News

KBColor lets jailbreakers colorize the keyboard & scroll bar, among other things

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 7, 2021

If there’s one thing that almost every jailbreaker likes to do after they learn that they’re free from Apple’s restrictive clutch, it’s giving the iOS user interface a fresh coat of paint.

In many cases, this means tinting the operating system with your favorite color scheme, or changing the color of smaller components of the user interface that you don’t like as they come out of the box. This includes the iPhone’s keyboard, and if you’re interested in giving the keyboard a new splash of color, then a jailbreak tweak called KBColor by iOS developer Mostafa can provide enough customization to help you get the job done.

NanoFi speeds up the data transfer rate between jailbroken iPhones & Apple Watches

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 7, 2021

It’s no secret that the Apple Watch is a convenient accessory for the iPhone, but even so, it tends to use the Bluetooth radio for most file transfers. This can sometimes be unbearably slow, especially when the transfer involves large or several files at one time.

The businesses of banning people on Instagram

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2021

One guy claims to have made earned over five figures from selling lucrative Instagram bans in just under a month, cautioning that banning “is pretty much a full-time job lol.”

Apple says it will consider global expansion of CSAM photo scanning on country-by-country basis; addresses other concerns

Evan Selleck ∙ August 6, 2021

Apple this week revealed a new initiative that's meant to help protect children. The Expanded Protections for Children effort is three-fold, each feature baked into Apple's major platforms. Two of the new additions appear to be going over well enough, but it's the other one, the photo scanning one, that's ruffled a lot of feathers.

Spotify decides to pause adding AirPlay 2 support to the iOS app

Evan Selleck ∙ August 6, 2021

Despite the fact Apple launched AirPlay 2 way back in 2018, there are some iOS apps out there that don't support it. One being the ridiculously popular music streaming app, Spotify. And while it sounds like the company is looking into it, and even plans on implementing support at some point, it turns out it won't be soon.

Internal memo from software VP at Apple talks iCloud Photo scanning, maintains ‘deep commitment to user privacy’

Evan Selleck ∙ August 6, 2021

Yesterday, Apple unveiled new child safety features that are going to be baked into iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12 Monterey, and watchOS 8. The goal is to help protect minors from being abused, seeing explicit material, and more. However, to reach that goal, the company has to implement some intrusive features.

India’s first brick-and-mortar Apple store delayed over COVID-19

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2021

The first Apple store was scheduled to open in Mumbai later this year, but has now been officially delayed because of the current Covid-19 pandemic and public health situation.

Apple Cash Instant Transfer now supports Mastercard debit cards

Evan Selleck ∙ August 6, 2021

A handy feature for folks using the Apple Card is Daily Cash Back. This will automatically deposit your earned cash back from purchases onto the Apple Cash card saved in your Wallet. From there, you can choose to use those funds to help pay down the Apple Card's balance, pay for items when using Apple Pay, or transfer the money to a bank.

Coinbase launches supports for using Apple Pay when buying cryptocurrency

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2021

The cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase is now letting Apple Pay users purchase crypto with Coinbase using any debit card registered with Apple's mobile payment feature.

Electrode transforms your iPhone’s low power alerts into low power toasts

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 6, 2021

As an iPhone’s battery level approaches the dangerous sub-20% territory, the handset will automatically alert the user. One thing that has always peeved me about this, however, is that the alert isn’t as aesthetically pleasing as I’d come to expect from a company with a reputation for good looks such as Apple.

For those who agree, a newly released and free jailbreak tweak dubbed Electrode by iOS developer biD3V offers refuge, as it replaces the iPhone’s traditional low power alerts with something called a Toast, which looks like the pop-up you get when toggling the ringer/silent switch on an iPhone or attaching an Apple Pencil to an iPad to charge.

Apple reveals new child safety features, including scanning user photo libraries for known abusive material

Evan Selleck ∙ August 5, 2021

User privacy and security is a major focal point for Apple. Safety, too. Making sure that a user is able to keep their data safe, for instance, is one of the selling points of iOS in general. So it makes sense that Apple would want to broaden that scope, especially as it relates to protecting children.

Artists can now share milestones with fans on Apple Music

Evan Selleck ∙ August 5, 2021

Once upon a time, Apple Music had an eye for a social network-esque experience. Mostly for artists distributing music on the streaming service to connect with fans in a different, more direct way. However, Apple Music Connect would not last.