FolderEnhancer For iOS 7 Finally Released, Get It Now!

FolderEnhancer by Lance Fetters has been one of the longest running and widely supported packages available on Cydia. When Apple introduced the ability to create folders in iOS, it was generally accepted that the implementation was a long way off from being perfect. FolderEnhancer for iOS was thought to be the answer to that lack of perfection, introducing a number of powerful enhancements that made working with folders on iOS 4.0 and higher almost a pleasure. iOS has progressed significantly since those days, as have Apple’s implementation of home screen folders. With that said, there is always room for improvement, which is where FolderEnhancer (iOS 7) steps into the limelight.
The developer behind FolderEnhancer openly admits that Apple implemented a number of the best parts of the tweak into the current version of iOS. Developers in the jailbreak world are used to receiving that kind of "flattery" from Apple engineers so it doesn’t come as a surprise. FolderEnhancer (iOS 7) is a totally separate package from the original release and offers a number of features that improve the iOS 7 implementation of app folders.

One of the first offerings, and potentially one of the most important, is the folders in folders feature that allows folders containing a number of apps to be placed directly into other folders. I personally would never want that layer of complexity on my device, but it does seem to be one of the most requested feature by users. Fetters has also built in the ability to have larger folders that can can make user of various layouts to house a larger number of apps. One of my personal irritations with iOS 7 is Apple’s reluctance to use all of the available space on the screen to allow for larger folders.
The new FolderEnhancer also comes with a number of familiar settings that add polish to the extension and allow users to tailor it to their own tastes. Animations can be turned on and off at will as a settings option. There is also the option to toggle whether or not folders should close on app launch as well as choose if a press of the Home button should automatically close all open folders. Fetters has already announced a number of additional features are planned for a future release, but until then FolderEnhancer (iOS 7) is a worthy addition to any jailbroken device.

FolderEnhancer For iOS 7 Finally Released, Get It Now!

Categories: IOS

How To Add An Extra Row Of Number Keys To iOS 7 Keyboard

I’ll make no bones about it: the iOS keyboard is, for me, an almighty pain in the rear. It seems to predate the rest of the operating system, and while iOS 7 is very advanced compared with the old days of iPhone OS, the keyboard is, by and large, unchanged. But thanks to the world of jailbreaking, those who like to type with some kind of fluidity can find some respite, and while there’s not really anything like SwiftKey, there are a few tweaks, like a new entry over at the BigBoss repo called exKey, that promise to enhance the iOS keyboard feature.
Let’s get one thing clear – exKey is not like SwiftKey or any of its peers – not by a long shot. But it does make it possible to type a little faster when writing a text message, email, note or Facebook status update by adding a row of numbers atop the alphabetic keyboard.

The iOS keyboard’s antiquated functionality is such that in order to include a number when mid-flow writing, one must interrupt the process of typing, tap the numerical keyboard button in the bottom left-hand corner, tap on the required number(s), and then flit back to the alphabetic keyboard to continue writing. With exKey on board, you cut out this rather tedious process, and once you get used to having the additional row, should be able to knock out your messages, emails and posts considerably quicker.
The tweak costs 99 cents over at the BigBoss repo, although please do note that this is iPhone only, and as the developer stipulates in the release notes, not compatible with any iPad. Moreover, it does conflict with the PredictiveKeyboard tweak, so ensure that you don’t have both running at the same time, otherwise you’re asking for trouble.

The tweak is only a couple of days old, but despite one or two teething issues, works rather well, and for $0.99, is worth taking a look at – particularly if you find yourself regularly switching between keyboards.

Categories: IOS

How To Use PS4 DualShock 4 Controller With iPhone And iPad To Play iOS 7 Games [VIDEO]

An updated version of Controllers for All is now available over at Cydia, and allows avid gamers to now use their PlayStation 4 DualShock 4 as fully-functional controller for iOS 7 gaming. This is a very significant development indeed, and if you’ve a jailbroken iDevice, read on for further to discover how you can set your DualShock 4 controller up for compatibility with some of the App Store’s hottest iOS 7 titles.
The most talked-about alterations and enhancements of iOS 7 may relate to the revamped aesthetic of the OS in general, but the latest and greatest firmware release for Apple’s band of mobile devices is far from skin deep. One of the marquee features of iOS 7 is the new API supporting MFi (Made for iPhone) controllers, which has, in turn, seen many third parties jump at the chance to create game pads specifically tailored to the iOS experience. The recent jailbreak has, as jailbreaks tend to, opened the door to even more possibilities, and this tweak means that you mightn’t even need to go out and purchase one of these authorized MFi peripherals in order to enjoy a more precise gaming experience.

