Cydia tweak: Give iOS 7's Spotlight an iOS 8-inspired update with Smart Search

by Joe White

July 28, 2014

Apple is refining Spotlight in iOS 8, however one new jailbreak tweak brings several of the smart improvements highlighted during WWDC to our iOS 7-powered devices.

Called Smart Search, the package can be downloaded for $2.49 on the Cydia Store and it’s optimized for iOS devices running iOS 7.0 and above. Once installed, users of the jailbreak tweak can “search for a keyword from the App Store, iTunes Store, Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, and more,” according to iDownloadBlog, and as the publication adds the new package indeed works as advertised.

Smart Search adds a selection of new icons to Spotlight (these appear at the top of the interface), and each one allows users to limit their search to a particular engine – like Google, Spotify, or the App Store, for example.

The jailbreak tweak supports Google, Spotify, the iTunes Store, the App Store, TMDb, Wikipedia, and YouTube, and these engines can be added, removed, or reordered from inside the iOS Settings app (here, Smart Search adds a dedicated preferences pane).

According to iDownloadBlog, the developer of Smart Search is planning on adding more engines to the jailbreak tweak further down the line. We’ll keep you posted with any significant updates to the jailbreak tweak as they hit the Cydia Store.

Until then, Smart Search is indeed available for $2.49, and it requires iOS 7.0 or above.

Check out the new jailbreak tweak now, or see: Apple close to acquiring ‘Pandora for talk radio app’ Swell for $30 million, Apple Stores will soon offer carriers’ early iPhone upgrade programs, and Crossly is undoubtedly the best multiplayer crossword game for iPhone.