

On iOS 11, your AirPods settings include some handy new options for choosing a double-tap action separately for the left and right earbud.

TUTORIAL: Tips and tricks for using AirPods like a pro

You could, for example set your left AirPod to skip to the next track and your right AirPod to go to the next track. Or, you could leave Siri as the default action for one of your AirPods and set the other one to go to the next track when double-tapped.

Watch Appsolutely Tech's video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsQ9J1mwU78

Simply tap the “i” next to your AirPods in Settings → Bluetooth on your iOS 11 device.

You will see you can now set a different double-tap action for each of your AirPods:

Siri Play/Pause Next Track Previous Track Off

It's unclear if Apple might bring this new feature to iOS 10 via a future AirPods firmware update.

Hands-on with iOS 11’s highly customizable Control Center

A completely redesigned Control Center is one of the hallmarks of iOS 11. Having ditched card-based layout spanning multiple pages, Control Center has adopted a single-page design. Control Center on iOS 11 is realized as a full-screen scrollable overlay, a design that has allowed Apple to put many more useful controls at your fingertips than ever before.

It is highly customizable, too: you get to choose what appears in your Control Center!

For instance, you could opt for a pedestrian Control Center with a handful of the most commonly used shortcuts, like on iOS 10, or create a fully loaded Control Center that may contain as many as 18 additional toggles. Apple currently does not provide Control Center APIs, meaning third-party apps cannot ship their own Control Center toggles, for now.

iOS 11 Control Center highlights:

Control Center is more condensed You no longer have to swipe your way through multiple cards Everything is on a single, vertically scrollable page iOS 11 has eighteen additional toggles for Control Center You decide which toggles appear in your Control Center

Like before, Control Center is invoked by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.

A fully loaded Control Center on iOS 11.

As you can see for yourself, Control Center on iOS 11 is more condensed than before.

The refreshed design allows you to quickly toggle various settings on a single screen, no swiping between pages required whatsoever.

Additional toggles for Control Center can be added and re-ordered in Settings.

The entire Control Center can be scrolled vertically to reveal any controls that may not fit on a single page. To dismiss Control Center, swipe down or press the Home button.

To stop Control Center from appearing on your Lock screen for security reasons, slide the Control Center switch in Settings → Touch ID & Passcode to the OFF position. All in all, iOS 11's Control Center is completely different than it was before—and it's a change for the better.

To help you get quickly up to speed with everything Control Center on iOS 11 has to offer, we asked our prolific video editor Andrew O'Hara to put together a quick video walkthrough.

Watch his clip below, then read the rest of the article for additional information on other new features for Control Center on iOS 11.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGWjmt6UXJI

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Many of Apple's own apps on iOS 11 include their own controls for Control Center.

Notes, for example, provides Control Center shortcuts for creating a new note, checklist, photo or sketch. Clock includes Control Center options for creating alarms and timers, and so forth.

Some of the most useful Control Center shortcuts let you quickly access iOS 11's new screen recording feature, set the Dynamic Text size, control your Apple TV without needing to launch Apple's Remote app and much, much more.

The following set of controls can be added to Control Center at any time:

Accessibility Shortcuts Alarm Apple TV Remote Calculator Camera Do Not Disturb While Driving Flashlight Guided Access Home Low Power Mode Magnifier Notes Screen Recording Stopwatch Text Size Timer Voice Memos Wallet

You can add these toggles to, or remove them from Control Center at any time, in Settings. To rearrange the order in which they appear, drag their handles around.

Keep in mind that these expanded Control Center controls are in addition to the standard toggles, some of which now come with additional switches and options.

The non-removable Control Center items include:

Network—Airplane Mode, Cellular Data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop and Personal Hotspot. Now Playing—See what's playing, adjust playback volume, control speakers with multi-room support via AirPlay 2, scrub through your media, play or pause a song or go to the previous/next song. Brightness—Adjust the screen brightness, turn Night Shift on or off. Volume—Control your audio volume. Orientation Lock—Toggle Orientation Lock on or off. Night Shift—Toggle Night Shift on or off. AirPlay—Mirror the device's screen on your TV, select an AirPlay device.

As mentioned, these controls are persistent and cannot be removed from Control Center.

Some of the built-in controls will be familiar to you, but many will not.

That said, you're wholeheartedly encouraged to try pressing each toggle with 3D Touch to reveal additional options. For instance, pressing the Network control with 3D Touch expands it so you can choose additional controls, like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop switches.

Similarly, pressing the Now Playing reveals the scrubber and the volume slider. Unfortunately, if your device lacks 3D Touch you won't be able to access any of the additional options for Control Center toggles that provide them.

Apple could tweak Control Center's design as we get closer to iOS 11's release this fall.

While we're not expecting drastic changes in subsequent iOS 11 betas, Apple would be wise to add the ability to drag the toggles inside Control Center to rearrange them.

Bottom line: even in its current form, Control Center is now way more useful than it's ever been.

Everyone will have a chance to appreciate iOS 11's condensed, highly customizable Control Center as soon as iOS 11 releases for public consumption this fall.

iOS 11 is compatible with all 64-bit iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices.

Share your thoughts on iOS 11's redesigned Control Center by posting a comment below.

Force Google Assistant to listen immediately after app launch with InstantAssistant

Siri is the default voice-based assistant on iOS devices, and while some people like using her, others prefer to use different voice assistants because of the features they offer or their superior fluidity.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t let you choose the default voice assistant, but a new free jailbreak tweak called InstantAssistant by gilshahar7 can help quell the pain.

This tweak hides your web search history from Spotlight

Whenever you search for stuff using Spotlight on your iPhone, a history of what you’ve searched for is kept just below the Siri app suggestions.

If you’re concerned about the privacy of your web search history via Spotlight, then you might want to download a new free jailbreak tweak dubbed Spotlight No Suggest by iOS developer ichitaso.