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Jailbreak Hack Puts 'Chat Heads' on iPhone the Way Facebook Intended

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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The Verge reports on a new jailbreak hack for the iPhone that puts Facebook's new 'Chat Heads' feature above all other content on the device, similar to how Facebook Home works on Android.

On Android, Facebook's Chat Heads float above all other content so users can quickly jump in and out of conversations while they continue to use their phone for other tasks. On the iPhone, Chat Heads are normally only active when users are actually using the Facebook app.

NewImage9.png
The trick, according to [developer Adam Bell], was isolating the Facebook app from the Chat Heads living inside it. Chat Heads inhabit a separate layer inside the Facebook app, so it was just a matter of finding that layer and making the rest of the app transparent. "The hardest part was getting this all to render on top of everything else," Bell says, which means Facebook is always running on your phone. Apparently, Bell's tweak doesn't take much of a toll on battery life. "It doesn't seem very resource intensive," he says. "Only when you move the Chat Head is it actually doing anything."
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The hack will be released on jailbreak app store Cydia and Github in the next few days.

Facebook executives were asked at a recent conference if they had spoken with Apple about bringing the full Chat Heads experience to the iPhone, but they demurred.

Article Link: Jailbreak Hack Puts 'Chat Heads' on iPhone the Way Facebook Intended
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/04/18/jailbreak-hack-puts-chat-heads-on-iphone-the-way-facebook-intended-2/
nfl46

nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,345
8,696
My comment the other day in the Facebook update thread:

Chat heads outside the app is a lot cooler; looks great on my Nexus. Maybe someone can do a jailbreak app for it.

;) By reading the comments on other iOS blogs, it seems like a lot of people like the Chat Heads idea.

Thanks, devs!
 
\-V-/

\-V-/

Suspended
May 3, 2012
3,153
2,688
TallGuy1970 said:
The real question is... Why would you want this?! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Because... some people would want this... hence why 24 hours was spent hacking away to get it to work like this... so at least one person wanted it... and if you're jailbroken... you have that choice.

I personally like this feature. Maybe I'm crazy.
 
D

dustinsc

macrumors regular
Nov 21, 2009
230
52
Yeesh. I don't even want this within the Facebook app considering that I rarely carry on a conversation with more than one person at a time over Facebook. Good for whoever wants this feature.
 
T

TallGuy1970

macrumors 6502
Jun 16, 2010
323
0
\-V-/ said:
Because... some people would want this... hence why 24 hours was spent hacking away to get it to work like this... so at least one person wanted it... and if you're jailbroken... you have that choice.

I personally like this feature. Maybe I'm crazy.
Click to expand...

To each his/her own... I accidentally ran into this feature in the new iOS Facebook app, and it annoyed me. It was just like pop-up ads. All it really did was block content.
 
Small White Car

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Aug 29, 2006
10,966
1,463
Washington DC
I actually LIKE the chatheads. The only problem is, I don't really Facebook chat much, so it's not much use for me.

But as a design it's quite amazing. If Apple stole this idea for iMessage it would be something I'd praise.

So,

Design = Very nice, Facebook
Facebook Messages themselves = meh
 
S

sundog925

macrumors 6502a
Dec 19, 2011
948
971
Forgive me but it looks off in the home screen with that head right there. needs better implementation. notification bar maybe? maybe even on the springboard. theres just no room given the auto-arrange of the icons
 
J

Jbrumz85

macrumors member
Feb 27, 2011
50
0
I have fb home on my Note 2 Can't wait to use this on my iPhone 5 hopefully apple adds something similar in iOS 7 for iMessage.
 
ugahairydawgs

ugahairydawgs

macrumors 68030
Jun 10, 2010
2,959
2,457
Nice work by the JB community again on getting the hack to work.....but that is completely and utterly obnoxious.
 
applesith

applesith

macrumors 68030
Jun 11, 2007
2,776
1,570
Manhattan
I guess that's cool for people who want that. Not for me. Maybe something like it for iMessage, but not sure I want floating heads.
 
Small White Car

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Aug 29, 2006
10,966
1,463
Washington DC
bandalay said:
…when they cover your app's controls?
Click to expand...

You move them somewhere else.

They're not intended to be there 100% of the time...only when you're deep in a conversation with someone. Whatever annoyance a floating ball gives you, it's MUCH less annoying than switching between entire apps every 5 seconds.

It's a solution for a particular situation, and it's perfect at that specific job.
 
ShiftClick

ShiftClick

macrumors regular
May 9, 2010
120
1
Los Angeles
Oh, thaaaats what that was! I had updated my facebook app with out seeing what the changes were and saw the head floating around, confused the hell outta me. Atleast now I know what it was, thought it was some weird bug.
 
\-V-/

\-V-/

Suspended
May 3, 2012
3,153
2,688
TallGuy1970 said:
To each his/her own... I accidentally ran into this feature in the new iOS Facebook app, and it annoyed me. It was just like pop-up ads. All it really did was block content.
Click to expand...
ER... what? Block content? No... it was designed so that it blocks things less. There is a lot less back-and-forthing inside the app itself so you don't have to switch to the messages area and back to Facebook again. You just click the chat heads to open the chat or to close the chat in exactly the place you left it without ever having to exit the main Facebook page.
 
J

Jbrumz85

macrumors member
Feb 27, 2011
50
0
On android devices it actually works for your SMS as well. For people saying that it's in the way or blocking content all u do Is swipe it down and it's gone off the screen. If apple does something like this for iMessage same people complaining would think it's the greatest thing since the first iPhone was announced
 
BvizioN

BvizioN

macrumors 603
Mar 16, 2012
5,701
4,819
Manchester, UK
I find it amazing that on almost every video presentation of something on iPhone there will be a ridiculous number of unanswered calls, unread text messages or unread emails. Do these guys use the phone?
 
Popeye206

Popeye206

macrumors 68040
Sep 6, 2007
3,148
836
NE PA USA
Apple should just officially allow Jailbreaking, just not support the results. Just make it a simple switch in iOS, just make sure customers know when they allow this, they are on their own and they won't be eligible for SW support.

If Apple did this, the normal consumer who likes the controlled environment can have it and the people who want to customize can have that too.

Anyway... sort of off topic, but seems like it would help Apple combat some of the Anti-Apple rants if this was allowed.
 
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