FastLock Adds Elegant Shortcuts On Your iPhone’s Lock Screen [Jailbreak]

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Lots of handy shortcuts get added to your lock screen with FlashLock.
Lots of handy shortcuts get added to your lock screen with FlashLock.

Cydia is home to one too many lock screen tweaks. There are classic packages like LockInfo that enhance the iOS lock screen with all kinds of handy shortcuts and features, but there’s also tweaks like LockLauncher that are messy and ugly. With that said, FastLock is a refreshingly simple take on lock screen shortcuts for jailbroken iPhones.

The tweak’s designer, Joshua Tucker, explained FastLock to Cult of Mac:

“I built this concept in response to the many Cydia tweaks that were allowing the the user to launch applications from the lock screen. I felt that the way these tweaks were approaching this idea was non-native and lacked connection with how the lock screen appears and operates. Instead of giving the user applications, I concluded it was more intuitive to provide them task options, actions that could jump-start them in performing certain day-to-day routines such as sending an email or adding an alarm. I designed the entire environment specifically to mesh well with existing components on the lock screen, in look and operation.”

Indeed, FastLock is incredibly simple. Once you install the tweak for $1 in Cydia there are no settings to configure. When you are viewing your iPhone’s lock screen, just double tap the Home button. An Apple-like drop-down of task shortcuts will be displayed between the time and the ‘slide to unlock’ bar. You can place a call, send a message, send an email, tweet, add a contact, add a note, set an alarm or timer, and take a photo. The last option is kinda pointless if you already have the Camera icon shortcut displayed by default on your lock screen.

I like FastLock, but the tweak has one nasty bug in version 1.1.1. Trying to use the tweet shortcut causes iOS to quickly crash, which is annoying.

The good news is that FastLock is only the beginning of something much more ambitious. Tucker told Cult of Mac, “FastLock, although it uses the look and feel of my concept, does not encompass the vision I have for this application. My version of this concept is in-progress and will be a much more enhanced and user-friendly tool, including different important aspects that FastLock missed the mark on in my opinion. I cannot provide any information on its release at this time, however I can assure you that it will bring a number of unique functions to the table.”

While we wait for Tucker’s full tweak, FastLock is a nice, simple shortcut tweak for your jailbroken iPhone. Check it out and let us know what you think.

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