News

Cydia Substrate updated to v0.9.7103 with additional bug fixes

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 9, 2020

Following a Cydia Substrate update on Wednesday that improved hooking and added preliminary support for iOS 14, the package received a second update early Thursday morning, this time bringing it up to version 0.9.7103.

Cydia Substrate is used for tweak injection on both the checkra1n and unc0ver jailbreaks, albeit only up to A11 devices for the latter as Cydia Substrate doesn’t support A12 or newer handsets. If you’re using a supported platform, then this update is available from Sam Bingner’s default repository and should appear after refreshing your sources.

Personalize your handset’s notification & widget appearances with Velvet

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 9, 2020

If you like personalizing the aesthetics of your jailbroken handset, as most jailbreakers do, then we’d strongly recommend taking a few moments out of your busy day to check out a newly released jailbreak tweak called Velvet by iOS developers NoisyFlake and HiMyNameisUbik.

Velvet imbues jailbreakers with the freedom of customizing and theming their handset’s floating notification banners, Lock Screen notification banners, and Now Playing media player with just about any appearance they can imagine. A few examples of the tweak at work are depicted in the screenshots embedded above and below.

Cydia Substrate updated to v0.9.7102 with improved hooking & more

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 8, 2020

Depending on the type of jailbreak you’re using, your handset might depend on Cydia Substrate for tweak injection. This will be the case if you’re using checkra1n, but it may also apply to unc0ver users who aren’t using A12 or newer handsets since Cydia Substrate was never updated to support Apple’s latest lineup because of unforeseen complexity challenges.

If your jailbroken handset does use Cydia Substate for tweak injection, then you may want to launch Cydia and refresh your sources. An updated version of Cydia Substrate was released on Wednesday with improvements, officially bringing the package up to version 0.9.7102.

You can now reserve a time to ‘Shop with a Specialist’ at an Apple Store

Evan Selleck ∙ July 8, 2020

Apple has offered the ability to reserve a time slot in a given day to help with repairs and other service questions at its physical retail stores for years, and now it's expanding the same idea to help customers shop for products.

Apple says it will continue to support Thunderbolt with upcoming ARM Macs

Evan Selleck ∙ July 8, 2020

So now that we know Apple is going to officially transitioning to ARM-based Macs later this year with customer-ready hardware, there remained at least one lingering question: would Apple still support Thunderbolt?

Apple TV+ inside look: “Greyhound” star Tom Hanks educates us on the Battle of Atlantic

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 8, 2020

The upcoming WWII epic "Greyhound" is launching on Apple TV+ this Friday, marking the first time a Tom Hanks movie is debuting on a streaming service. Ahead of its Apple TV+ premiere, the iPhone maker today shared an inside-look video in which the project's screenwriter and main star talks about the importance of the Battle of Atlantic in 1942.

Apple video: James Blake cutting his latest track at home in Logic Pro X on his MacBook

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 8, 2020

For quite some time now Apple's been making videos to show off how pro users are putting Macs through their paces. And now, Apple on Wednesday pushed a new video to its YouTube channel in which it featured English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer James Blake which can be seen cutting tracks in Logic Pro X on his MacBook.

New HomePod beta lets you set third-party audio services as your defaults

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 5, 2024

Alongside second betas of iOS 14 and other operating systems that were seeded to developers yesterday, Apple also introduced a second beta of the upcoming HomePod software update which is being available on an invite-only basis to a selection of AppleSeed beta testers.

Alexa for iPhone gains voice activation, but it’s hardly hands-free as Amazon is calling it

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 8, 2020

Amazon is allowing users of its Alexa mobile app to use the smart assistant without having to touch the Alexa button at the bottom control bar for voice control. However, the online retail giant calling this feature "hands-free" voice activation is stretching it a bit.

Apple expands iPhone repair services to more countries with additional options for customers

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 8, 2020

Apple made an announcement this morning that it's expanding its iPhone repair services to "hundreds of new locations" across the United States, while also opening the Independent Repair Provider Program to independent repair shops across Europe and Canada.

Apple is testing making Apple Pay payments with QR codes or traditional bar codes

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 8, 2020

Apple may be working on a new mobile payment feature that would permit iPhone customers to make payments with Apple Pay using either QR codes or traditional bar codes.

Unc0ver jailbreak updated to v5.2.1 with bug fixes & improvements

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 8, 2020

Hot off the heels of a heated DMCA battle between the Electra Team and the unc0ver Team Tuesday evening, the unc0ver jailbreak has received its first update in nearly a month, officially bringing the jailbreak tool up to version 5.2.1.

The update was announced via the unc0ver Team’s official Twitter account early Wednesday morning, and from what we can gather, it mostly appears to be a bug fix update.