We can only hope that Apple is working on some sort of native dark mode for iOS that extends to the software keyboard we interact with each and every day, but until then, we’ll need to rely on jailbreak tweaks to get what we want.
Dark Keyboard is a subtly-named free jailbreak tweak by iOS developer Thomz that forces your iPhone or iPad to display the dark keyboard by default in virtually every typing interface that you can imagine on the iOS platform.
When you wake up every morning and see a plethora of missed notification badges sitting on your Home screen, do you ever think to yourself, “man… I wish I could customize those things…”?
If you answered yes to that question, then you’ll be pleased to learn about a new free jailbreak tweak called BaseBadges by iOS developer midey. With this tweak, you can customize the format of your missed notification badges such that they display a variety of bases, notations, and numeral systems!
The Status Bar is something that iPhone users see every day when using their handset, so it makes sense that it’s easily one of the most popular things to customize on a jailbroken handset. A classic jailbreak tweak called Zeppelin used to let users customize their carrier icon, but as they say, out with the old and in with the new.
For those onboard, iOS developer PeterDev just recently released a new jailbreak tweak called Xeon (Beta), which aims to be a full-fledged Zeppelin alternative and then some. In addition to working with standard Zeppelin themes right out of the box, Xeon (Beta) also brings a bevy of other proprietary features to the table.
The Status Bar plays host to all sorts of vital information about your handset, including its wireless signal strength, the battery level, and the time. The time indicator is perhaps one of the most frequently-checked indicators of them all, but it tends to be somewhat bland out of the box.
Enter Timemoji, a new free jailbreak tweak by iOS developer 1di4r that replaces the native “A.M.” and “P.M.” indicators with specific Emojis of your choice.
One thing I’ve noticed while configuring alarms on my iPhone is that the alarm tone preview always resets the volume to 50%, regardless of any adjustments you make with the volume buttons while previewing those tones. That said, it’s a somewhat obnoxious experience to choose the right tone for your upcoming alarm.
Those who agree about the circumstances will come to appreciate a new free jailbreak tweak called ToneItDown by iOS developer LacertosusDeus, as it was specifically designed to mitigate this oversight on Apple’s part.
One of the things iOS lacks that I sometimes wish it didn’t is a real-time audio visualizer for Now Playing music. Instead, Apple keeps things bland by displaying nothing more than a Now Playing widget with details about what’s playing.
Although Apple doesn’t seem to have much interest in giving users an audio visualizer on its platform, that’s not to say you can’t have one. A new free jailbreak tweak called Mitsuha Infinity by iOS developers c0ldra1n and Nepeta brings it to the table for anyone who possesses a pwned handset.
Unlike some of the earliest cell phones that made it to the public market, the iPhone can do so much more than just make and receive phone calls. With that in mind, the native Phone app is often overlooked in regards to personal customization and features.
To those who feel the same way, a new free jailbreak tweak called NPF by iOS developer Easy-Z brings at least some form of customization to the iPhone’s Phone app. With it, you’ll be able to customize the shape and size of the keypad buttons to give them a new look and feel, as shown above.
While I do love jailbreak tweaks that serve a functional purpose, I also enjoy the occasional fun and quirky add-on that makes my handset do something interesting. TiltPaper by iOS developer c1d3r just so happens to be one of those add-ons.
As you might have inferred from the tweak’s name, TiltPaper makes something interesting happen with your wallpaper when you tilt your device in your hand. More specifically, the wallpaper appears to ‘scroll’ from left to right, an effect much more noticeable than Apple’s native Parallax feature.
Cydia has endured a lot of criticism over the years from the jailbreak community because of its seemingly out-of-style user interface and lack of modern aesthetics. Such criticisms have given rise to third-party alternatives, such as Sileo.
But in case you forgot, Cydia as a platform is entirely customizable ever since Jay Freeman updated the Cydia Substrate framework to allow for Cydia-centric jailbreak tweaks. With that in mind, iOS developer iOSNJB took to the drawing board to produce a new release called CydiaXIStyle 2.0.
Notched handsets such as the iPhone X, XR, XS, and XS Max sport unique features and gestures that aren’t available on non-notched handsets such as the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and earlier. With that in mind, iOS developer Ryan Nair figured he’d do something about that, and a pair of free jailbreak tweaks dubbed Poseidon and Poseidon-Rounded were conceived.
These tweaks port many of the most sought-after features and gestures available on notched handsets to non-notched handsets, including the following:
Whenever you plug your iPhone or iPad into a power source, a familiar battery icon appears on the Lock screen in place the date and time to depict your battery’s current charge. This implementation works, but it’s not quite as aesthetically pleasing as some would have hoped. Fortunately, jailbreakers now have a way to make this interface more interesting.
Say hello to a jailbreak tweak called ChargeAnimations by iOS developer c1der, which as you might have inferred already from the name, brings a bevy of new charging animations to your pwned handset.
If you do a lot of texting from your iOS device(s), then chances are you send an Emoji every now and again. Apple’s Emoji keyboard is already nicely polished out of the box, but now you can make it even cooler with a custom animation by way of a new free jailbreak tweak called Organic Emoji Scrubber by iOS developer Orangebananaspy.
According to the developer, the new tweak adds an “organic” animation to the Emoji scrubber in the keyboard interface. Rather than attempting to explain what the amination looks like with words, we’ve embedded some animated GIF examples below so that you can see for yourself: