As the wait for the Evasi0n iOS 7 jailbreak could extend way into early 2014, another welcome development for jailbreakers emerged - that the work on Cydia for iOS 7 is approaching the final stage of completion.

The whiff of fresh air was courtesy of Redmond Pie, which reported that the all-important companion tool for iOS jailbreaks - used by jailbroken iPhones and iPads to search for and install applications - is coming out soon.

The timetable given is about the same time that iOS 7 jailbreak is expected to filter out. For the jailbreaking community, Team Evad3r should push out its opus shortly after Apple is done with its official iOS 7.1 update.

That would be anytime between end of January and middle of February 2014. The likelihood is, the Cydia build for iOS 7 will be all set for distribution at around the same time.

Redmond Pie has published a number of screen shots that suggest how Cydia's interface on iOS 7 will be rendered (viewable here) but Cydia creator Jay Freeman was quick to stress that nothing is final in the look department.

Meaning the Cydia visual remains a work in progress despite the sneak preview seen in the screen shots.

Notwithstanding, such bits of good news is a cause for the jailbreaking community to rejoice following more than two months of monitoring anything new from Team Evad3rs. As of last week, the group could only assure that all members are hard at work to get out a working iOS 7 jailbreak at the soonest possible time.

None of the developers were providing ETA but the safest bet would be shortly after the iOS 7.1 has been finalised and dispatched by Apple. According to iH8Snow, earliest would be in the final days of January 2013, as hinted by is Twitter shout outs in the past weeks.

The Evad3r member also addressed concerns that iOS 7 patches coming from Apple could render devices locked out of future jailbreaks. In theory, iH8Snow said that any updates from Apple should be regarded as unsafe as they are fired off to close down iOS vulnerabilities, thus keeping out any jailbreak attempts.

Yet for iOS 7.0.4, which is Apple's fourth correction instalment for its new mobile platform, iH8Snow has asserted that jailbreakers can rest their worries. The latest iOS 7 official patch is jailbreak safe. So those who wish to get the upgrade and jailbreak later once the Evasi0n iOS 7 is out can totally take the plunge.

But it is a different case for the Beta iOS 7.1. As expected, Apple will seed series of betas to developers before the final iOS 7.1 will be out. So to save time and effort, jailbreakers are warned to stay from these incremental Apple servings.

For the time being, some jailbreakers who got stuck with iOS 7, can now dial back to iOS 6 thanks to downgrade kit that went live in October. But this solution is limited only for A4-series iOS devices, Redmond Pie said.

For the great majority, the next best reprieve is scheduled to unwrap within the 2013 holiday season as confirmed by iH8Snow and Winocm. The duo declared earlier that their Christmas gift for the jailbreaking community - iOS 6.1.3/6.1.4 - will certainly land in a matter of weeks.