The touch-screen has been adapted well by game developers, but despite these advances, there’s no substitute for a physical controller – particularly when engaging in one of those first-person shoot-’em-ups. Thus, MFi has been seen as a progressive move by Apple rather than a step back, but with most folks owning wireless-ready controllers already, going out and purchasing a new one is a bit rich – particularly given the price of iOS devices in the first place.
Controllers for All is fully compatible with iOS 7, as we’ve already told you about it before, and works flawlessly with games updated with MFi controller support. The list of compliant titles is growing by the day.

Setup is simple. Before doing anything, make sure Bluetooth is turned off on your device. First install Controllers for All tweak on your iOS device from Cydia. Once done, Head over to Settings.app->Controllers for All->Controller Type and select PS4 Controller. Now tap the “Pair Controller” button, as shown in the screenshot below.

On the controller, press both the Share and PS buttons simultaneously when prompted to by the tweak until your PS4 controller blinks. Once done, run any iOS 7 MFi controller compatible game to start playing it with DualShock 4.

Controllers for All version 1.1-1 can be found over at the ModMyi repo, and if you’re looking to get more use out of your spare PS4 controller or simply don’t want to pony up for a fancy new MFi controller, this is a tweak you won’t want to pass up on.

Categories: IOS

AirBlue Sharing For iOS 7 Released, Send Files Via Bluetooth From iPhone To Any Device

Another day and yet another powerful and extremely popular package updated for the jailbreak community to get to grips with. It seems that every single refresh of the installed repositories within Cydia is resulting in a hoard of new and newly updated existing packages being made available for users running iOS 7 on modern devices. One of the latest to get the iOS 7 and ARM64 attention is AirBlue Sharing, a premium extension that offers Bluetooth OBEX (Object Exchange) File Sharing for all jailbroken devices.
Jailbreaking is often thought to be about freedom and having the opportunity to introduce features that users believe should have been part of a native iOS experience. Apple’s mobile devices have never supported the ability to share photos, videos, music files and other types of media to other devices over a Bluetooth connection, much to the dismay of users. A number of tweaks have attempted to rectify this issue, some with a lot more success than others, but AirBlue Sharing is definitely thought to be one of the more accomplished, polished and in-depth options available on Cydia that introduces this functionality.

One of the main benefits of Eric Day’s package is that it utilizes the native Bluetooth pairing functionality that ships with iOS. Competing software developers have been known to bundle in their own Bluetooth stack rather than hook directly into the native setup, however, Day’s method means that devices that have already been paired through the iOS Settings are still accessible and can be used by AirBlue. The tweak also offers high speed Bluetooth transmission up to 1.7 MB/s as well as power-saving options that can automatically shutdown Bluetooth when the file transfer is complete.

Sending files over AirBlue is supported from within the Notes, Photos, Videos, Music, Contacts and Voice Memo apps on the device and it also supports the ability to import received files into the Contacts of Photo apps. The list of powerful features goes on and on with AirBlue, which is predominantly why it carries a premium price-tag within Cydia. However, if native Bluetooth file sharing is a must-have feature and you’re running an A7 ARM64 device then this is a guaranteed winner.

AirBlue Sharing is a commercial package, available for $4.99 from the BigBoss repository. The package is available for all devices and is compatible with iOS versions 4.2 through to 7.

Categories: IOS

Sega's 'Rhythm Thief & The Paris Caper' is Now Available in the App Store

This past October, we sat down with representatives from Sega to check out several of their upcoming winter releases. Of the four titles previewed, three have already arrived in the forms of the remastered Sonic The Hedgehog 2 [$2.99], Sonic & All-Stars Racing: Transformed [$4.99] and Demon Tribe [Free]. Today, the final game of that lot of upcoming titles has finally arrived as well. Rhythm Thief & The Paris Caper [$9.99] is an iOS port of the 2012 Nintendo 3DS title that has you playing through rhythm-based mini-games as you travel across historical Paris.

I missed out on Rhythm Thief on the 3DS, but I was very interested in the iOS port after playing around with that early version back in October. I'm looking forward to sitting down tonight now that it's out.

Update: Sega has acknowledged a game-breaking bug with this release and temporarily pulled Rhythm Thief from the App Store. Bummer. It should eventually be back with a fix, and anyone who has already purchased it will receive the fix via a free update. We'll keep an eye out for the fixed version.

Categories: Games, IOS

RePower: add new features to iOS 7′s power down screen

Have you ever felt that the real estate available on iOS 7′s power down screen goes to waste? If so, you definitely want to check out this new jailbreak tweak called RePower.

RePower is a simple tweak that adds several new features to the power down screen. It adds a button for respring, a button for rebooting, and an uptime readout for your device.

After installing RePower, you can respring, reboot, or power off from the convenience of the power down screen. Have a look inside to see how it works on video…

After installing RePower, you can go to the Settings app to find the tweak’s preference panel. There’s not much contained within RePower’s preferences; it’s just a toggle to require a double-tap to use the reboot or respring buttons on the power down screen. Unfortunately I found that the toggle didn’t seem to make a difference one way or another; resprings happened with a single tap even when the toggle was enabled.

