iOS would have been so boring without JailBreak

[Jimmy James]

Boring? I need a highly functional device and Apple delivers.

I was pleasantly surprised by the current thread "better processor vs. better battery". Most users are picking battery life as their most important asset. Functionality trumps all.

And I certainly don't find my iPhone boring.

 

[erayser]

My wife downloaded a conflicting app from itunes recently on JB iPhone... and got stuck on the boot logo, so I had to restore it. Since she wanted to use her phone ASAP, I didn't have a chance to restore with her saved blobs to JB again. Since then, she doesn't want me to JB it anymore, and just wants to keep it simple. I'm thinking of doing the same. Even though I like my cool tweaks, the most useful thing I use is SBsettings. I'll most likely go back to legit... but I'll still keep saving my blobs just in case I want to go back.

 

[Mr Bigs]

I'm using my iPad 2 and it's currently not currently jailbroken. I find the OS so boring without the jailbreak and thought of my iPhone without cydia - the thought itself scared me. Apple has excellent hardware and a clean OS - but without the jb the OS became stale and honestly, boring. Even with iOS5 we will continue to need cydia devs to continue contributing their time to make the platform more customizable.

I agree it is quite stale and looks pretty much the same as the first iPhone. This is the SJ way !!!

 

[blueroom]

iOS like any other OS (Windows, OSX, Linux) is just a means to launch the applications I'm interested in. Stable, doesn't crash, easy to navigate is all I'm looking for from an OS.

 

[Savor]

Of all the apps I missed from JB scene, I really do miss Intelliscreen. It was a hacked version that was FREE and a much older firmware which I preferred the look of it than the more rounder bubbled look when they started to charge us for it. And I miss LockInfo (which I used later in the 2.0-3.0 days), Poof!, vWallpapers, and the little panel that came down from SBSettings which originated from BossPrefs. And some of my emulated games and of course some of the theming especially my Playboy logo on top and Michael Jordan Jumpman logo for the slider. I can't believe that was three years ago. Feels like a long time ago in tech terms.

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2011/06/10/apple-owes-jailbreak-community-apology/

Apple Owes the Jailbreak Community an Apology

The relationship between Apple and the jailbreak community has always been an interesting one. Ever since the first, public iPhone jailbreak was displayed in 2007, Apple and jailbreakers have been fighting in a secret, underground war. Fast forward to 2011, and you can do a lot more with a jailbroken iPhone than just add custom ringtones.

On Monday, Apple unveiled iOS 5. Version 5 was called Apple’s most “revolutionary” iOS release to date. Oddly enough, many features that have been in the jailbreak community for years are now present in iOS 5. In fact, Apple has borrowed (some would say stolen) ideas from jailbreak developers for years, and iOS 5 is the most current, blatant example.

 

[AlvinNguyen]

Thank you to everyone who clarified what I meant - OF COURSE I love IOS! There is no doubt about it - I have owned every single product Apple made since 2007 except apple TV. I don't think I need to say that Apple did in fact reinvented the smart phone.

However, thank to the JB devs who invested their time, we now have:

BiteSMS
Infinidock
SBSettings
Gridlock
AndroidlockXT
Themes

And the best part is that those modifications are enhancing the possibilities of iOS. THAT is why iOS5 took some of the features like wifisync and notifications, etc. And yes, while Android is a cluttered-fest with all their mods, OUR JB communities made minimalistic and clean mods that helps makes iOS a great platform. If you don't believe it, look at each iOS update and see how many great ideas from the JB community ends up there.

 

[TruckdriverSean]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I'm using my iPad 2 and it's currently not currently jailbroken. I find the OS so boring without the jailbreak and thought of my iPhone without cydia - the thought itself scared me. Apple has excellent hardware and a clean OS - but without the jb the OS became stale and honestly, boring. Even with iOS5 we will continue to need cydia devs to continue contributing their time to make the platform more customizable.

I tend to agree for the most part, though I haven't jailbroken my iPad2 in a while, and don't really feel the need to.

But I don't consider any OS to be interesting without devs working and experimenting to make it better.

Without those willing to push the limits, the limits will never be moved forward.

 

[awadeee]

While I will say that jailbreaking is truly extraordinary, I don't think I'd die if it never existed. I bought my first iPhone without the intention of jailbreaking (even though I knew about it and what it did). I think the only things I would really miss are BiteSMS. I absolutely love the quick reply.

 

[PNutts]

Oddly enough, many features that have been in the jailbreak community for years are now present in iOS 5. In fact, Apple has borrowed (some would say stolen) ideas from jailbreak developers for years, and iOS 5 is the most current, blatant example.

Hmmm... Who would have thought third party features demanded by / popular with users would be incorporated into the product.

It's easier to design an antenna ball than it is to design the car underneath it.

 

[Dwalls90]

Agreed.

 

[Apollo 13]

If i couldn't JB anymore i would go back to android.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Which is why I don't understand why Apple keeps locking down exploits. I can understand security purposes, but some exploits are only reachable from the user them self. Is Apple just doing this for show?

 

[boss.king]

I've never jailbroken my iPhone and to be honest I'm very happy with iOS, especially with the new notifications system coming. I don't know if I'm missing out on something but I never saw anything that really made me want to jailbreak. A more convenient wifi toggle would be cool but I generally leave my setting open on the wifi page anyway.

What I'm trying to say is that iOS isn't boring (not that an OS could really be exciting in the first place), it's just a pretty functional tool.

 

[TruckdriverSean]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Which is why I don't understand why Apple keeps locking down exploits. I can understand security purposes, but some exploits are only reachable from the user them self. Is Apple just doing this for show?

Really simple really. (at least by my logic)

The cat-and-mouse jailbreak game creates an "expert mode" for iOS. This let's Apple focus on their main customer base (regular Jane & Joe) without having to provide the costly and time consuming customer service that would be expected if the "expert mode" was easy and open.

Think about it like this: What does Joe/Jane consumer think about jailbreaking their iOS device?

A: That it will be too complicated. So the vast majority of the group that is most likely to get in over their heads will stay out by default.

What does the geek/enthusiast think?

A: "Where there's a will, there's a way! Besides, I can always just restore."

If Apple TRULY didn't want their devices to be jailbroken they 1) Wouldn't allow super-easy restore, and 2) Would simply use the cloud to block access to all Apple services to any device that's jailbroken. (no AppStore, iTunes, iCloud, etc)

But they don't.

So Apple keeps the cat-and-mouse game going while always providing an easy way to return to stock if you get in over your head, and jailbreak devs provide the clearly delineated "expert mode" that iOS needs.

 

[FamiliaPhoto]

My wife downloaded a conflicting app from itunes recently on JB iPhone... and got stuck on the boot logo, so I had to restore it. Since she wanted to use her phone ASAP, I didn't have a chance to restore with her saved blobs to JB again. Since then, she doesn't want me to JB it anymore, and just wants to keep it simple. I'm thinking of doing the same. Even though I like my cool tweaks, the most useful thing I use is SBsettings. I'll most likely go back to legit... but I'll still keep saving my blobs just in case I want to go back.

You describe my household exactly.