Create custom Home screen layouts with HomescreenDesigner Jailbreak Tweak

If you’re a fan of Iconoclasm, a jailbreak app that allows you to change the layout of icons on the Home screen, then you’re going to love HomescreenDesigner as it takes things to whole new level.

HomescreenDesigner allows you to break the barriers of what you can do with app icons on your Home screen.

When you launch the tweak, it opens up the Home screen layout maker, which allows you to create a new layout for the Home screen. It’s like a workbench to create your custom layout.

You can start off by deciding how many apps you want to add to the Home screen. You can then tap on the + button to add those many number of icons in the designer.

You can then tap and drag on the icon to move it anywhere you want either in a grid layout or any free-form layout as you can see above. So you could use the tweak to create a 5×6 icon layout using the gird, or go absolutely crazy and create the spiral layout as you can see above.

If you plan to accomodate more than 20 icons excluding the dock (default), then you may want to install Bigify, which allows you to shrink the size of the icon and hide icon labels.

After you have created the custom layout, you can tap on the Save button to save your layout.

Alternatively, you can download a layout created by HomescreenDesigner users by tapping on the “Uploaded” tab. You can apply different layouts to each Home screen page.

The other nice thing about the tweak is that, you can apply a layout to the Home screen page or make changes without a respring.

Rumor: iPhone 6 will be just 6 millimeters thick; based on iPhone 5s design

South Korean publication ET News claims that Apple’s next generation iPhone, which it calls iPhone Air, will be much thinner than iPhone 5s.

ET News claims that according to their sources, the 8th generation iPhone will be just 6 millimeters thick. iPhone 5s is 7.6 millimeter, and iPhone 5c is 8.97 millimeter thick.

The report also claims that the next iPhone will also come with a bigger screen. There have been rumors that Apple will launch a 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch iPhones later this year.

At 6 millimeter, iPhone Air will be more than 20% thinner than iPhone 5s. While it is difficult to confirm the authenticity of the information provided by the South Korean publication, it cannot be ruled out given Apple’s obsession to make their devices thinner.

Frankly, I think that customers would be better served if Apple can fit a bigger battery rather than make the next generation iPhone thinner. It would also be a little disappointing if the design is based on iPhone 5s, as I was hoping that iPhone 6 will sport a radical new design.

The report also notes that the price of iPhone 5s will drop to $100 with a two-year contract in May.

How To Change iOS 7 Keyboard To Black Or White In Any App

The jailbreak may not have been perfect from the offset, but it at least managed to inspire and motivate some third-party developers into building some new packages to delight the jailbreak community. It’s currently early days in terms of iOS 7 and 64-bit compatible tweaks, but early previews of a number of extensions, including the extremely useful Bloard, show that the future is bright for the jailbreak world.

Bloard is one of the latest packages to land on the BigBoss repo in Cydia, and although it may not exactly stretch the imagination in terms of innovation, it definitely does have its place on jailbroken devices. The package is designed to work with any Apple native or third-party app that requires a keyboard for text based input.

The introduction of iOS 7 saw the default iOS keyboards amended to feature a more clean and clinical look. The Apple SDK allows developers to bundle either a white or light black set of keys with their app.

The majority of developers seem to think that the new iOS 7 look and feel is all about making everything white and extremely light. It’s for that reason that the majority of keyboards within iOS 7 compatible apps are the boringly white. Bloard exists to remove that mundane look and feel from those apps by overriding that implementation and changing the keyboard to the gorgeous looking black option.

Installation of the package also affords users the ability to toggle between the two keyboard types. A new option within the native Settings app introduces a simple toggle switch that lets users turn the tweak on and off with ease. This is something which we come to expect from any tweak that is released these days.

Bloard is available as a free-of-charge download from the BigBoss repository and requires a jailbroken device running iOS 7.0 or above. But it’s worth noting that in iOS 7.1, switching between white and black keyboards is a native feature, and this tweak will be rendered redundant once it’s publicly released.

BioProtect For iPhone 5s Released: Authenticate Individual Apps With Touch ID [VIDEO]

The addition of a gyroscope sensor into the iPhone is one example of the device’s evolution, but the release of the iPhone 5s and Apple’s Touch ID sensor is probably one of the most exciting developments that we have seen for a while. As you might expect, the jailbreak community is extremely keen to take advantage of that hardware, with Elias Limneos earlier teasing a new Touch ID compatible tweak and now making it available for all to grab from Cydia.

Apple’s own usage of the Touch ID sensor is commendable, if only a first step. Allowing users to unlock the device and authenticate App Store purchases with biometric detection is definitely a step in the right direction in making the overall iOS experience a lot more secure. However, there are a very large set of users, myself included, who would love to see that detection extended to prevent unauthorized access to other aspects of the device. As one of the most respected developers in the jailbreak community, Elias has recognized this need and built the BioProtect tweak to limit who can and can’t launch installed apps from the home screen.

Installation and usage of the package is fairly simple. Attempting to launch an app will present a user-facing alert that requests a finger to be placed on the Touch ID sensor, otherwise known as the Home button on the iPhone 5s. The sensed finger is then cross-referenced against the saved prints on the Touch ID chip. If a positive match is found then the app is successfully launched. Conversely, if a match cannot be made then an error message is provided.

BioProtect is a package that we probably all expected to see the light of day, and also one that could be hugely useful in iPhone 5s owners with children or serious privacy concerns.

BioProtect is available as a $2.99 download from the BigBoss repository. Due to the nature of this particular package, it is currently only available to be used with a jailbroken iPhone 5s with Apple’s Touch ID sensor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgVYz4aNpLI

TetherMe For iOS 7 Released: Enable Free Personal Hotspot Tethering On iPhone And iPad

With the jailbreak having recently arrived for iOS 7, all of those tweaks made famous throughout the last few releases of the Apple mobile ecosystem are being frantically updated. Today it’s the turn of TetherMe, a popular hotspot app for iPhone and iPad, and as well as now offering full compatibility for iOS 7, it has also been boosted by support for the new 64-bit A7 processor based devices.

Although the iPhone and iPad does offer ‘Personal Hotspot’ access as a native feature, some carriers like to deactivate it, preventing users from using their cellular data for tethering purposes – until you pay them to enable the feature. But with TetherMe, a tool that essentially overrides this limitation, you can set your hotspot up exactly as you wish, and since this even works on older devices right the way back to the iPhone 3G, it may even be worth digging out your antiquated handset from the dusty drawer and using it as a makeshift Mi-Fi.

Having used TetherMe on an old iPhone 3G for quite a while, it has always been completely reliable, and as well as Wi-Fi, you can also readily tether through Bluetooth and USB – as per the stock offering.

Please note, however, that if your carrier has disabled tethering because you’re not permitted to use it on your current deal, then you must read very carefully. Many network operators have been known to automatically upgrade the service plans of those caught tethering without warning, and what’s more, you could incur sky-high additional charges depending on which company you do business with.

TetherMe works with iOS 4 through the latest iOS 7 thanks to the update, and costs $4.99. In my opinion, TetherMe is the go-to app for those looking to tether on their iOS device, and for a cent shy of five bucks, is definitely good value for money.

You can source TetherMe over at the BigBoss repository, which will be in your default repo list provided that you haven’t opted to manually remove it. Simply hit the Search tab in Cydia, type in TetherMe, and after a reboot, you’ll be good to go!