If you didn’t have to jailbreak your phone to apply tweaks and UI mods, well, I’d be out of a job. Aside from that one contingency, jailbreakers are clamoring for a more ‘open’ iOS from Apple–one that will allow for developers to sell tweaks–as third-party jailbreaks have yet to materialize.
The trend was started by the hacker previously behind the Absinthe jailbreak, Pod2g: “If you agree that iOS needs more openness, why don’t we make #weWantAnOpenIOS trend on twitter! That would be our answer to Apple.”
Pod2g wants Apple to allow developers to make tweaks to iOS, perhaps similar to what MobileSubstrate makes possible on jailbroken devices.
There were a couple possibilities of what this more ‘open’ iOS could mean, and users on Twitter could be confused as to what it stands for. The more dramatic possibilities, such as Apple releasing the source code to iOS (making the software ‘open source’) or allowing for developers to freely distribute programs outside the App Store (opening the distribution on the platform), are also the most blasphemous to Apple’s practice of control and vertical integration. The day a Twitter campaign wrests control of iOS from Apple will be the day I eat a genius shirt.
The more likely possibility was explained by Pod2g in a later tweet. “I never talked about “unsigned code” nor “open source”. They can allow tweaks by extending the SDK. #weWantAnOpenIOS”. The idea is Apple could create more tools for developers to make tweaks, similar to what we’ve seen on Cydia. While this might not sit neatly with Apple’s brand of simplicity–delivering uncomplicated products that ‘just work’, it might not be a proposal that would get someone laughed out of a conference with Tim Cook.
After all, there weren’t any third-party applications on iOS until the early jailbreakers wrote them–you might remember Apple suggesting everyone use clumsy web apps instead. Apple opened their API to allow for developers to submit sandboxed programs, so it’s possible that Apple could open their API again. I’m not exactly betting on this possibility, but smart jailbreakers notice that features developed by the community have a tendency to find their way onto mainstream iOS, in one way or another.
Pod2g clarifies what could be a confusing term.
How much would Apple have to provide to make jailbreaking obsolete for you? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Not much they could do now. Already switched to android. No way I am going back now; I love my Galaxy S3.
Totally agree I left apple after many years for a galaxy s3 and apple would have to do something amazing to get me to buy another iphone
I too left, using the S3, and eagerly waiting for the next release. Ubuntu phones look promising too. I did get the iPhone 5 as well; it was a free upgrade. The main phone i carry around? Galaxy S3.
I have been using the Iphone for years and years, but I only use a jailbroken phone becuase of the cool tweaks, things like iblacklist is amasing, since there is no jailbreaks or a very prolonged delay each time apple brings out an iOS or phone I am very much considering packing up the ol iPhone and moving to a Galaxy S3 or Android based phone. Apple would so sell more phones if they one day wake up and open up their iOS, maybe one day when they realise they have no customers left as their heavily locked down iOS is not nearly as feature rich as a jailbroken phone
got a galaxy note 2 and no way im switching back to iphone without jailbreak
Me too..no choice and i don’t have any reason to stay on iphone anymore, i am pretty sure 2years later, iphone will lost their huge million customers and become small. iphone doesn’t smarter than android, thats why i move to android, freedom is better than jail. good bye iphone R.I.P
Switched to a nexus 4, can’t wait till android 5.0. Apple would have to do something amazing by bringing more software customization to win me back
once the competition with other Os’s becomes more apparent, apple will have to give in, even last year, 3rd party apps were beginning to have activator-like functions (volume button to take a picture) feayured in their apps. Apple will have to cave in to tweaks one day it’ll just take time