One Of The First Touch ID Jailbreak Tweaks Can Help Your Home Button Last Longer
Apple’s Touch ID can now be enhanced using jailbreak tweaks, thanks to the recent availability of both evasi0n7 and a subsequent Cydia Substrate update for 64-bit iDevices. One of the first packages to improve the fingerprint-scanning Home button is Virtual Home, a clever jailbreak tweak that could actually help improve the lifespan of Apple’s physical, clickable Home button.
The jailbreak tweak can be downloaded free of charge in the Cydia Store, and once installed, it’ll allow users to activate their Home button without actually clicking it. This is made possible by utilizing the Touch ID fingerprint-sensing metallic ring, which detects the presence of a finger and activates Touch ID when users attempt to unlock their iPhone using a fingerprint.
Virtual Home, on the other hand, allows users to activate the Home button by simply placing their finger atop their Home button (rather than pressing the button down). Because Touch ID can recognize the presence of a finger, you can navigate to your iPhone’s Home screen and even activate multitasking without clicking on the physical key itself. Impressive, right?
Because iPhone handsets tend to outlive their Home buttons (and since the iPhone 5s smartphone’s Touch ID-equipped Home button is the most costly iteration of this physical key to date), Virtual Home could help its user increase the lifespan of their handset’s Home button. In theory, the less you press the button, the longer it should last.
Last week, we told you about another Touch ID-compatible jailbreak tweak (which is unnamed, as of this writing). Once available, the anticipated release will allow iPhone 5s users to add Touch ID protection to individual iOS applications installed on their handset.
It’s definitely interesting to see how jailbreak developers are further improving the fingerprint-scanning Home button. Here’s hoping some of their ideas are officially incorporated within Apple’s iOS further down the line.
As mentioned, Virtual Home can be downloaded free of charge in the Cydia Store, and it’s obviously compatible with the iPhone 5s only.
For more recent jailbreak tweaks, see: Jailbreak Tweak: Swipey Is An Awesome Lock Screen Launcher for iOS 7, The Popular “Reason To Jailbreak” Barrel Updated For iOS 7, iPhone 5s, and Four Jailbreak Tweaks That Are Compatible With Apple’s 64-Bit iDevices.
