Apple is known for “Sherlocking” jailbreak tweaks and integrating them into iOS itself and iOS 13 is no exception to Cupertino giant’s usual copying.
iOS 13 is a really feature-packed update, however, not everything you see in the new OS is truly new. A lot of the new and shiny features have been Sherlocked from existing jailbreak tweaks for older iOS versions. In this list, we’ll show you exactly what was copied, and conveniently, how to get those new features on older iOS versions.
Dark mode
Undeniably, the most popular addition to iOS 13 is the support for a system-wide dark mode, however, if you have ever jailbroken your iDevice, you might know that this has been achieved and updated since a very long time ago back in 2014 with the release of Eclipse.
Eclipse is a jailbreak tweak that not only themes Apple’s own apps, it also themes unsupported apps as well, making it actually better than Apple’s own implementation. With Eclipse, you can theme virtually every app just the way you want to, no matter if the App officially supports dark mode or not.
Noctis, which also gained the ability to theme apps, has been the go-to way of getting dark notifications, widgets, control centre and much more. With those two combined, you should get the full dark experience on your iDevice.
Eclipse and Noctis can be found on the Packix repository for 1.50USD and 2USD respectively and support all iOS versions from iOS 7 to iOS 12 (although you need to pick the correct version of the tweak for the coreeco iOS version)
QuickPath
If you’re a fan of swiping instead of typing on your keyboard, you’ll be relieved to hear that Apple has introduced QuickPath to iOS 13. However, this isn’t the first time that iOS users get to enjoy swipe typing. This feature was first introduced on third-party Android keyboards and quickly became popular on iOS with Apple adding support for third-party keyboards. This means you don’t even need to be jailbroken to get this feature on your iPhone right now, with the likes of Gboard and SwiftKey all supporting it right from the App Store.
However, before third-party keyboards became a thing, jailbreaking had to step in and it did with SwipeSelection. There have been numerous different tweaks to introduce this feature to iPhones, but SwipeSelection seems to be the most popular one so we’ll stick with that.
SwipeSelection allows you to use the stock iOS keyboard with swiping support, meaning it’s still being updated in one way or another for modern iOS versions. A version that supports iOS 12 can be found on Bruno Andrade’s repository, with older versions being scattered over different sources.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Connection in Control Centre
A nice and lesser talked about new iOS 13 feature is the ability to select WiFi networks and Bluetooth devices directly from the Control Centre. Unsurprisingly, not only is this originally an Android feature that the green platform has been enjoying for many many years (yet Google removed it for some reason in Android Q Beta), it has also been brought to older iOS versions with the help of tweaks.
Actually, this feature is so unbelievably similar, even in terms of the UI, to WeatherVane that it’s hard to believe Apple didn’t just hire the developer behind WeatherVane. The tweak, while being released before iOS 13 was even in the works, now acts as a 1:1 backport of the feature to iOS 11 and 12 devices.
WeatherVane is available for 1USD from the Packix repository.
Unlimited App Size Downloading on Mobile Data
Finally, has Apple unlocked downloads over 200MB over mobile data in iOS 13. Ever since ancient times, back in iPhone OS 2 days, there have been numerous tweaks that have unlocked this stupid restriction Apple set on users. While it may have not been a big deal back in 2008 when Apps were mere megabytes to download, with the ever-increasing app sizes the 200MB limit really started to annoy people. A typical app in 2019 is around 150-300MB in size.
For iOS 12 and 11, there’s a tweak called “Appstore Unrestrict” that does exactly what Apple has done in iOS 13; disable the restrictions. The tweak is completely free and is available from iJulioverne’s legal & private repository.
Download Manager in Safari
For years, people have been begging Apple to add a download manager to iOS and Safari. They finally did with iOS 13, but this is definitely not a feature that has not been seen on iOS previously. Just like with app size download limits over mobile data, this is an ancient thing dating back to iPhone OS days with numerous tweaks having filled the role of a download manager.
For recent iOS versions, Safari Plus may be the best option as it supports iOS versions all the way back to iOS 8, however, you can download Safari Downloader if you’re on an older version.
Safari Plus is an all-in-one gigatweak for Safari, but among its features, there’s a download manager that acts very similarly to Apple’s own implementation. One could argue it’s even better as you can save files anywhere on the filesystem instead of just in the Files app like in iOS 13.
Safari Plus is available for free for iOS 8-12 from the BigBoss default repository.
Third-party Controller Support
A lot of people were excited to hear that Sony’s Dualshock 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One S controllers are now both natively supported in iOS 13 with no strings attached. It’s likely not surprising for you to hear that a huge reason to a lot of people to jailbreak is specifically to add support for unofficial (at least for that iOS version) controllers.
Shocker, this is yet another feature that has had a plethora of names due to it being such an old concept and being in need of a lot of fo updates, often from different developers as well. The one that comes to mind for more modern jailbreakers is nControl.
A nice thing to note that nControl is still relevant even after iOS 13, as it supports more than just the Dualshock 4 and Xbox One S controllers. If you’re a Nintendo Switch owner, for example, your Pro Controller or Joy-cons can also be connected, something that’s not supported in iOS 13.
nControl is available for iOS 7-12 from the Chariz repository for 10USD, which might seem like a steep price at first, but keep in mind you’re paying for countless months of developing drivers and reverse-engineering Apple’s secure “Made for iPhone” system.
New Volume HUD
If you’re not aware that Apple redesigned the disgusting, 12-year-old volume HUD in iOS 13, then what are you even doing here? A lot of people have commented that the only reason they still jailbreak is because of the annoying volume HUD in pre-iOS 13 firmware. Guess, what? This has been tweaked beyond infinity, in so many different ways, and with so many different developers that it’s practically impossible to tell who and what was first.
For a shameless plug, Melior aims to bring an Android-inspired volume HUD to iOS, while strictly and closely following Apple’s own design philosophy (for the stock theme lovers, this is the thing to get). It’s entirely free from SparkDev’s Beta Repository and should be compatible with everything from iOS 7 up to iOS 12.
However, to be fair and honest, the author of this article (yes, that’s right, it’s Dennis here) designed Melior. Just be aware of that.
That’s why we’re mentioning yet another terrific volume HUD replacement called UltraSound, which is much more customisable than Melior. It’s filled with nice animations and even an OLED mode, however, you’ll need to shell out 3USD (that’s just a coffee, don’t be greedy) for the privilege. It’s available for iOS 11 and 12 from the Dynastic Repository.
Conclusion
To wrap up, Apple is known for Sherlocking ideas from the jailbreak community, however, the more jailbreak tweaks Apple implements into stock iOS, the fewer people that will have to wait for months for a custom volume HUD. For every feature Apple copies from jailbreak tweaks, it’s a person less that feels the need to jailbreak, and that could arguably be a good thing.
Remember how you had to wait half a year just to add that stupid text on your Lock screen? Exactly. So, embrace those features making its way into stock iOS. It’s beneficial for almost all of us.
You can download iOS 13 beta right now to check it out on your iPhone. If you need help, you can check our post on how to install iOS 13 beta for the step-by-step instructions.
What do you think? Any tweaks we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments below.
