Can it be jailbroken? That’s the first question a large number of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users ask when Apple releases a new iOS update — particularly when it’s a release as big as iOS 7. Apple attempts to block all the vulnerabilities that make jailbreaking possible with iOS updates, so there’s always a concern that the next will kill jailbreaking once and for all.
Thankfully, it doesn’t look like that will be the case with iOS 7, which has already been jailbroken.
We had expected BlackBerry Messenger to make its debut on Android and iOS on June 27 thanks to T-Mobile U.K., but when it became apparent that the carrier’s announcement was incorrect, we started to wonder just how long BlackBerry would keep us waiting.
But during a quarterly earnings call this morning, CEO Thorsten Heins again reiterated the company’s plan to make BBM a cross-platform service “before the end of the summer.”
The new Google Hangouts app for iOS has received its first update since making its App Store debut back in May. The release adds a number of new features, including the ability to invite friends via SMS and click and share links, plus bug fixes and improvements.
Apple has begun charting iOS adoption figures to help developers establish the percentage of users running different versions of iOS. Google has been doing the same thing for Android developers for some time, and Apple’s chart only highlights the massive difference in fragmentation between the two platforms.
With all the new changes coming to iOS 7 there are still a ton of little details to discover while Apple continues to put the finishing touches on it. While iOS 7 does feature a completely revamped UI, its the little changes that make everything really come together.
One redditor put together this handy info graphic that compares some of the smallest iOS 7 UI elements with their iOS 6 counterparts.
Take a look:
iOS 7 has been released in beta form to those who have paid for a developer account with Apple, but the rest of the general public will have to wait. Apple plans to ship iOS 7 to the world later this fall, so for now you’re limited to seeing screenshots online and the occasional GIF.
Unless you have a jailbroken iPhone, that is. Here’s how to create iOS 7 on iOS 6.
We’ve already told you why you probably shouldn’t install the new iOS 7 beta; it’s not just that the icons suck, but there are good reasons why beta releases should be avoided if you’re not a developer — particularly if you plan to use them on your primary device.
But if you went ahead and did it anyway, and now you’re looking for a way back, look no further. Despite what Apple says, iOS 7 can be downgraded to iOS 6 — and it’s pretty simple. Here’s how to do it in just two steps.
iOS 7 is a weird kind of flat. In many ways it lacks depth, but in others it’s more animated and texture-driven than iOS 6. How ever you want to define “flat,” it’s easy to see the direction Apple is headed. Just take a look at the details.
The magnifying glass in iOS 7 (the little orb that appears when you hover your finger over text) is minimalistic. iOS 6’s magnifying glass was more rounded, and the border was more pronounced. In iOS 7, it’s a nearly flat piece of glass. There’s some shadow to provide depth, but hardly any. Welcome to the future.
A lot of innovative ideas for iOS get introduced in the jailbreak community. Hackers and developers tinker around with Apple’s software and create new ways to access settings or multitask. And then Apple comes along and kills (or sherlocks) those ideas with its own take in a future iOS release. It happens every year without fail. 2013 and iOS 7 are no different.
Here are some popular jailbreak tweaks that Apple has rendered obsolete with iOS 7:
It’s our own fault. We all asked Apple to dramatically change the look and feel of the iOS operating system, which, until yesterday, remained largely unchanged since the introduction of the original iPhone back in 2007. And we all complained when it didn’t do that with iOS 6 this time last year.
But I can’t help but feel the Cupertino company is now punishing us for all those requests, and all that complaining we did before about its skeuomorphic designs.
When it comes to design, iOS 7 is vastly different to its predecessors. It still functions in much the same way — though there are some new features you’ll need to get used to — but it looks completely different. As soon as you power it up for the first time the minimalistic feel is staring back at you, but it isn’t until you’ve completed the setup process and arrived at your home screen that you want to vomit in your own lap.
T-Mobile U.K. has confirmed that BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iOS will arrive on June 27. That means we have exactly three weeks to wait until BlackBerry’s hugely popular chat service goes cross-platform, and you can see exactly what it will look like on Android in the photo above.
Apple’s iOS devices have today been cleared for use on United States military networks by the Defense Department, Bloomberg reports. The move comes after Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 and the latest devices from BlackBerry gained government clearance earlier this month.
The security features built into Apple’s iOS software are so good that the police are unable to gain access to defendant’s iPhones when they need to. Apple itself is able to bypass the security software and decrypt locked devices — and it do so when the police request it. But the company has so many requests that it has to add police to a lengthy waiting list.
Apple continues to rollout 3D Flyover support to Maps users all over the world, and it appears the features latest destination is Paris, France. Until this week, Lyon was the only French city that boasted Flyover support, but that’s no longer the case.
