Lockscreen

Aperio is a lightweight, yet functional app launcher for jailbroken iPhones

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 5, 2021

If there’s anything to be said about app launcher concepts, it’s that they’re a cornerstone of the jailbreak community’s existence. There’ve been literally countless app switcher concepts released as jailbreak tweaks over the years, and even today, they continue to materialize. One of the latest of such tweaks is one called Aperio by iOS developers burrit0z and Thenatis.

As you might’ve discerned already from the screenshot examples, Aperio is a Lock Screen-based app launcher interface that comes with different display modes to appease both minimalists and power users alike. If you’re more of a minimalist, then you’ll probably opt for the compact interface option, whereas power users will likely go for the more crowded interface.

Viper supercharges the Home & Lock Screens on jailbroken iPhones

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 10, 2020

While Apple does its best to keep the iPhone’s user interface simple by design, sometimes it takes things to such extremes that it actually handicaps the smartphone’s potential user experience. If you, like many others, wish your handset’s Home Screen and Lock Screen were a bit more capable, then you may want to do yourself a favor and look into the likes of a newly released jailbreak tweak dubbed Viper by iOS developer Esquilli.

Viper augments the iPhone’s Home Screen and Lock Screen interfaces in more ways than one. Not only does it bring interactive widgets to the Home Screen, but it also incorporates an App Drawer for faster app access and more informative Lock Screen interface with both Weather and time information. Examples of some of Viper’s features are depicted in the screenshot examples above and below.

Kleidaria puts your iPhone to sleep when you set it face-down

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 6, 2020

Putting your iPhone to sleep when you’re finished using it is one of the most important things you can do to conserve battery life, and yet I always witness folks around me forgetting to take this simple step before placing their unlocked handset down somewhere. Perhaps they just need a little help remembering to put their iPhone to sleep, or maybe they need a jailbreak tweak that can do it for them?

Enter Kleidaria, a newly released and free add-on iOS developer gilshahar7 that automatically puts your iPhone to sleep after you place it face-down on a flat surface, such as a tabletop.

Pigment offers quick and convenient colorization options banners & widgets

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 1, 2020

If you’re in the market for a jailbreak tweak that can change the aesthetics of your iPhone or iPad in a pleasant way without drastically altering the way iOS or iPadOS was designed to look, then we think you’re going to appreciate a newly released and free jailbreak tweak dubbed Pigment by iOS developer Simalary (Chris).

In brief, Pigment lets users colorize notification banners, widgets, and the Lock Screen’s Now Playing interface with easy-to-configure settings that have a minimalistic impact on the device’s overall appearance. In the screenshot examples above, you’ll notice that many of the notification banners are tinted to match the app icon they represent.

GreenPotion adds a quirky potion-style battery animation to the Lock Screen

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 5, 2021

Battery information is a bigger deal to some than others, but if you wish battery monitoring could be a bit more fun than it is out of the box on a stock iPhone or iPad, then we think you’re doing to love a newly released jailbreak tweak dubbed GreenPotion by iOS developer Plat-Ykor.

The name “GreenPotion” is a dead giveaway in terms of what you can expect this tweak to do. Once you install it, you can tap on a new button situated between the Lock Screen’s Camera and Flashlight shortcut buttons to invoke a potion-like animation that displays real-time battery information, as shown in the screenshot examples above.

Arise lets jailbreakers customize and automate the Lock Screen

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 25, 2020

The iPhone’s Lock Screen is a straightforward interface that acts as a gateway between the user and the Home Screen or last-used interface. While it does its job, many would likely agree that it could do with improvements — some major and some minor.

Enter Arise, a newly released jailbreak tweak by iOS developer EthanDoesMC that aims to make any jailbroken iPhone’s Lock Screen more lively with exiting and obvious features that will make you question Apple’s own innovation.

Colorize the page dots on your jailbroken handset with Dots color

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 23, 2020

Jailbreakers can customize virtually anything they want about their iPhone or iPad’s user experience and behavior, but if you consider yourself a bit of a minimalist and prefer subtler changes over the more extravagant ones, then we think you might want to try a new and free jailbreak tweak release called Dots color by iOS developer 8a1wkar.

Just as the tweak’s name implies, Dots color lets users apply a custom color to the paging dots that typically appear on the Home Screen and Lock Screen. As you’ll see in the screenshot examples above, the selected page dot remains white, whereas the deselected page dots appear red instead of grayed out.

WhatsTheDate brings a smarter timer display to your iPhone’s Lock Screen

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 18, 2020

One of the things I like about iOS is how it displays any active timer on the Lock Screen, just below the time. But as much as I like having this subtle reminder when I pick up my iPhone, the implementation is somewhat imperfect. For example, it often gets in the way of viewing the Lock Screen’s native date display, which is something I find equally as useful when glancing at that particular interface.

If you’re in the same boat, then WhatsTheDate by iOS developer iCraze is a newly released and free jailbreak tweak that you won’t want to miss. It effectively solves the aforementioned problem by forcing the Lock Screen’s timer display to disappear after a few seconds, instead transitioning to the current date thereafter.

Keep track of how many times you unlock your iPhone with counter

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 14, 2020

It can be difficult to curb smartphone addiction, especially when you’re so used to unlocking your iPhone with the flick of a finger and then refreshing your favorite social media feeds to see what’s happening in the world around you. But do you actually know how many times you unlock your iPhone each day? The number may surprise you.

For those interested in tracking their smartphone usage in a more intelligent manner, counter is a newly released and free jailbreak tweak by iOS developer ConorTheDev that puts a real-time device unlock counter in your handset’s Control Center interface.

Kai adds persistent battery indicators to the Lock screen for connected devices

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated November 8, 2021

Just last week, we showed you a free jailbreak tweak dubbed WatchBuddy that would persistently display your Apple Watch’s battery level on your iPhone’s Lock screen. Albeit simple and effective, some users demanded more, and so a new release called Kai by iOS developer Burrit0z was conceived.

As shown in the screenshot examples above, Kai expands upon the WatchBuddy concept by persistently displaying your connected devices’ battery levels on the Lock screen. You’ll also notice that the indicators include, but aren’t limited to the iPhone itself, connected Apple Watches, and connected AirPods where applicable. Furthermore, the indicators are customizable whether you prefer smaller subtle solutions, or bigger and bolder ones.

WatchBuddy is a persistent Apple Watch battery widget for your iPhone’s Lock screen

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 2, 2020

Jailbreakers that also don an Apple Watch may take an interest in a newly released and free jailbreak tweak dubbed WatchBuddy by iOS developer paddycodes, as it can help users keep better track of their wearable’s battery level throughout the day.

As depicted in the screenshot example above, WatchBuddy puts a persistent Apple Watch battery widget on your iPhone’s Lock screen in a way that’s always visible, ensuring that you never neglect your Apple Watch’s battery again.

Photon brings an ambient display to jailbroken devices

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 5, 2022

If you’ve got a jailbroken iOS device at your disposal and you’re in the market for a really cool new display experience for your iPhone, then you should probably take a few minutes to check out this new jailbreak tweak release called Photon by iOS developer cemck.

Photon appears to be a true ambient display experience for the Lock screen on iOS devices, and it displays pertinent information using a variety of different methods and in combination with existing popular Lock screen-centric tweaks such as Complications, Grupi, Jellyfish, Sylph, Xen HTML, and many others.