Reachability is one of the new features in the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus aimed at making it easier to reach the top half portion of the screen due to the larger display of both the devices.
With the release of the iOS 8 jailbreak, Reachability has been the center of focus by many jailbreak developers resulting in the release of amazing new tweaks that put the empty real estate in the Reachability view to a better use.
Last week, we published a list of the top iOS 8 jailbreak tweaks that will enhance your music listening experience on jailbroken devices. This week, we are back at it again to present you a list of the best iOS 8 jailbreak tweaks for Reachability.
BannerBuddy
Normally, when you invoke Reachability while a notification banner is displayed, it will not move. BannerBuddy changes this by lowering the notification banners with Reachability. You can also interact with them while they are lowered. Once Reachability times out, they will return back to their original spot at the top of the screen.
BannerBuddy is available for free on Cydia’s BigBoss repository.
ColorReachability
Bored of the dark color of Reachability view? ColorReachability changes the color of the empty view in Reachability to the dominant color of the current screen. If your currently open app is dominant by red color, your Reachabiliy view will be colorized red as well.
ColorReachability can be downloaded for free from Cydia’s BigBoss repo.
Carpe Diem
Carpe Diem is an interesting jailbreak tweak that allows you to view your favorite Notification Center widget in Reachability. It allows you to place one of the Notification Center widgets available on your device in the empty view that appears when Reachability is invoked. The widget can either be a stock iOS 8 widget or a third-party widget downloaded from the App Store. You can also interact with the widgets while the view is open.
Carpe Diem is available on the BigBoss repo for $0.99.
ForceReach
ForceReach aims to extend the functionality of Reachability by allowing users to invoke it while the device is in landscape orientation or disable the timeout that occurs after Reachability is inactive for a period of time.
ForceReach can be downloaded for free from the BigBoss repository.
ReachAll
Reachability is limited to the new models of iPhone such as the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus due to their bigger screen. The older models of iPhone don’t have this feature on iOS 8. ReachAll allows users with older models of iPhone such as the iPhone 5s and earlier to enjoy Reachability on their device.
With ReachAll, you can also take advantage of other tweaks designed for Reachability such as the ones mentioned in this list.
ReachAll is available for free on Cydia’s BigBoss repo.
OnTapMusic
Are you looking for an alternative way to controlling music than Control Center? If so, you should probably check out OnTapMusic. The tweak allows you to control the currently playing song on your device via Reachability.
When a song is playing, invoking Reachability will display the album artwork along with its name in the empty view. You can also control the song by making use of swipe gestures which include:
- Swipe to the left or right side of Reachability view to go to the previous or the next song.
- Double tap on the Reachability view to play/pause the song.
- Swipe up to enable repeat mode.
- Swipe down to shuffle tracks.
To install OnTapMusic, you’ll have to add the following new source to Cydia: http://repo.cpdigitaldarkroom.com/ . Once done, simply search for the tweak and install it.
➤ Read more about OnTapMusic
ReachApp
ReachApp is one of the most popular and my personal favorite tweak for Reachability that provides a true split screen multitasking experience on iOS 8. The tweak allows users to view and interact with multiple apps simultaneously. This is achieved by displaying the second app in the empty space that appears when you invoke Reachability.
With ReachApp, when you invoke Reachability, you can choose the second app that you want to be displayed in the empty view. The lower screen will be dedicated to the currently open app whereas the upper screen displays the second app you chose to open. You can also adjust the size of each of the screen portions by dragging the thick line that divides them.
ReachApp is currently in the beta phase, but it now works perfectly after receiving major updates. If you want to install it, you should add the following developer source to Cydia first: http://elijahandandrew.com/repo .
Switchability
There are a bunch of tweaks on Cydia that provide an easier access to the App Switcher. Switchability is a similar one that places the App Switcher in the Reachability view. To invoke it, all you have to do is to double press the Home button. Instead of the original App Switcher appearing, Reachability will be launched where you’ll view all the open apps.
In addition, you can open an app by tapping on its card as well as close it by swiping it to the left. The tweak also allows you to respring your device by swiping the Home screen card to the left.
Switchability is available on Cydia’s BigBoss repository for $1.99.
➤ Read more about Switchability
These are some of the best jailbreak tweaks for iOS 8 which allow you to take advantage of Reachability. If you feel that we missed an important Reachability tweak that deserves to make it to the list, make sure to let us know in the comments section below.
