UI

Jailbreakers can enhance their access to iOS’ clipboard history with Copypasta

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 1, 2021

One of the more popular jailbreak tweak categories we’ve witnessed over the past couple of years would be those that create clipboard managers for the iPhone and iPad platforms. As it would seem, Apple’s simple cut/copy and paste solution isn’t suitable enough for serious multitaskers who cut or copy several things at a time before pasting them into another interface.

Of all the recent clipboard manager tweak releases that I remember, Copypasta by iOS developer Nepeta left an impression on me because of its ease of usability, aesthetically pleasing interface, and lack of a price tag. The tweak was originally designed for jailbroken iOS 11 and 12 devices, but it never received an update for iOS 13; that is, until now.

Animate or add conditional effects to notification banners with Yokumiru

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated February 5, 2021

Although the iPhone’s native notification system is faily stout in its present form, that’s not to say that it couldn’t benefit from a tiny bit of imagination. Perhaps that’s one reason why we see so many different jailbreak tweaks that change the aesthetics of iOS’ notification banners.

One of the latest of such releases is a new jailbreak tweak dubbed Yokumiru by iOS developer Plat_Ykor, which can augment incoming notification banners with slick animations, apply specialized badges to those that contain a user-designated keyword, or conceal the contents of those notification entirely until you’re ready to view them.

Backtrix back-ports iOS 14’s Back Tap feature to jailbroken iOS 13 handsets

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 30, 2021

iOS 14 introduced an incredibly handy accessibility feature dubbed Back Tap, which grants iPhone users the ability to tap twice and/or three times on the back of their handset to invoke an action of their choosing.

Notably, this feature isn’t present on iOS 13, despite the fact that iOS 13-compatible handsets come equipped with the same accelerometer-based hardware that makes this possible.

SkinnyMenu removes the superfluous Look Up and Search options from iOS’ Action Menu

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 30, 2021

When you tap and hold on a word in a body of text on your iPhone or iPad, you’ll find yourself being presented with an Action Menu that contains useful options that vary depending on the app you’re in.

If you’re using a text editor, then you might see Copy, Cut, and Paste as options. In other areas of iOS, you may find those in addition to other superfluous options, like Look Up and Share to name a few.

WebMessage lets jailbreakers send SMS and iMessages via almost any computer

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated February 28, 2022

If, like so many others, your primary methods of communication comprise of iMessage and SMS via your iPhone, then you might take a particular liking to a newly released jailbreak tweak and computer application combination dubbed WebMessage by iOS developer sgtaziz.

WebMessage effectively turns your iPhone into a messaging server on demand, and by installing a special client on your computer, you can read and respond to both iMessage and SMS conversations via your computer even if it’s not a Mac.

Page Dots 2 Numbers gives jailbreakers book-inspired Home Screen page numbers

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 28, 2021

At the bottom of your iPhone or iPad’s Home Screen are a series of dots – one for each page on your Home Screen. As you move between pages, a specific dot lights up to represent the page you’re currently looking at.

While I personally enjoy the Home Screen’s page dot indicator as it comes, I can certainly grasp how someone harder at seeing than I am could have more difficulty discerning which page they’re on. For that reason, a new and free jailbreak tweak called Page Dots 2 Numbers by iOS developer MinxterYT seems noteworthy.

Croutons13 makes iOS’ breadcrumb links look more aesthetically pleasing

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated September 21, 2021

It used to be that when iOS jolted you from one app to another, you’d then need to open the App Switcher to return to what you were doing in the first app. That all changed after Apple introduced Status Bar-based breadcrumb links starting with iOS 9 and later.

To put it briefly, a breadcrumb link appears in the Status Bar as a string of text with a left-pointing arrow beside it. You’ve probably seen one after tapping on a link in an app, as this usually kicks you into either the App Store or Safari, but other apps may also apply in certain circumstances.

FreePIP enhances Picture in Picture mode on any jailbroken iPhone or iPad

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 22, 2021

Picture in Picture mode is a handy feature that iPhone and iPad owners can fall back on whenever they find themselves in a situation where they’d like to continue watching a video while pursuing another task on their device at the same time.

Picture in Picture mode isn’t without its shortcomings, however. For example, it doesn’t work with every app, and users may feel limited by the mini player’s usability while multitasking. That’s one reason why a new and free jailbreak tweak called FreePIP by iOS developer Soh Satoh might appeal to some users.

KBAppDock upgrades the stock keyboard on jailbroken iPhones

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 21, 2021

The keyboard is one of the most frequently-used interfaces on any iPhone, and that’s not just because it’s useful for texting, but also because it’s the one tool you use whenever you browse the web, jot down notes or reminders, or search the App Store for your favorite apps, among other things.

While it’s certainly possible to download third party keyboards from the App Store to replace iOS’ native keyboard interface, you’d be hard pressed to find anything nearly as powerful as what can be had with a jailbreak tweak. That’s because jailbreak tweaks often let you keep Apple’s wonderful native keyboard while still enabling you to augment it in ways that Apple otherwise wouldn’t permit on a stock handset.

Emerald: A new Status Bar experience that Apple needs to take notes on

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 19, 2021

Your iPhone’s Status Bar is intended to provide useful information at a glance, and while it definitely seems to have the basics covered, Apple could have went so much further in terms of implementing an immersive Status Bar-centric user experience. Given what an iPhone costs these days, wouldn’t you think they’d give this some thought?

While it seems unlikely that Apple will be upgrading the iPhone’s Status Bar any time soon, those lucky enough to have a jailbroken handset at their disposal won’t need to put up with the stock Status Bar experience any longer. Why, you ask? Just have a look at a newly released jailbreak tweak dubbed Emerald by iOS developers LaughingQuoll and thetimeloop, and all your questions will be answered.

WidgetCustoms offers jailbroken iOS 14 users a way to personalize their widgets

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 8, 2021

Those using iOS or iPadOS 14 on their daily driver handset(s) are probably keenly familiar with the upgraded widget system and how it compares with the much less intuitive widget system found on iOS and iPadOS 13.

Not only can you take advantage of much more powerful widgets than ever before, but you can even choose to seat them right next to your Home Screen’s application icons if you aren’t a fan of hiding all your widgets on a specialized page. But as nice as Apple’s upgraded widget system may be on iOS & iPadOS 14 devices, one thing Apple predictably forgot to add was a mechanism for user customization.

CCUptime lets jailbreakers view their handset’s current jailbreak uptime with ease

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 17, 2021

A growing trend I’m seeing lately is jailbreakers flocking to /r/jailbreak or other forms of social media to share their handset’s uptime. In essence, some jailbreakers appear to enjoy showing off their pwned handset’s stability, especially with regard to one jailbreak versus another.

One way to do this is to show off how long a particular handset has been running in a jailbroken state without needing to be re-jailbroken, as a longer uptime indicates that the handset hasn’t crashed or forcefully rebooted itself.