IOS 7.1 WILL LIKELY BE THE LAST UPDATE FOR THE IPHONE 4

The iPhone 4′s days could be numbered according to a recent report from Ars Technica. Reportedly iOS 7.1 will be the last major firmware update for the smartphone. This is of course due to the iPhone 4 just not being able to handle all the complex animations of iOS 7. Its A4 processor just doesn’t have enough kick and it is painstakingly obvious when using an iPhone 4 on iOS 7.
iOS 7.0.1 actually improves things by shortening the animation durations, thereby easing some of the burden on the processor. It also smoothed out most of the jerkiness in the UI which was present when opening apps or pulling up the control center window shade.
Launch times of applications were also improved for apps like Safari, Camera and Mail.

With that said there are some things that iOS 7.1 still can’t overcome due to the A4 processor and that is why the following features are absent from the iPhone 4.

• 3D Flyover or turn-by-turn navigation in Maps
• Panorama mode or Live filters in the Camera app (filters can still be applied in the Photos app after the picture has been taken)
• AirPlay Mirroring
• Siri
• AirDrop
• Graphical effects such as the translucency effects throughout the OS, live wallpapers, and the parallax effect of the Home screen

Apple rarely moves beyond x.1 versions of its mobile operating system and with iOS 8 on the horizon the iPhone 4 will  likely remain planted on iOS 7.1 the rest of its lifespan. Those wanting the ability to run iOS 8 and beyond will need to update to the iPhone 4s or later.

APPPLE Working On iOS Update To Improve TouchID

The fingerprint reader on the iPhone 5s is not perfect and does have the occasional hiccups. In fact one issue that has been brought up time after time again on the Apple support forums is the ‘fade effect.’ This involves the accuracy of TouchID fading over time.

Luckily if you’re experiencing this issue or problems with accuracy in general there could be a light at the end of the tunnel. According to a report from AppleInsider Apple is preparing a software update that will improve the fingerprint recognition experience of Touch ID, and possibly fix the fade issue.

“A source familiar with Apple’s development plans said the company is well aware of early adopter issues that many iPhone 5s users are experiencing with Touch ID, the fingerprint recognition feature introduced last year after acquiring AuthenTec in 2012.
After launching iPhone 5s last fall, Apple has continued to work with the original AuthenTec team to improve its recognition software and will release an update relatively soon, the source confidently reported.”

Of course ‘relatively soon’ is not very descriptive, but hopefully that means we will see these improvements implemented in iOS 7.1.
Have you experienced issues with Touch ID or the fade effect?

Evasi0n7 Updated To Fix Bundled (Cydia) Package List Issue

The Evad3rs have just released a new version of Evasi0n7 (1.0.7) which includes a fix for those not getting Cydia package updates. Unfortunately because the bug revolves around not getting updates via the Changes tab in Cydia it means the Evad3rs had to release a new version of the tool, rather than release a Cydia package.

As such if you are experiencing this issue it means you will have to restore back to iOS 7.0.6 and then re-Jailbreak using this new version of Evasi0n7.
This version of Evasi0n7 supports  iOS 7, iOS 7.0.1, iOS 7.0.2, iOS 7.0.3, iOS 7.0.4, iOS 7.0.5 and iOS 7.0.6. It is compatible with all devices capable of running iOS 7. 

FIX POOR BATTERY LIFE On iOS 7.1

 If you’re experiencing poor battery life after updating to the iOS 7.0.6 firmware on your iPhone or iPad (typically accompanied by your device feeling abnormally warm) then you will be glad to know a solution has been discovered which has helped many people with their battery woes.
This quick fix is courtesy of OS X Daily who shared stories of users who could actually watch their battery percentage go down.

The first thing you will need to do is very simply kill ALL the apps running in the background of your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Keep in mind that you can close 3 at a time using multiple fingers.
Next you will simply need to hard reset your device by holding both the Home Button and Power Button until you see the Apple logo.
After completing these steps many users have reported that their battery life has returned to normal.

NEW CYDIA TWEAKS Pluck 2 And AppETA Are Two Cydia Tweaks You Should Download Right Now

 

Many Cydia tweaks are released in any given day, but here are two I feel are worth your attention.
Pluck 2 is a tweak for iOS 7 that allows you to easily play any song for your iOS Device’s music library from both the lockscreen and the control center. What the tweak does is add a little icon to the bottom left hand corner of the lockscreen and control center where you can gain quick access to your device’s music library.

From the music library screen you can then either a pick a song that you want to hear, or queue up songs by selecting multiple songs by tapping on the + button next to the song.

It’s a great tweak for those that like to constantly switch their tunes and can be found in the BigBoss repo for only $0.99.
AppETA is a new tweak that gives you useful information when you’re downloading an app from the App Store. By default when you download an app you don’t know how long it will take to download, your current download speed or any other remotely useful stats.
With AppETA you are given more information such as the size of the app, the time it download the app, the download speed etc. which can be quite useful when downloading large apps.

Once you install AppETA all you need to do is double tap the icon being downloaded and a popup will appear with the information. You can also play around with the numerous preferences the tweak has such as changing the theme of the popup from dark to light, customize the color of the progress bar and so much more.
You can download AppETA from the BigBoss repo for $0.99.

How Much Of Your Smartphone Is Actually Screen? [Infographic]

 

It’s no question that nowadays people want smartphones with bigger screens without actually increasing the physical size of the handset. As such the only way around this for manufactures is to minimize the bezel surrounding the display.
A new chart by somospostpc has just been released that now quantifies this trend by charting how much of a phone’s surface is actually the screen. The chart is based upon the percentage of the smartphone’s surface which is the display and not the bezel.
Take the iPhone 5s for example, it occupies 60.6 percent of the handset where the iPhone 4s only occupies 54%. Of course the monstrous Android smartphones fare better with the lG G2 occupying 75.7% of the surface area.

Let’s hope the iPhone 6 fares better than the current generation models.

Themer, A Popular Android Theming App, Pulled From Google Play Due To Apple Copyright Complaint

 

The popular Android customization app Themer by MyColorScreen was recently pulled from the Google Play marketplace due to the fact that it contained a theme called ‘Seven’ that looks exactly like iOS 7. In fact it looked so alike that Apple filed a copyright complaint with Google, forcing the search engine giant to remove the app to avoid further legal ramifications.

Despite the fact MyColorScreen allowed users to browse a selection of themes, that one theme alone was enough to have it pulled. TechCrunch reported:

“The theme in question is the “Seven” theme, which Apple says uses several icons that infringed on its own patents, explains Ashvin Dhingra, co-founder and CEO at Themer.
“We immediately removed [the Seven] theme and thought that, at worst, Themer would be back on Play in a few days. But now a week later, we’re facing the possibility that a few days might turn into a few weeks,” Dhingra explains in an email to TechCrunch (and soon to be blog post on the company’s website.)”

Of course part of the reason for Themer’s removal is because it isn’t just some homebrew project, the team behind the app made over $500,000 in funds last Fall. Now that the Seven theme has been removed though, Apple has no more issues with the app and it can technically return to the Google Play store.

“We’ve spoken to legal representatives from Apple (who have been very nice, reasonable, and helpful), and they have no remaining concerns. But apparently, Google has a process for these things, and there’s nothing we can do to accelerate that process.”

That’s one of the issues with the Google Play store is that there really isn’t much communication with Google and developers so there is no telling when Themer will return.