Jeff Benjamin

Jeff has been with iDownloadBlog since 2010, acting as resident video specialist, and tutorial expert. He earned his degree in Computer Network Systems back in 2001, but decided Cisco routers and the like just weren’t for him. Since then, he’s been heavily involved with online writing. He’s written for numerous tech and video game sites since the late 1990′s, and has a knack for explaining things in a simple, clear, and concise manner. Jeff works primarily from the east coast on his Retina Macbook Pro, and shoots video with a Canon DSLR. During downtime he likes to travel the world, visiting the various Apple Stores across the globe. You can email him at jeff [at] idownloadblog.com and follow him on Twitter @JeffBenjam or on Google+.

Want to jailbreak? Upgrade to iOS 9.0.2 before it’s too late

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

If you're at all interested in jailbreaking your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, then time is running out to do so. As we reported earlier in the week, iOS 9.1 kills the Pangu jailbreak, and as such, it's only a matter of time before Apple closes the door on the iOS 9.0.2 signing window.

What does this all mean? It means that once the signing window is closed, you will no longer be able to upgrade or downgrade to iOS 9.0.2, the last available firmware that happens to be susceptible to the Pangu jailbreak for iOS 9.

Apple generally closes a signing window for a previous version of iOS not long after a new version is released—we're talking about a week. With this in mind, it's imperative that all who wish to jailbreak get on iOS 9.0.2 as soon as possible. Don't lollygag and don't procrastinate, lest you feel regret.

FireCore releases Seas0npass 0.9.7 to jailbreak the latest Apple TV 2 firmware

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 23, 2015

If you have an Apple TV 2 running the latest firmware—iOS 7.1.2—then you'll be happy to hear that you can now jailbreak using FireCore's well-regarded Seas0npass tool. Unfortunately this jailbreak is of the tethered variety, but outside of the initial hassle, that doesn't matter much for something like a set top box that's almost always powered on.

FireCore quietly released a beta update to Seas0npass, which comes in at version 0.9.7. This update works with OS X El Capitan and Apple TV 2 firmware 6.2.1 (iOS 7.1.2).

How to downgrade iOS 9.1 to iOS 9.0.2

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Maybe it was the new emoji that tempted you? Or maybe you just made a mistake? Whatever the reason, you've found yourself on iOS 9.1, but wish to go back to iOS 9.0.2—the last jailbreakable firmware that's currently available for iOS 9. Fortunately, you still have time to downgrade back to iOS 9.0.2.

In this video tutorial, we'll show you how easy it is to downgrade from iOS 9.1 to iOS 9.0.2. But act quickly, this tutorial certainly has an expiration date, which will occur when Apple closes the 9.0.2 signing window.

Opinion: The Apple Watch is a fashion device first

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated June 12, 2018

As many of you may know, I’m now on my second Apple Watch. I got in the game on launch day with a 42mm Space Grey Sport, and after a month or so with the device, I quickly realized that it just wasn’t for me.

Not only was the functionality not quite there with watchOS 1, it was heavily lacking in the looks department. You may not agree with me, but I think the aluminum Apple Watch Sport looks pretty bad with anything other than sweatpants or basketball shorts. Don't feel bad if that's what you have or prefer; remember, it's just one person's personal opinion.

If you’re the type that uses your Apple Watch primarily as a fitness device, then fine, I can certainly see the appeal of the Apple Watch Sport, hence its name.

For me personally, however, the Apple Watch is a fashion device first. It’s pretty good on the technical side of the fence in several areas as well, but coming to terms with this reality has made the experience of wearing this watch so much better in my eyes.

iMovie now supports 4K video editing on the iPad Air 2

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

You know, I was literally just wondering what was preventing the iPad Air 2 from supporting 4K video editing in iMovie, and then bam! Apple releases an update with 4K video support in tow.

The iPhone 6s already supports 4K video editing in iMovie to go along with its 4K shooting capabilities, but no other publicly available device in the iOS lineup supported 4K editing in iMovie until today.

20+ things you can do with a Force Touch trackpad on Mac

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Apple just released its Force Touch-enabled Magic Trackpad 2, which joins the Force Touch trackpads already built into many of its MacBooks. The significance of the Magic Trackpad 2 sporting Force Touch, is that it essentially brings the feature to everyone without needing to go all out and purchase a brand new machine.

