There are many cool things you can do with a jailbroken iPhone. In this article we will focus on how to turn iOS 7 into a pleasurable experience. If you are switching from Android, this post will be especially helpful.
Keyboard Tweaks
Years of using Swipe, Android Keyboard and Swiftkey (my favorite) on my Android phones, the iPhone keyboard was very difficult to get used to, and not just because of the small size. Many of the iOS 7 keyboard tweaks are still in beta and don’t work with some specific apps.
Flesky
Many developers are integrating the Flesky Keyboard in their app and as we’ve seen in our review, it’s a good one. But if you want to get a jump on things, try Flesky Keyboard tweak.
SwipeSelection
One of my top 10 Jailbreak tweaks for the iPad is just as useful on the iPhone. Just swipe left-right on the keyboard to move the cursor respectively. The days of tap and hold are behind us.
ExKey
With ExKey you can add a 5th row on your iOS Keyboard. If you find yourself constantly using the 123 key to access numbers and symbols, this tweak is for you.
Control Center Tweaks
Alavaro has written about all the great ways you can customize your Control Center so I won’t be going into much detail here. Suffice to say, you can do a lot. Including but not limited to change how the toggles look and behave, add toggles for 3G and location services, theme your Control Center and change the quick launch apps with FlipControlCenter.
Notification Center Tweaks
NCAllonly
One of the biggest mysteries of iOS 7 is why the Missed tab in the Notification Center exists. It does not provide any addition functionality and just takes up space. Thanks to NCALLonly you can say goodbye to the Missed and Today tabs and turn your Notification Center into an actual notification center.
AlwaysClear
To dismiss notifications in iOS you first have to tap a tiny X button and then tap again on the clear button. This is another thing that just doesn’t make sense in iOS 7. This tweak does away with the X and presents you directly with the Clear button. Over time it will save you many seconds.
Small Tweaks, Big Impact
For a seasoned Android nerd, getting used to iOS might be a little difficult (to put it mildly). You can think of jailbreak as equivalent to rooting an Android. Jailbreak lets you customize your device just the way you like and these small tweaks will help improve the iPhone experience by a mile’s length.
BiteSMS
BiteSMS is Apple’s messaging app on steroids. Now updated for iOS 7, the app brings a lot of features from pro messaging apps on Android like Go SMS over to the iPhone. You get actionable notifications, quick compose box and a better control over your SMS’s among many other things.
AirBlue Sharing – Bluetooth Sharing
The biggest complain I hear from Android users is that iPhone can’t transfer music over Bluetooth. But if you want to party like it’s 2006, give AirBlue ($4.99) a try. It will make all your Bluetooth dreams come true. AirBlue is a lot more than just a Bluetooth app. You can transfer files over Wi-Fi as well. Alternatively, AirDrop works pretty well for sharing data between two iOS devices.
AdBlocker
AdBlocker blocks ads in your browsers and apps as well.
NoSlowAnimations
After upgrading to iOS 7 many users felt it was slow. Especially the animations. The phone is still just as fast but the animations make it seem longer. You can of course turn them off completely but if you want to speed them up try NoSlowAnimations.
RecordMyScreen
RecordMyScreen is the best way to record what’s going on your iPhone screen. And iFile is the best way to access and share the recordings. We talk more about these two tweaks here.
TetherMe
If you live in a country where your carrier charges you extra for a tethering plan, you need this app. The price ($9.99) might seem a little steep at first but it’s nothing compared to what your carrier charges.
Share Widget For iOS 7
If you are a shareaholic, you might have gotten attached to the share widget that came in iOS 6’s Notification Center. Use this tweak to bring it back. You’ll have to go into Settings -> Notification Center , find Share Widget and make sure the Show in Notification Center option is turned on.
Browser Changer – Set Default Browser To Chrome (Or Any Other)
Hate Safari? You can set your default browser to Chrome or any other browser with this tweak.
FolderCloser
My homescreen is organised with folders. But when you press the home button after you’ve opened an app from a folder, iOS doesn’t take you to the homescreen. No, it takes you right back to the folder view. This becomes annoying very fast. Use this tweak and let go of some of that frustration.
PasswordPilot
PasswordPilot remembers your iTunes password (you can set it up in the global Settings app) and auto fills it every time you make a purchase from the App Store.
My Story
The significance of the fact that it takes about a dozen tweaks to fix iOS 7’s major annoyances, is not lost on me. And I’m sure there are even more tweaks I’m yet to discover. After using an Android phone for 3 years, it seems a little unsettling. But Android was no piece of cake either. I ran a Custom ROM for the most part and when I did decide to go for a stock ROM (because I finally valued stability over features) I did so because I found Xposed framework which provided me extended functionality while staying stock. iPhone is the most stable phone I’ve ever owned. But that stability comes at a cost of Apple’s restricted ecosystem. Jailbreak allows you to let loose. And you know what, if I can tailor my phone to serve me exactly the way I want by installing a dozen tweaks while maintaining the stability of stock firmware, I’ll take it.
Your Story
What’s your stance when it comes to a jailbreak? Did this post help you improve your experience with iOS 7? Think Android rules and Apple will be dead in 5 years? Let it all out in the comments below. Images by: Mario Sánchez Prada, Geronimo De Francesco The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
