Audio

Reports continue to surface indicating that Apple will ditch the 3.5mm audio jack on the next generation iPhone. This move would leave the iPhone 7 with just a Lightning port, and the device would ship with Lightning-compatible headphones in the box. Apple is also said to be developing wireless Bluetooth EarPods that will be available separately. Now Mac Otakara reveals several Lightning to 3.5mm audio adapters that are set to hit the market.

Volume buttons on the side of the iPhone have always made it easy to adjust volume from anywhere. At times, the process can be confusing as there are separate volume settings for the media player and ringer. For example, pressing a volume button while the Music app is open will adjust media volume, but the ringer loudness will not change. The jailbreak tweak SwitchHUD brings a new way to control each volume setting at any time.

Looking for a simple way to see the iOS volume level at all times? VolumeStatus 2 provides this functionality on jailbroken devices running iOS 7. Once installed, an estimate of volume will appear in a status bar icon.

No need to tap the volume buttons, or even see the volume heads up display. Toggles under Settings -> VolumeStatus make it possible to hide the HUD completely. This means the status bar becomes the go-to place to see volume level information.

More control over audio has been a focus of many iOS jailbreak tweaks. Everything from volume amplifiers to sophisticated equalizers have made their way from Cydia to mobile devices. AudioOut is a relatively simple tweak that restores manual control of an automatic iOS function.

Every time headphones are plugged into the iPhone or iPad, sound output from the external speaker is shut off automatically. The sound is then routed into the headphones. iOS provides no option to change this default behavior. With AudioOut installed on a jailbroken device, it's possible to listen to sound on the speaker even when headphones are plugged in.

Audio lovers will enjoy the iOS jailbreak tweak EqualizerEverywhere. Not only does this package add an easily-accessible equalizer to the Control Center, but the sliders will adjust audio from any app, including phone calls. Once installed, EqualizerEverywhere provides frequency adjustments as well as buttons for Flatten and Presets access.

There are several included presets including Earbuds, Pop, Reggae, Techno, Full Bass, and more. Your own presets can be saved to the list, and any unwanted presets can be deleted with a swipe. Choosing which preset to listen to from the Control Center makes it easy to quickly adjust the flavor of the audio to suit a specific genre.