Hopefully the developers can tighten up the issue with the toggle, but otherwise I think RePower is a solid tweak. It’s nice to be able to showcase your device’s uptime, especially if you like to keep it running for days on end.

RePower can be had free of charge via Cydia’s BigBoss repo. As I always say, let me know what you think about the tweak in the comments below.

Categories: IOS

How to customize the Lock screen on iOS 7

One of the biggest advantages to jailbreaking an iOS device is the ability to customize nearly any aspect of the user interface. In fact, being able to customize or theme is one of the primary reasons that I jailbroke my first-generation iPod touch over six years ago—and I’ve been doing so ever since.

An important and sometimes overlooked element is the Lock screen. It can be a lot of fun to customize your Lock screen, and the results often look beautiful, so look inside for a few tips on how to perfect yours… 

Set up a nice wallpaper

You might not realize it, but choosing a well-designed wallpaper is the most important part of how your Lock screen will look and feel. Graphic design is certainly subjective, so not everyone might agree, but my personal recommendation is to stick with simplistic wallpapers. While the photo in your Camera Roll that you took over the holidays is certainly meaningful, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will look great on your Lock screen. There are better options. Much better options.

In choosing a simplistic wallpaper, I tend to lean towards those with colorful gradients. Most look absolutely beautiful, and can really bring out the other features on your Lock screen; namely, the clock, pull tabs, slide to unlock line and status bar. A good starting point to look at is iDownloadBlog’s Wallpapers of the Week segment, which our own Jim Gresham has been hosting for over six months. Alternatively, I will be sure to share the wallpaper I am using in the screenshots above in the comments. I’m sure a quick search on your favorite engine will yield further results.

Tweak the Status Bar

A pair of jailbreak tweaks named Zeppelin and No Percent Sign come into play here, eliminating the carrier logo and battery percentage indicator in the status bar respectively. The benefit is an even more simplistic Lock screen, which I find to suit the design of iOS 7 overall. Zeppelin can also be used to set a custom carrier logo, if you prefer that, although the tweak has not yet been recompiled to support A7 chip devices like the iPhone 5s and new iPads – rest assured, that’s coming soon.

Remove the grabbers

If you’re looking for the easiest way to remove the Camera, Control Center and Notification Center grabbers from the Lock screen, look no further than customLS. Removing the pull tabs is also possible with TabLess, but customLS gives you the ability to replace slide to unlock with custom text, remove the clock, set custom legal text, and more. Control Center and Notification Center are still accessible from the Lock screen after removing the grabbers, and they can be easily re-enabled through the customLS menu in the Settings app. Both tweaks are free on Cydia.

Customize the passcode lock

AndroidLock XT is one package truly deserving of its $1.99 price tag on the Cydia Store. AndroidLock XT borrows some functionality from Android by allowing you to set a pattern lock instead of a numerical passcode. Other features include a customizable appearance, an option to set no pattern if connected to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, a max attempt limit, emergency calling, and compatibility with other tweaks like LockCalendar, LockInfo, Cydgets and BuddyLock.

AndroidLock XT is configurable in the Settings app, and supports all software versions from iOS 4 through iOS 7. Unfortunately, this is another tweak that isn’t compatible with the iPhone 5s yet; however, an update is to be expected in the near future. The official list of supported devices includes the iPhone 5 and older, all iPod touch models, iPad and iPad mini. If you ever want to switch back to the regular passcode, the tweak can be enabled or disabled with the flip of a toggle switch.

Final thoughts

The theming advice that I have provided above for the status bar, grabbers, passcode lock and wallpaper is just the beginning of what you can achieve with your Lock screen. Over the coming weeks and months, expect developers to release further tweaks and extensions for customizing iOS 7 elements. As always, keep it locked on OSKhmer for the latest theme and customization coverage.

Categories: IOS

Evasi0n7 1.0.3 is out with support for iOS 7.1 beta 3, Retina iPad mini boot loop fix

Evasi0n 7 1.0.3 has just been released for OS X and Windows with a fix for the boot loop issue that has been plaguing Retina iPad mini users. The release, which is the fourth of the jailbreak tool, also includes support for iOS 7.1 beta 3 and a new Cydia bundle.

Those already successfully running evasion7 1.0.2 on their devices do not have to update, but those having problems with their Retina iPad mini (I believe cellular models are the problem) or those wanting to update to iOS 7 beta 3 may want to check it out…

Although I’ve not personally experienced the reboot loop issue in jailbreaking my Retina iPad mini, I have seen it mentioned quite a bit on Twitter, and it seems to be popular topic on the JailbreakQA website. So it’s obviously nice to have this problem resolved.

You can download evasi0n7 1.0.3 directly from our downloads page, and if you need any help, we have great tutorials on how to use the program for both Mac and Windowscomputers. Be sure to share your experience and/or questions in the comments below!

Categories: IOS, Jailbreak