Force Touch is an interesting concept that's been a part of our vernacular for over a year with the unveiling of the Apple Watch. Since then, the pressure sensitive technology has made its way, in some way, shape, or form, to both MacBooks and the iPhone.

I've come to the conclusion that Force Touch is best implemented on the iPhone (as 3D Touch), but it's an interesting feature on the MacBook as well. Now that pretty much anyone can add the ability to Force Touch via a $129 Magic Trackpad 2 purchase, I figured it was time to showcase some of the things that you can do with the nifty pressure sensitive input method.

Cydia Impactor, the tool that lets you unjailbreak your iPhone, is coming for iOS 9

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 21, 2015

Here's a piece of news that kind of flew under the radar during saurik's update of Cydia Installer earlier today—he's apparently working on providing a version of Cydia Impactor for iOS 9 firmware, too.

Cydia Impactor was the groundbreaking jailbreak release that allowed iOS 8 jailbreakers to perform an erase and restore on their devices without necessitating a software update. It basically allowed you to use iOS' Erase all Content & Settings feature in such a way that it worked with jailbroken devices.

That tool was groundbreaking, because jailbroken devices, up until that point, were never capable of using this built in iOS feature. Cydia Impactor adds significant peace of mind to jailbreakers, because if something goes wrong with a jailbroken device, it's possible to restore on the same firmware, and re-jailbreak.

In the past, jailbroken iPhones that needed to be restored were forced to update to the latest firmware, which, more times than not, would render the device un-jailbreakable. As you might have noticed, Cydia Impactor doesn't currently work for iOS 9, but saurik is working hard in an effort to fix that.

Tage beta with iOS 9 compatibility goes live for jailbreakers

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 21, 2015

Tage is a jailbreak tweak that is well regarded in the jailbreak community. In fact, it was our 2014 tweak of the year.

Tage is a tweak that acts as an App Switcher replacement, and so much more. Up until now, Tage hasn't been compatible with iOS 9 and the latest Pangu jailbreak, but that's all changed with today's 1.2-beta 1 release.

If you want to try out the Tage beta, read the rest of this post for the details. Also, be sure to watch our in-depth walkthrough video explaining why Tage is so loved around these parts.

Cydia Installer updated to version 1.1.25

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Saurik has pushed an update to Cydia Installer, bringing it to version 1.1.25. This latest version of Cydia Installer moves jailbreak content found in /Applications to the user partition from the System partition. It's recommended that all users update as soon as possible.

Update: Cydia Installer was updated to version 1.1.26 shortly after being updated to 1.1.25. The latest version doesn't show any release notes, but we assume it is just a minor update to the more notable 1.1.25 version.

Pangu releases version 1.1.0 of its iOS 9 jailbreak tool

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 21, 2015

Pangu has released an update to its Windows jailbreak tool for iOS 9. Pangu 1.1.0 features fixes to improve the success rate when attempting to jailbreak 64-bit devices, optimizations for the backup process, overall jailbreak speed, and more. If you've been experiencing issues getting Pangu for iOS 9 to work successfully on your device, then you should definitely try Pangu 1.1.0.

Let’s Talk Jailbreak 130: Don’t go back there

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 21, 2015

Episode 130: An in-depth discussion about the iOS 9 jailbreak.

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Magic Trackpad 2 review: Force Touch-enabled and rechargeable, but should you upgrade?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated June 12, 2018

Of all of the new "Magic" devices in Apple's lineup, perhaps no device is more deserving of the moniker than the Magic Trackpad 2. It's the only device, out of the three new peripherals that Apple recently launched, that truly brings new functionality to the table.

While the Magic Mouse 2 and the Magic Keyboard are legitimate upgrades over the products they replace, the Magic Trackpad 2 is the most justifiable upgrade from a pure features standpoint, and Apple's pricing for it says as much.

At $129.00, this isn't exactly a knee-jerk purchase to be made on a whim. And if you already own the old Magic Trackpad, an impulse buy is lessened even more.

I've been testing out the new Magic Trackpad 2 for several days now, and it's taken me a while to put my thoughts down in writing. This device takes significantly more time to get to know than either the Magic Mouse 2 or the Magic Keyboard. That's because the Magic Trackpad offers the most diverse functionality of the trio.

With all of that said, is the Magic Trackpad 2 worth upgrading to if you already own the previous Magic Trackpad? Watch our video review, and read my full analysis for the details.