iPhone 5s

BiteSMS 8.0 beta 7 is out with support for iPhone 5s

Great news for biteSMS fans with late-model iPhones this morning. BiteSMS 8.0 beta 7 has been released to the public, and in addition to a handful of bug fixes and user interface improvements, the update brings about support for the iPhone 5s.

The beta has actually been out for almost two weeks now, but due to complications with the 64-bit A7 processor, it has thus far been limited to older devices. That changes today though, and now 5s users can finally enjoy the biteSMS app on iOS 7...

OtterBox shows off new Symmetry Series case for iPhone 5, 5s and 5c

Yesterday afternoon, OtterBox showed off a brand new series of iPhone cases it's calling 'Symmetry.' The new cases are surprisingly minimal, compared to the accessory-maker's other offerings, and consists of just one solid piece.

OtterBox says that the new case is the culmination of over a year of design, testing and innovation. It's one of the slimmest, most protective cases in its class, and will be available in a number of different colors and graphic designs...

Touchy: launch apps with specific fingers using Touch ID

Touchy is an awesome new tweak that allows users to assign specific apps to designated fingers via the iPhone 5s' Touch ID sensor. I've been testing the upcoming jailbreak tweak through several iterations, and it's coming along quite nicely.

Touchy lets you assign up to five different apps to work with up to five different fingers via its settings panel. Since it uses Touch ID, you'll need to make sure you set up the fingerprints via Touch ID's settings beforehand. You don't have to configure all five fingers, you'll just need to have as many prints set up as you want to assign to shortcuts.

Understandably, most of the tweaks we've seen involving Touch ID revolve around some sort of security aspect, but Touchy is among the first Touch ID oriented tweaks that dares to do something different. Take a look at our video inside to see how the tweak works in action.

BioLockdown: the best way to secure apps with Touch ID

Ryan Petrich has done it again—not that that comes as a surprise to any of us at iDB. Of course, Touch ID enabled tweaks are all the rage these days, and quite a few developers are starting to release tweaks that take advantage of the iPhone 5s' flagship feature.

Most of the tweaks being released have a security related aura about them, which is understandable considering that Touch ID is all about security in its stock implementation. One such tweak called BioProtect was released a couple of days ago, and while it was hard not to get extremely excited about it, I feel that BioLockdown, Pertrich's tweak, is by far the better of the two.

I feel that way, not just because BioProtect came packed with a serious flaw that caused its superfluous animations to run constantly in the background, draining your battery; it's because BioLockdown is better designed, has a better feature-set, and it's cheaper. It's also from a developer that keeps his releases updated constantly, and communicates well with those who use his apps.

Check out our full video walkthrough of BioLockdown after the jump. You'll see why this is hands-down the best Touch ID security tweak to hit Cydia thus far.

AppLocker: Secure individual apps with Touch ID

A beta build of a new jailbreak tweak with a highly anticipated premise landed in my email inbox late this afternoon, and it's marvelous. AppLocker is a jailbreak tweak that has existed for quite some time, but its beta build was just recently updated to include Touch ID support for locking individual apps.

After trying the Touch ID implementation on my jailbroken iPhone 5s, I can happily report that it works just as well as I imagined. Unlocking is brisk, and seamless. The Touch ID support works with the fingerprints that you already have assigned during the Touch ID initial setup, so there's not a lot of cumbersome configuration to be had with AppLocker.

But enough talking. You have to see how AppLocker works for yourself. Check out  our exclusive hands-on video after the break.

Virtual Home: an amazing Touch ID jailbreak tweak

Prior to the iOS 7 jailbreak being released, I think pretty much everyone imagined some of the cool things that would be able to be accomplished by tweaking the iPhone 5s' Touch ID sensor. As of today, we no longer have to imagine any more.

Virtual Home is one of the first Touch ID based jailbreak tweaks available on the iPhone 5s, and it's awesome. See our full video walkthrough inside.

Having issues with Cydia Substrate? Try this

I woke up this morning to a pleasant surprise: Mobile Substrate had been updated to support iOS 7 on ARM64 CPUs, making it compatible with all of the latest Apple devices like the iPhone 5s, iPad Air, and iPad mini with Retina Display. As you can imagine, I rushed to the office without even brushing my teeth (I know, gross) and installed the new Cydia Substrate package that appeared on Cydia.

Unfortunately for me, none of the tweaks and apps that I had installed began to work after Cydia Substrate was updated. I think it may, and I'm just grasping at straws here, have to do with the fact that I was impatient, and already had a bunch of stuff installed that didn't work in the first place. To fix this issue, I took a fairly logical approach; I completely uninstalled Substrate and reinstalled it from scratch. Have a look inside for more details.

Fitbit updated with MobileTrack feature via iPhone 5s’s M7 motion coprocessor

The list of apps enabled for Apple's power-efficient motion tracking chip, the M7, just keeps on growing. Fitbit, one of the finest fitness apps in the App Store, has been bumped up to version 2.1, now available in the App Store, and can now use the iPhone 5s's motion tracking chip to monitor your activity without draining your device's battery or having the app active for that matter.

M7 support has also made possible a new MobileTrack feature that allows you to use some of Fitbit's tracking features, but without buying the company's wearable tracking accessories. More on that and other changes in this Fitbit update right below...

Jailbreak developer Elias Limneos teases upcoming Touch ID tweak

Jailbreak developer Elias Limneos—best known for his work on popular tweaks like SBRotator and CallBar—just answered the question a lot of folks have had on their minds since they found out a jailbreak was out for iOS 7 and the iPhone 5s: will there be Touch ID tweaks?

And the answer is yes. Limneos tweeted out a link to a new YouTube video this morning that teases an upcoming tweak for the iPhone 5s. Not much can be gleaned from the short clip, but it looks like it allows you to protect individual apps with Touch ID authentication...

Apple officially signs deal with China Mobile

The rumor that Apple was to sign a deal with China Mobile was almost as old as the iPhone itself, but it only started gaining speed within the last few weeks, based on reports from the WSJ, which were followed by contradictory reports.

But today, it's official. Apple and China Mobile have inked a deal that will bring the iPhone to the largest carrier in the world...

Target holding last-minute sale on iPhones and iPads

Great news for folks who still have some Christmas shopping left to do: Target has announced that it will be holding a last-minute sale on select iPhones and iPads next week. The promotion is slated to begin on Sunday, December 22 and run through the 24th.

The sale will allow customers to snag a 16GB iPhone 5c for just $30—with a two-year agreement of course—along with a free $30 gift card, or an entry-level iPhone 5s for just $179.99 and a free $25 gift card. The retailer will also discount select iPads as well...

Give your iPhone the power of wireless charging with the iQi Mobile

Despite a number of rumors and patent filings, Apple has yet to give any of its iOS devices the power of wireless charging. While many manufacturers have built the technology into their handsets, iPhones continue to use the plug-n-charge approach.

Luckily, for those looking for wireless charging, there are a handful of third party options available. And today, we're going to talk about a new one called iQi Mobile. It's a Qi standard wireless charging receiver, with a unique, ultra-thin flexible design...