Microphone

Quorra brings iOS 14’s privacy indicator dots to jailbroken iOS 13 devices

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated November 22, 2021

When iOS & iPadOS 14 are released this Fall, the software updates will introduce a bevy of useful new features to the iPhone and iPad platforms. Perhaps one of the most intriguing features that seemed to slip under the radar are the new privacy-centric indicator dots that appear the top of the display when an app or service begins accessing your handset’s camera, location, or microphone.

This particular feature was so highly sought after that even the Android community quickly developed a way to port this feature to their handsets. Unfortunately for those running iOS & iPadOS 13 or earlier, a similar solution wasn’t available – at least not until now, thanks to a new and free jailbreak tweak release dubbed Quorra by iOS developer Lightmann.

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Accessory Spotlight: Blue Yeti USB microphone

Cody Lee ∙ May 30, 2020

Welcome to Accessory Spotlight, a weekly column where we highlight an accessory that we find to be incredibly useful, a fantastic value, or both. This week we’ve selected the Blue Yeti USB microphone. There are obviously hundreds of microphones in this space but we like the Yeti because it's super easy to set up, it sounds great whether you are podcasting, streaming or recording music, and its price tag won't break the bank.

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Apple’s no longer providing free speaker repair to iPhone 7 users

Bryan M. Wolfe ∙ July 17, 2018

A few months ago, Apple ostensibly acknowledged that some iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus units were experiencing issues with the built-in microphone. As such, an internal memo showed that Apple was willing to fix those handsets free of charge, even when they were out of warranty. Unfortunately, it now looks like Cupertino is no longer offering that exemption. 

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Meet HomePod, the new Apple speaker

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 5, 2017

Apple is taking a new responsibility in the world of delivering music to your home by unveiling the HomePod, a new wireless speaker and assistant for your house.

This intelligent new wireless speaker uses similar technology to what’s available in the AirPods, except it’s incredibly more advanced on both the software and hardware ends of things.

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Hide the waveform and activity bar when using voice memos with discreetVoiceMemos

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 11, 2017

The Voice Memos app is useful for recording conversations to listen back on at a later date. On the other hand, when trying use it discreetly, the app is far from helpful. It drops obvious hints that it’s being used by displaying an animated waveform on the Lock screen and a bloated red Status Bar everywhere else in iOS.

If you were hoping for a solution to this problem, then you’re in luck because a new free jailbreak tweak called discreetVoiceMemos by CydiaGeek helps to make your Voice Memos usage more sneaky by hiding these highly-visible features from your device when the app is in use.

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Has Apple Watch Series 2 gained a second mic to improve Siri reception?

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 9, 2016

In case you missed this little yet important detail in an avalanche of web reports about the Apple Watch Series 2, Apple's second-generation wearable packs in a few handful improvements, among which is what appears to be a second microphone opening. As the original Apple Watch had a single tiny microphone hole, it couldn't suppress background noise.

In turn, the “Hey Siri” function on the original watch behaves somewhat erratically, struggling to recognize the command in noisy environments.

Wait, does that mean that the Apple Watch Series 2 should respond to the “Hey Siri” hot phrase more reliably than before? It's complicated...

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Apple researching a system that would capture biometric data of thieves via iPhone sensors

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 25, 2016

An Apple patent application published Thursday by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) describes methods of capturing and storing biometric information of thieves via the iPhone's sensors, including fingerprints, photos, videos and a wealth of other forensic data.

Titled “Biometric capture for unauthorized user identification,” the proposed and somewhat controversial security system would leverage machine learning to proactively capture an unauthorized user's fingerprint and a picture after unsuccessful Touch ID/passcode attempts or if user-defined criteria have been met.

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This tweak makes Siri less impatient so you can take your time speaking

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 19, 2016

A lot of times while using Siri, you might have to repeat yourself or start over while you're talking because if you speak too slowly, or pause while you're talking, you'll get the "I didn't quite get that" message.

As frustrating as this can be, especially in louder environments, a new free jailbreak tweak called SiriKeepListening now available in Cydia helps remedy this problem.

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