Facebook has been actively upping its game in the mobile stakes in recent times, and alongside the announcement of the big Facebook Home launcher for Android last year, the Menlo Park company also introduced a neat little feature by the name of Chat Heads. Simply put, this feature brought universal chat bubbles that could be accessed from any aspect of Android and moved around the interface at will. Due to limitations with iOS, it wasn't possible for Facebook to replicate the feature on Apple's mobile OS, but thanks to a new jailbreak tweak, one can enjoy similar functionality on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Instant messaging apps are ubiquitous, but although we all have our favorite third-party utilities such as WhatsApp, Skype, and others, the stock Messages app for iOS still gets plenty of use. This goes a long way to explaining why we have currently such a large count of tweaks being made specifically for Messages, and while there are swathes of great, powerful, and robust tweaks for this very purpose within Cydia, sometimes, we only want to make a subtle alteration here and there. MessageRenamer7 falls squarely within this category, allowing you to tidy up your list of messages by renaming them to whatever you like.
In this day and age, we're always connected. If we're not using our smartphones to communicate with each other, then we're using our tablets. If it's not our tablets, then it's our computers. One byproduct of all this is that we need ubiquitous messaging. We want our messages, our conversations and settings to move between devices seamlessly, meaning we can start a conversation on our iPhones and finish it on our computers.
If you're a bit of a numbers droid, and like to keep track of statistics, then the tweak from Cydia developer Callum Ryan may be of interest to you. It provides relatively detailed information on the activity of your Messages app, including how many SMS and iMessages you've sent or received. Not only is this useful information in terms of ensuring you don't go over your allowance, but you can also narrow things right down to specific contacts. Check it out after the break.
Although iOS allows you to add images to contacts in your address book, for some reason, this feature still does not extend to the SMS app. Thankfully, the jailbreak tweak SMSContactPhotos, which essentially explains itself, has been updated for iOS 7, and as seems to be particularly in vogue for this latest Apple firmware release, has been named SMSContactPhotos7.
Jailbreaking an iOS device has always been about the freedoms that it brings to users. Freedom to install apps and extensions that haven't been vetted and sanctioned for sale in the official App Store. Over time, the freedom to customize the look and feel of the firmware’s user-interface elements has also become extremely popular, with some users opting for minor amendments while others revel in full system artwork replacements. The new Messages Customiser package is one of customization, is a lot more subtle than a full replacement and relates directly to the native Messages app in iOS 7.
Apple's decision to revamp and revitalize the rather disheveled iChat app was undoubtedly a decision that was needed to be made, but the execution of that decision has left more than a lot to be desired. OS X users have been more than happy to let Apple know that the Messages app on their platform isn't up to scratch, but while we wait for the Cupertino overlords to do something about it let's take a look at a new Messages concept that totally overhauls the app with the aim of actually appealing to those who use the service.
Apple's Messages app, save a little occasional downtime to iMessage, provides a fairly solid and secure overall service, but customization is extremely limited. Your chat bubbles remain two colors, the background has the aura of the sky on a dull, wintry day and aside from the aesthetics, options regarding functionality are few and far between. Luckily for the jailbreakers, there are plenty of tweaks out there to rectify this, and one, which goes by the name of MessageRenamer, allows you to change the name of a conversation to anything you like.
The stock Messages.app on the Apple iPhone is undoubtedly one of the most used apps that exists on the device. Sending and receiving text messages as well as multi-media communications and iMessages are all handed through Apple's native Messages app, and although it hasn't changed a great deal in the last six years, it still remains extremely functional. It's usually been left up to the jailbreak community to bring additions to this application in the past, and now is no different with the new MessageSwiper package that brings additional power to the app that is likely to be extremely well received.
Apple's Messages app does a reasonable job when it comes to quick communication, but functionality wise, it could certainly use a couple of improvements. As we continue to wait in hope, the jailbreak scene offers a multitude of options to enhance the experience, and a new tweak by the name of Messages (yes, confusing I know), helps you quickly and efficiently reply to, or compose, messages from anywhere on your device.