iPhone Tweaks

iPhone jailbreak news has not been very exciting lately, with developers seemingly on hold for the release of iOS 10 this fall. One exception to this rule is TweakWiz, who has recently launched the iOS Personal Assistant. The jailbreak tweak, for iOS 8 or iOS 9 devices, is billed as the "greatest iOS productivity tweak of all time." Titled PersonalAssistant in Cydia, the mod is actually seven different features in one mega package.

One of the interesting features Android users have been enjoying for some time includes video ringtones. While iPhone users can add a photo for incoming calls, there's currently no native option in iOS to use video for this purpose. But anyone with a jailbroken device can achieve this effect with the tweak LiveRinging. With LiveRinging, incoming calls can be assigned a video to automatically play.

Volume buttons on the side of the iPhone have always made it easy to adjust volume from anywhere. At times, the process can be confusing as there are separate volume settings for the media player and ringer. For example, pressing a volume button while the Music app is open will adjust media volume, but the ringer loudness will not change. The jailbreak tweak SwitchHUD brings a new way to control each volume setting at any time.

One highlight of the Apple TV interface is the design of alerts. Minimalist grey boxes with a blurred background make options clear and buttons are easy to select with the Siri Remote. Not only are they functional, but tvOS alerts look great. The jailbreak tweak Palert brings a similar tvOS-inspired appearance to iOS notifications on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Not too long ago, app icons on the iPhone home screen were frozen in time. The latest version of iOS delivers an animated clock, which displays the real time down to the seconds. The jailbreak tweak Meteor delivers weather information in a similar fashion, with the latest conditions available at a glance. Not only is the Weather app icon transformed, but current weather appears on the status bar as well.