Touch ID is undoubtedly one of the most exciting hardware additions to be incorporated into iOS devices in recent times. Not only does the biometric sensor introduces a whole new level of security for users, but it also opens the door for a variety of innovative and extremely useful tweaks for jailbroken devices. With that said, it also allows developers to offer functionality that can be thought of as cosmetic rather than earth shattering or innovative, such as playing a chosen sound when the device is unlocked through the fingerprint sensor.
If you're an iOS device user with a keen interest in snapping photos to share with friends and family, then the limitations placed upon the native Mail app will definitely have caused you some concern. For reasons beyond our comprehension, Apple saw fit to limit the amount of photos that can be attached to an email to five, meaning that anyone wanting to send more than that would need to go through mail compose process multiple times. The very popular Mail More Photos tweak that originally resolved this issue in 2012 has now been updated with iOS 7 and ARM64 support to ensure that modern device users can continue to enjoy a limitation free Mail app.
With cameras in smartphones having improved greatly over the past few years, vendors have been finding it increasingly difficult to impress the shot-taking ability of each new release. However, the iPhone 5 released back in 2012 tried to enhance things with a new rear-facing camera that performed better in low-light conditions, and as we continue to seek ways to enjoy clearer snaps in dark places, a new app by the name of Night Vision will help those on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to capture video and take photographs after the sun has gone down.
The Pebble Smartwatch was arguably the first of its kind, and prompted an unprecedented response on Kickstarter when its campaign began in 2012. A year since the launch of the first model, Pebble is back with a vastly different version, the Pebble Steel, comprised of steel and looking every bit like your typical watch. At $249, the new smartwatch as just been unveiled at this year's CES trade show, and with a dedicated app store also in the works allowing users to better find content for their wrist computer, it's clear that Pebble wants to step things up considerably.
History has shown us time and time again that the companies who often provide the best products and solutions are the ones that have experience within the field and industry that they are trying to penetrate. Of course, this isn't always the case, but it definitely does help to have an intricate knowledge of the industry your product is going to be launched in. The OpenWays Group, a company specializing in providing smartphone based door locks to hotels, has extended its range of locking solutions by introducing the OKIDOKEYS, a new smart lock spin off that it hopes will capture a significant portion of the consumer section of the industry.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada, has always been an arena for companies to showcase their latest and greatest products. Some use it as an opportunity to introduce periodical updates to existing consumer tech, whereas others seize the chance to introduce a whole new product to what is essentially a captive technology loving audience.
There's been a great deal of speculation and chatter about game controllers ever since Apple launched the updated MFi ("Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad") program alongside the introduction of iOS 7 last year. Mobile gaming has taken off in a big way over the last twelve months, meaning that having the ability to interact with powerful games directly on one of Apple's devices through an officially supported controller was always going to ring the excitement bells of a lot of iOS users. In an effort to capitalize on that excitement, SteelSeries have introduced the first wireless gamepad controller ever to be supported by iOS 7.
The Siri digital assistant that ships with all mobile compatible devices running iOS has been known to put its foot in its mouth on more than one occasion. Barely a day could pass in the early days of the digital assistant without someone using Twitter, Facebook or Reddit to post screenshots of Siri replying to a seemingly innocent question with a ridiculous, controversial or opinionated answer. Long periods of silence on the Siri front seemed to suggest that we had passed that stage but the existence of Samantha in the movie Her seems to have ruffled a few electronic feathers.
Another day and yet another powerful and extremely popular package updated for the jailbreak community to get to grips with. It seems that every single refresh of the installed repositories within Cydia is resulting in a hoard of new and newly updated existing packages being made available for users running iOS 7 on modern devices. One of the latest to get the iOS 7 and ARM64 attention is AirBlue Sharing, a premium extension that offers Bluetooth OBEX (Object Exchange) File Sharing for all jailbroken devices.
Apple's Touch ID sensor on the 64-bit iPhone 5s seems to be what is currently hot at the moment among Cydia developers, with a number of them taking the opportunity to release tweaks that rely on biometric authentication to perform specific tasks. Ryan Petrich, of Activator fame, is the latest to adopt current trends with the release of his BioLockdown package, available to download now.