Apple has just released a surprise iOS 6.1.4 update! What’s new? What incredible new features and bug fixes can we portend?
Nothing, pretty much. The sole change in the log is “updated audio profile for speakerphone” with no other enhancesments or bug fixes listed.
A month ago or so, it was said that the iOS 6.1.4 patch would be pretty much dictated by the lawyers, but it looks like Apple has somehow avoided the change to the “Always On” VPN setting that was requred in the aftermath of its patent lawsuit with VirnetX.
The iOS 6.1.4 release seems to only be for the CDMA and GSM versions of the iPhone 5, at least right now. Let us know if you see anything new.
Australian airline Qantas has always been quick to embrace new technology. Back in October 2010, it became one of the first airlines to offer iPads as in-flight entertainment systems, and one of the first to embrace Passbook last November.
Today the company launched a new iPhone app that allows users to search and book flights, find accommodation and store digital boarding passes in Passbook.
LockLauncher, a handy tweak that allows you to run apps from the lock screen on jailbroken iPhones, has today been updated to add support for the iPhone 5 and iOS 6. You can download it now from Cydia’s BigBoss repository.
After a few days of speculation, Google’s Chairman, Eric Schmidt, finally commented on whether Google Now would be making its way to iOS. This morning, Schmidt said that Google Now has been submitted to the App Store and the only thing standing in its way is Apple. The only problem is Schmidt’s completely wrong.
Apple commented on the Google Now approval process this afternoon and said that they haven’t even received Google Now yet.
Apple just released its latest iOS 6.1.3 update, which fixes a lock screen security flaw that allows users to bypass a passcode lock. The update also makes improvements to Maps for users in Japan.
YourTube, a popular jailbreak tweak that brings new features to the official YouTube app — including video downloading and ad-blocking — has been updated to support jailbroken devices running the latest iOS 6 firmwares. The latest version is available to download from Cydia now, and it’s free to existing YourTube and YourTube HD users.
When Apple launched its new Maps app with iOS 6 last September, one of its headline features, Flyover, only supported a handful of big cities. But the Cupertino company has been hard at work in the background to extend its reach, adding support for additional locations all over the world.
In the past few months, Apple has brought Flyover to an additional 16 cities, plus extended its coverage in 14 of the cities already supported.
Yesterday it was discovered that a bug in iOS 6.1 allows users to bypass the iPhone lockscreen without entering in the proper PIN. We’ve seen bugs like this in the past, and Apple has always been quick to shut them down.
Apple has already told us that they will fix the iOS 6.1 lockscreen bug in a future update, and according to a new rumor, that update will hit devices sometime next week.
planetbeing — the famed hacker who is part of the team behind the latest iOS 6 jailbreak — is now taking part in a Reddit AMA, answering questions posed to him by the community.
Although the AMA has just begun, Planetbeing has already opined on the future of iOS jailbreaking… and he says that while it’s too early to be sure, his belief is that iOS 7 will be a much tougher nut to crack than iOS 6.
By now we know that iOS users update their software pretty quickly. One month after Apple released iOS 6.0, the software accounted for 60% of all iOS web traffic. Now that Apple has released iOS 6.1, the latest release alone accounts for over half of all web traffic.
Chitika has been tracking iOS web traffic using ad impressions from millions of iOS devices, and the last few weeks reveal how aggressively Apple users continue to update their software.
As you can see from the chart, iOS 6.1 already accounts for 52.4% of web traffic. 6.1 was released on January 28th. Non-iOS 6 devices only account for a measly 12.4% share combined. iOS 6.1.1 was released just two days ago for only the iPhone 4S, which explains its tiny 2.2% piece of the pie.
Source: Chitika Insights
I’ve been in love with the iPhone for the past five years. I got the original as soon as it went on sale in the U.K. in November 2007, and I’ve had every model Apple has released ever since. My job has given me the opportunity to play with plenty of other devices over the years — including those powered by Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone — but I’ve always remained loyal to the iPhone and iOS.
That was until a couple months ago, when my contract ended and it was time to decide which smartphone I wanted for the next two years. I already have the iPhone 5 — I bought it unlocked when it was launched back in September — and I wanted an Android device to replace the Samsung Galaxy Nexus I broke late last year. So I decided to pick up the new LG Nexus 4.
I was lucky; I didn’t have to wait six weeks for the device to arrive from Google Play. My carrier had plenty in stock, so a unit was delivered to my door the day after I ordered it. I was looking forward to testing it out, but I figured I’d play around with it for a little bit, then switch straight back to my iPhone 5 for everyday use. Like the Galaxy Nexus, I thought the Nexus 4 would be mostly used for work — testing apps and writing the odd tutorial for Cult of Android.
But boy, how wrong was I.
