One of the important features that the stock Camera app lacks in iOS 8 is the ability to scan QR codes. If you’re waiting for Apple to add this feature to the Camera app, you no longer need to with a new jailbreak tweak known as QR Mode.
As you might have guessed by now, the tweak allows you to scan QR codes using the stock Camera app on your iPhone. After installing it, a new mode will appear in the Camera app labeled ‘Scanner’. When you switch to the Scanner mode for the first time, an instruction will be displayed on how to use it.
Once you point your camera to a QR code, it will immediately detect and highlight it with a red box. After the tweak has scanned it successfully, the type of the QR code will be displayed at the bottom of the Camera app with buttons that allow you to interact with it. For instance, when you scan a QR code containing a URL, you can tap on the URL button to view the webpage in the Camera app. You’ll also find buttons that allow you to view the content of the QR code or copy it.
The tweak currently supports the following QR code types:
- Text
- URL addresses
- vCard
- SMS messages
- Emails
- Contact
- Location
For these types of QR codes, the tweak allows you to interact with them such as view the URL, send the text message etc. However for other types of codes that the tweak doesn’t support, its content will only be displayed but you can’t interact with it.
The tweak also adds a History button to the top of the camera preview which shows a list of all the QR codes you have scanned.
After installing QR Mode, you can enable or disable it on demand via its preferences pane in the stock Settings app. The pane also shows the QR codes that the tweak supports.
I’m quite impressed with the performance of the tweak and how quickly it recognizes the QR codes. If you’ve been looking for such a tweak, QR Mode is definitely worth checking out. It is available for $1.99 on Cydia’s BigBoss repository and supports iOS 8 devices only.
