iOS

First hands-on demo of Siri’s app integration doesn’t disappoint

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 14, 2017

Capabilities of SiriKit, a new iOS 10 framework that lets third-party apps work with Siri, were on full display in the first hands-on demonstration given to Nathan Olivarez-Giles of the Wall Street Journal. In addition to extending Siri’s support for messaging, photo search and phone calls to more apps, SiriKit also adds support for new services, including ride booking and personal payments.

Nathan was pretty impressed with the usefulness of Siri's app integration on iOS 10, calling it a “long-overdue” enhancement that will make Apple's personal digital assistant “more useful in everyday life” than it's ever been.

This tweak lets you keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on when you toggle Airplane Mode

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 31, 2016

With a new jailbreak tweak released by the name of Keep On Airplane Mode, you can now use the feature to toggle only your cellular radios off while keeping your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios active.

Set animated GIF images as your Lock screen wallpaper with GIFLock

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 31, 2016

A new jailbreak tweak release dubbed GIFLock lets you set any animated GIF image from your Camera Roll as the wallpaper on the Lock screen of your jailbroken iOS 9 device(s).

Amalthea: a video-friendly volume HUD for your iOS Status Bar

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated September 13, 2016

One of the biggest problems with the stock volume HUD in iOS is how it floats in the center of the display and gets in the way of everything you're doing. The problem is amplified when you're trying to watch a video and you can't see what's going on.

Amalthea is a new jailbreak tweak that relocates the volume indicator to the location of the Status Bar so that it's up and out of the way.

NightOwl enables Twitter’s night mode automatically based on the time

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 30, 2016

In one of its most recent updates, Twitter added a new night mode theme to its mobile app that makes the app easier on your eyes at night.

For jailbreakers who like the feature, but expected more than having to manually operate it all the time, a developer has figured out a way to make Twitter's night mode more automatic with a new jailbreak tweak called NightOwl.

Customize your Notification Center interface with CustomNC

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 30, 2016

Minimalists who don't like lines, separators, and other visually unappealing forms of UI elements appearing in Notification Center can use a new jailbreak tweak dubbed CustomNC to make it look just how they want it to.

Steven Levy confirms that some of the data in Apple iBrain can be restored to a new phone

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 29, 2016

Journalist Steven Levy's excellent in-depth look at Apple's machine learning and artificial intelligence systems used throughout iOS and its other products have left some people wondering about transferring the so-called iBrain database to a new device. Apple told Levy that iBrain is local to a device and doesn't get sent to the cloud.

The explanation promoted some people to wonder if that means that iBrain has to start all over again after getting a new phone, and lose all memory of what it learned in the process. As it turns out, some of the information in that “brain” can indeed be restored and moved to a new device in a safe manner.

How to send texts and iMessages from Windows [jailbreak]

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated September 6, 2017

If you've got a Mac, then you can easily send iMessages and SMS messages from the Messages app that's baked into your operating system.

Windows users don't have such a luxury. Remote Messages Client, a brand-new third-party desktop client, could change that.

Jailbreak tweaks of the week: Super VoiceMail, LocationHandle, & more…

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 28, 2016

Another week, another roundup. This week has seen another wave of jailbreak tweak releases that are helping to keep those who jailbroke with the Pangu iOS 9.3.3 tool satisfied with the ability to modify their devices.

In this roundup, we'll talk about what's new for this week, starting with our favorites, and then moving on to the rest afterwards.

Super VoiceMail: A slick new way to handle your iPhone’s voicemail

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 27, 2016

Just last week, we showed you a jailbreak tweak called AnsweringMachine that took the jailbreak community by surprise and showed us that the iPhone's voicemail system has a lot to be desired. On the other hand, another new release called Super VoiceMail also looks very promising.

In this review, we'll show you what Super VoiceMail has to offer and help you decide which of the two jailbreak tweaks you should go with.

Phone++ now available for iOS 9, supercharges your Phone app

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 27, 2016

If you've got a jailbroken iPhone, then it's time to supercharge that stock calling app with a new jailbreak tweak called Phone++.

In this review, we'll show you how Phone++ can improve access to your contacts from your favorite social apps and make your life easier.

Apple issues iOS 10 beta 8 to developers & beta 7 to public beta testers

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 26, 2016

Apple today released an eighth beta of iOS 10 (build number “14A5346a”) to members of the Apple Developer Program and the seventh beta of iOS 10 to public beta testers who are signed on the Apple Beta Software Program. It's worth repeating that iOS 10 beta 8 for developers and iOS 10 beta 7 for public beta testers contain the same features.

The devices on a prior beta can be updated in Settings → General → Software Update, but some users are reporting issues trying to update to beta 8.