iPhone Tweaks

It didn't take long for the first Touch ID tweak to land in the Cydia app store. Virtual Home allows you to use your Home button to access the app switcher or return to the Home screen without actually pressing down on the physical button. The tweak basically transforms your Touch ID sensor into a virtual Home button, hence the name.

Once installed, Virtual Home users can tap their Home button once to return to their Home screen, or tap and hold their Home button to open the app switcher in iOS 7. These gestures replace the need to press the Home button which gives it a much needed break from all your finger poking.

Since the iTunes Connect developer portal was shutdown for the holidays from Dec. 21 through Dec. 27. there were no new apps released to the App Store this week. Instead we will look at the new iOS jailbreak tweaks released to Cydia. The jailbreak tool evasi0n 7 was released on Dec. 22 for all devices running iOS 7.0 through 7.0.4. You can learn how to jailbreak your iPod touch, iPhone or iPad using Windows here or Mac OS X here.

iOS 6 Icons For iOS 7: Free (Requires Winterboard)

This is a simple theme that allows you to restore your iOS 7 Home screen icons to iOS 6 icons. The tweak is available in the BigBoss repo and requires Winterboard to install.

DockShift: Free (Requires iOS 7 or later)

Another free theme that gives you various dock background options. Does not work with the iPhone 4.

NCAllOnly: Free (Requires iOS 7 or later)

This theme removes the "Today" and "Missed" tabs from Notification Center on iOS 7.

The jailbreak tweak Zeppelin has been updated to support iOS 7. The tweak allows users to change their carrier logo into a different icon. Zeppelin comes pre-installed with over 15 custom made logos such as Batman, the Autobots or the Apple symbol. Themers can also upload their own icons to the Zeppelin library or download third-party packages from Cydia.

There are plenty of Zeppelin custom packages in Cydia to choose from, but most of them have not been updated for iOS 7. However, that will probably begin to change now that an iOS 7 jailbreak is available.

You can download Zeppelin for free from the ModMyi repo in Cydia, or update it by going to the Changes section. Zeppelin is a fun way to customize your jailbroken device. It is also very easy to use and highly recommended for iPhone users who are tired of staring at the boring AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon or other carrier logos on their phone.

The iPhone 5 may take quality photos and videos, but the stock Camera app doesn't say much about how much storage is left on your device. Having a video stop recording because the iPhone is full means missing the action. Those who are still running iOS 6-6.1.2 can solve this problem with the jailbreak tweak FreeSpaceCam.

FreeSpaceCam adds more information to the in-camera heads up display. Battery percentage, video time remaining, and available storage capacity can be added to the stock Camera app. Each individual stat can be switched on or off, and the tweak can be disabled entirely if needed.

Despite the release of iOS 7 there are still some useful jailbreak tweaks being released by developers for those running iOS 6-6.1.2. PasswordTime is a free tweak that will schedule the iOS passcode to be enabled during specific hours. Although this could be a security problem, this idea brings convenience to the forefront instead.

Just like scheduling Do Not Disturb, the tweak PasswordTime makes it possible to set a Start Time and End Time for passcode security. Turning off the passcode at the same time every day can save time and energy when unlocking the iPhone in a safe location. For example, when returning home from work in the evening, the passcode can be automatically switched off.