iPhone

Stay up-to-date on the latest iPhone news and learn new tips and tricks with our comprehensive tutorials. From software updates to new features, we’ve got you covered.

Enjoy iPad-style tabbed browsing in Safari on iOS 14 iPhones with SafariTab14

One thing Apple got right with Safari on the iPad was its desktop-class tabbed web browsing, and it really peeves me that a similar tabbed web browsing experience isn’t available on the iPhone — at least not while browsing in the commonly-used portrait orientation, that is.

Given the fact that so many iPhone users resent Apple’s decision not to offer tabbed browsing on the iPhone in all screen orientations, it’s not surprising to see that the jailbreak community continuously provides for users who don’t want Apple making such poor accessibility decisions on their part.

ChatWall lets jailbreakers set a wallpaper in the Messages app

On a bone stock iPhone, the Messages app sports a plain background — either black when using dark mode or white when using light mode. If you’ve ever craved something with a bit more pizzazz than that, then you’d be out of luck.

Fortunately for jailbreakers, running a bone-stock setup isn’t necessary, and a newly released and free jailbreak tweak named ChatWall by iOS developer Chr1s offers an effective way to change the Messages app’s background to virtually anything you want.

Substitute updated to v2.0.12 with speed and memory usage optimizations

Sam Bingner has launched an updated version of the Substitute tweak injection method this evening, officially bringing the package up to version 2.0.12.

Substitute is used by default on the unc0ver jailbreak when installing tweaks and add-ons and can be installed manually by the end user on the checkra1n jailbreak if Cydia Substrate isn’t already being used. But regardless of which jailbreak you use, this is an update you probably won’t want to miss.

Key+ supercharges the keyboard on jailbroken iPhones in more ways than one

I sternly hold the opinion that Apple offers one of the best touch screen-based keyboards in the smartphone industry today, but that hasn’t stopped me from thinking about ways that Apple could make it better. Perhaps my biggest gripe has to do with the amount of wasted space on notched devices — especially at the bottom of the keyboard interface.

Key+ is a newly released jailbreak tweak by iOS developer XCXiao that makes much more productive use of said wasted space on the keyboard interface by filling it with useful commands and shortcuts. These include but aren’t limited to text editing shortcuts for cutting, copying, and pasting text, a way to customize the output of key swipes, a way to rapidly enter pasteboard items, and a quick entry Emoji bar.

Give the Now Playing interface an attractive background effect with MusicBackground

Listening to music is a popular activity among iPhone owners, but regardless of what music streaming app you use to jam out to your favorite tunes, one thing is certain: the Now Playing interface can be downright boring.

MusicBackground is a new jailbreak tweak by iOS developer Ethan Whited that hopes to solve this longstanding problem by incorporating eye-catching background effects, and it does this for the Now Playing interfaces in the Apple Music app, Spotify Music app, Tidal app, and even those found in Control Center and on the Lock Screen.

Sonyfy lets jailbreakers toggle noise cancellation mode on certain Sony headphones via Control Center

Apple’s AirPods Pro sent a shockwave through the earbud industry when they became some of the first wireless earbuds to support active noise cancellation. Fast-forward to today, and even Apple’s newer AirPods Max over-ear headphones support this feature along with transparency.

But Apple isn’t the only brand pumping out earbuds and headphones with active noise cancellation and features similar to that of the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. Sadly, the company limits iOS’ native controls to the first party audio consumption devices — requiring the use of third party apps to control third party accessories (eww).

Apple stops signing iOS 14.4.2, preventing downgrades from newer firmware

After officially launching the highly anticipated iOS & iPadOS 14.5 update a week ago with support for Face ID authentication while wearing a mask and 5G connectivity whilst utilizing dual SIM mode among other things, it should come as no surprise to anyone that nearly one week later the Cupertino-based company is pulling the plug on the previous iOS & iPadOS version — 14.4.2.

Apple’s decision to stop signing iOS & iPadOS 14.4.2 means that iPhone and iPad users will be unable to downgrade to this particular version of Apple’s mobile operating systems under most circumstances, with the lone exception being that users have their .shsh2 blobs saved from a time when that firmware was being signed.