UI

Astolfo lets jailbreakers apply custom backgrounds to Siri in iOS 14

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 26, 2021

I really like what Apple has done with the Siri interface in iOS & iPadOS 14 — especially when compared with iOS & iPadOS 13 and earlier. The new interface doesn’t take up as much space and has a more aesthetically pleasing interaction button, but in Apple’s typical fashion, even the new interface lacks user-driven customization.

Those looking to do more with the Siri interface are likely to give the nod of approval to a free jailbreak tweak called Astolfo, which was recently updated with iOS & iPadOS 14 in mind by iOS developer Litten. As some may remember, the tweak was originally worked on by Nepeta.

Cylinder Reborn: Barrel-inspired Home Screen paging animations for pwned iOS 13 & 14 devices

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated June 15, 2021

When I first got into jailbreaking more than a decade ago, one of the first jailbreak tweaks to pique my interest was one called Barrel. It could animate the Home Screen’s app icons in unique ways with every swipe between Home Screen pages.

Barrel is no longer actively maintained, which is why the Cylinder tweak launched back in 2014. Today, we’re excited to share news of the release of Cylinder Reborn by iOS developers Ryan Nair and Reed Weichler — the latest iteration of the tweak designed for iOS & iPadOS 13 and 14.

Fresh UI concept reimagines the iPhone’s Settings app

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 16, 2021

iOS is a far cry from being an ugly mobile operating system, but there’s certainly a bit of wiggle room for Apple to improve on it. Unfortunately, first party redesigns from Apple can be few and far in between.

Amid those circumstances, it’s not uncommon for third parties to develop concepts for jailbreak tweaks or themes that make an interface more aesthetically pleasing than it comes out of the box.

Tint your favorite apps with the new Meredith jailbreak tweak

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 16, 2021

One of the most obvious benefits to jailbreaking is that you can customize how your system looks and behaves without Apple look over your shoulder and limiting what you can and cannot do.

While installing themes would certainly be one of the easiest ways to make your handset look different than it does out of the box, the addition of aesthetically-driven jailbreak tweaks like the newly released Meredith by iOS developer Luki120 can help push your user experience on to the next level.

SendToDesktop enables SSH-based file transfers between jailbroken iPhones and computers

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated February 28, 2022

One of the small things I appreciate the most about being a Mac user is that I can easily AirDrop files from my iPhone to my computer and vice versa in some instances. Unfortunately, this process isn’t so cut and dry if you’re a Linux or Windows user, as both of these operating systems lack AirDrop support.

For the reason mentioned above, I would highly recommend a newly released and free jailbreak tweak called SendToDesktop by iOS developer Sudhip for both Linux and Windows users, as it can make sharing files from your iPhone or iPad to your personal computer a breeze.

SortingSwipe can instantly sort Home Screen app icons by name or color

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 10, 2021

Everyone sorts the app icons on their Home Screens differently, and things will only get crazier now that iOS 14 has introduced the brand new App Library.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is that most people appreciate some sort of rhyme or reason to their app icon sorting, whether it’s by type of app, favorite apps, alphabetical order, or something else.

Marker improves the user experience of text editing on iOS

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated March 30, 2022

Text editing was always somewhat of a cumbersome experience on the iOS platform, and although it was drastically improved starting with the release of iOS 13, some would inexplicably argue that Apple could have went about it differently to provide a more user-friendly result.

This tweak plays an alert tone when your iPhone’s battery charges to 100%

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 9, 2021

Whenever I’m in a rush to charge my iPhone’s battery up, it’s not uncommon for me to frequently check the charge level as it sits on my wireless charger. I would assume this curiously-driven urge stems from the fact that the iPhone doesn’t make any effort to let me know when it’s fully charged.

If you’re in the same or a similar boat, then you might have something to gain from trying a new and free jailbreak tweak dubbed Total Charge Tones by iOS developer ljinc.

StonksBar displays the price of your favorite stock in the Status Bar

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 13, 2021

Whether you invest in stocks or you simply have a fascination with monitoring stock value trends over time, a newly released and free jailbreak tweak dubbed StonksBar by iOS developer CokePokes might be of interest to you.

StonksBar ensures that your favorite stock’s value is always in view by implementing a Status Bar-centric display that appears just beneath the time on notched handsets including the iPhone X and later.

NappyTime14 adds countdown timers to your iPhone’s alarm interface

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 3, 2021

Many iPhone users rely on their handset to wake them up each and every morning with its built-in alarm feature, myself included.

While I certainly appreciate just how easy it is to set up alarms in the iPhone’s native Clock app, I also recognize that there are a few different ways Apple could make it better. One of those would be to add a countdown timer to the native alarm interface.

MusicGesture upgrades the Now Playing interface with gestures & full-screen artwork

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 2, 2021

It’s no secret that in addition to being a venerable smartphone, the iPhone is still one of the world’s best portable music players. Still, that doesn’t give Apple a free pass for the somewhat stagnant music interface experience that we’ve all been using for the past several years.

Those in the market for an augmented Now Playing user experience might be interested in picking up a newly released jailbreak tweak called MusicGesture by iOS developer Antony_M. This tweak not only provides jailbreakers with a new way to interact with the Now Playing media controls, but it also allows for configuration of the Now Playing interface in ways that Apple would never permit on a stock handset.

DNDToast displays a ringer/silent-inspired pop-up when Do Not Disturb is toggled

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 1, 2021

Whenever you switch the iPhone’s ringer/silent switch between the ringer and silent positions, iOS automatically shows a small pop-up at the top of the display to let you know the status of the switch.

We really like this subtle feature, and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve often wondered why Apple doesn’t do the same for Do Not Disturb mode. After all, if you’re unaware when Do Not Disturb gets turned on, you could miss important notifications. With that in mind, you’d think Apple would want users to be more aware of when it gets switched on or off – automatically or not.