5 Killer iOS 8 Features that Make ‘Jailbreaking’ Tweaks Obsolete
Apple unveiled a wide variety of software and hardware updates, customization and new features at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2014. The list seemed elaborate and never-ending. According to Apple, "the changes are huge for developers and massive for everyone else."
Out of all these exciting news from Apple, there is one particular point which requires attention. The new iOS 8 features and updates have made the popular and widely-used jailbreaking tweaks obsolete or unnecessary.
For those unfamiliar with jailbreaking, this terminology refers to freeing the device from the company imposed software limitations.
From the perspective of a regular user, the new features introduced by Apple are absolute deal breakers. At the same time, there are a bunch of users who are already familiar with the aspects like third-party/custom keyboards, widgets and interactive notifications, among others.
These features were already available to iOS users with the help of jailbreaking tweaks on the Apple device. Here is a list of such features that have become obsolete because of the new features introduced by Apple in iOS 8.
Keyboard Tweak
The perennial complaint pertaining to the devices from Apple includes not supporting third-party keyboards. By taking the complaint seriously, Apple has introduced a new virtual keyboard that understands the context and completes the sentences for users in iOS 8. This feature will be available in iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices.
The new QuickType keyboard predicts the next word or sentence based on the context of the sentence. Additionally, this feature has the ability to accustom to the individual user's typing style. Moreover, Apple will now let the users install the most popular third-party keyboard apps like SwiftKey, Fleksy and Swype on their device.
This new feature from Apple makes keyboard related jailbreak tweaks like HipJot, Octopus and Predictive Keyboard unnecessary.
Touch ID Tweak
Apple was not providing flexibility to developers to utilize the Touch ID functionality in their apps. With iOS 8, Apple is changing its stand and opening Touch ID to developers. This flexibility allows the integration of the fingerprint sensor in third-party apps. It is worth noting that, this integration lets the developers to utilize the sensor to authorize purchases automatically.
Thus far, this important functionality was possible in iOS 7.1.1 or lesser only with jailbreak tweaks like BioLockdown, BioProtect, iTouchSecure and Asphaleia. These tweaks will be obsolete when the iPhone 6 gets released.
Siri Tweak
Apple has borrowed a famous feature from Google's 'OK Google' voice assistant and customized it to 'Hey Siri' voice recognition mechanism with its iOS 8. This 'Hey Siri' feature may not be new to the ones who already use 'OkSiri' jailbreak tweak on their iOS 7 device. And hence, the same tweak will become obsolete shortly.
Notifications Tweak
Interactive notification tweaks are around for so long now. Jailbreak tweaks like BiteSMS, Auki and Couria provides 'quick-reply' ability to text messages. However, Apple has gone one step ahead and added support to interact with calendar notifications, emails, third-party applications; along with the quick-reply support. Thus, making all the interactive notification related tweaks unnecessary.
Widgets Tweak
The 'Widgets', made prominent by Android users is making its debut in iOS 8. The Notification Center and the browser Safari are slated to get this feature.
The slight difference between the widgets of Android from that of iOS 8 is that, iOS 8 widgets will not stay on the home-screen of the device. Alternatively, iOS 8 widgets will share the drop down hub with app notifications, says Engadget. Moreover, developers are allowed to create widgets for apps pertaining to iOS 8.
The iOS users who are familiar with iWidgets jailbreaking tweak need not worry much, because it is not entirely obsolete. The reason is iWidgets tweak is intended for the Home and Lock screens of the iOS device, while the iOS 8 widget functionality is intended for Notification Center.
As iDownloadBlog puts it, this tweak is one of the least affected by iOS 8.