iOS 8

iOS 8 adoption slowing, now sits at 69 percent

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2018

The rate at which people are upgrading their iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices to iOS 8 is slowing in the post-holiday season. As noted on Apple's own App Store Distribution support page, though iOS 8 adoption is edging toward the 70 percent milestone it's barely hit the 69 percent mark on Tuesday.

That's a rather paltry one percentage point jump over an adoption rate of 68 percent as measured just two weeks ago. And by comparison, that figure was a healthy four percentage points increase over the previous December 22 update.

Latest iOS 8.2 beta adds pairing with Apple Watch, confirms dedicated Watch app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

If you need more proof the Apple Watch is launching in March as recently reported, here it is.

Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac just discovered that installing a fourth beta of the upcoming iOS 8.2, which was seeded to Apple's developers earlier today, enables Bluetooth connectivity with the upcoming wrist-worn device.

In addition, iOS 8.2 Beta 4 (build 12D5461b) makes it clear that the Cupertino firm is working on a dedicated app for setting up the Apple Watch and controlling it.

SubtleLock brings a minimal style to the iOS 8 Lock screen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

SubtleLock has always been a good way to transform the iOS Lock screen with a minimal style, and the iOS 8 version of SubtleLock tries to live up to the legacy. This is a tweak that can customize the Lock screen font, color, size, and even simplify the look of the clock and date readout. If you're using an impressive wallpaper that you'd like to showcase rather than hide behind Lock screen elements, then SubtleLock for iOS 8 may provide the options you need after an update or two.

Photo Organizer 8 adds power-user features to the stock Photos app

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Let's face it; the stock Photos app in iOS 8 is severely lacking when it comes to power user features. Just to name one example, there's no way to select a range of photos. Instead, you have to tap on each photo that you wish to select one by one. That's really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the lack of power-user features in the stock Photos app. Fortunately for jailbreakers, Photo Organizer 8 solves many of the stock app's shortcomings.

New SideBySide jailbreak tweak concept brings true multitasking to iOS

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Hamza Sood, a well-known and well-respected iOS developer, is mulling over the possibility of creating a new iOS jailbreak tweak for true multitasking. Dubbed SideBySide, the tweak would bring true side-by-side simultaneous multitasking to iPads and iPhone, and would use Activator gestures as a means of invocation.

After seeing the progress and popularity of ReachApp, Sood is having second thoughts about proceeding with development of SideBySide. I think that would be a mistake, because SideBySide looks different enough from ReachApp to be extremely compelling in its own right.

iOS 8 adoption rate jumps to 68% of iOS devices

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated February 27, 2018

According to Apple's own App Store Distribution support page, 68% of iOS devices are now running iOS 8. This adoption rate has jumped by 4 percentage points since it was last updated on December 22nd. In the meantime, and not surprisingly, iOS 7 adoption rate has decreased by 3 percentage point, only representing 29% of the install base, while earlier iOS versions are still at 4%.

Those doing the math at home will be quick to notice that the numbers don't add up. Indeed, if you add up the numbers showed above, they amount to 101%, an error most likely due to an awkward round up of numbers. Still, we get the big picture.

Nuntius brings native iOS 8 quick reply to WhatsApp

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

One of the best things about using the Messages app in iOS 8 is the quick reply interface. Sadly, third party apps don't have access to the quick reply API, so they are limited in this regard. Wouldn't it be nice if one of your favorite messaging apps got access to real native iOS 8 quick reply? That's the exact premise behind Nuntius, a brand new jailbreak tweak that brings true native iOS 8 quick reply to WhatsApp.

How to use Siri’s song recognition feature with Activator

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Siri's built-in Shazam song recognition feature is a handy way to quickly identify songs that are playing around you. What's this song, Siri? is a new Activator add-on that takes this song recognition feature, and makes it directly accessible by means of an Activator gesture.

PanicLock: a good way to discretely lock your iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Have you ever been in a situation where you would like to lock your iPhone in a discrete manner? Perhaps someone has asked to see your iPhone, or they've figured out your password, and they want to examine your phone. Obviously, you could just say no, but if you're the passive aggressive type of person, you could just use PanicLock for iOS 8 instead.

Split screen multitasking tweak ‘ReachApp’ gets an app selector in big update

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

If you're running the ReachApp beta—the jailbreak tweak that brings true split-screen multitasking to iOS—you likely noticed the update that just recently hit Cydia. The update adds a lot of new switches to the tweak's preferences, and fleshes out the description of each switch.

With ReachApp 0.1, you'll find the ability to view the Notification Center in split-screen view, enable a much-requested app selector (yes!) and more. Check out our new video walkthrough, which highlights many of the new features in this highly anticipated update.

Apple faces class-action lawsuit over how much storage iOS 8 takes up

Jake Smith ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

"The biggest iOS release ever."

SiliconBeat reports Apple has been hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging it doesn't inform its customers how much storage iOS 8 takes up on their device, and then asks them to buy more space on iCloud.

The case was filed in a San Francisco Bay federal court on Tuesday, claiming iOS 8 can take up to 23.1 percent of storage on the iPhone 5s and 23.1 percent on an iPod. It says Apple isn't truly representing the storage available on its devices.

ReachApp will bring true split-screen multitasking to iOS 8

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Reachability continues to be a feature of focus for jailbreak developers, but I have to say that this latest upcoming jailbreak tweak takes the cake. ReachApp is an in-development jailbreak tweak that brings true split-screen multitasking to iOS 8 by means of Reachability. That means that yes, you can view two apps at the same time, and interact with both apps! Watch our video to see how it works in action.