Messages

There are several iOS 8 features that are limited to the iPhone 6 Plus only. Since the display is larger, items such as home screen rotation do not appear on other devices running iOS 8. In another example, each conversation in the Messages app is labeled with photos of the contacts participating in the thread.

These pictures are sourced from the Contacts photos stored on the iPhone. Now with ConvoPics, any device running iOS 8 can activate these conversation pictures, no iPhone 6 Plus required. The feature makes it even more convenient to locate conversations in the Messages app, by scanning for the person's face.

Quick Reply is a great addition to iOS 8. Messages can be read and responded to right in the banner notification. Wouldn't it be even better if third-party messaging apps could use the same trick? Enter the jailbreak tweak IMN for iOS 8.

With IMN installed, the same convenient Quick Reply functions that work with the stock Messages app are applied to other apps. Currently Facebook Messenger, Kik, and LINE are fully supported by the tweak.

Sending out texts and iMessages to the wrong people can be a headache in the making. It always helps to double check who is going to receive a particular message. Jailbreak developer Alexandru Laurus had the same idea, and released the tweak DoubleCheck for this purpose.

By default the Messages app in iOS 8 puts the words "iMessage" or "Text Message" in a blank text field, to let the user know what method is being used. Once DoubleCheck is installed, the name of the recipient or group is added to the messaging method. No need to check the top of the screen, the name appears right above the keyboard.

There are many different ways to change the appearance of the stock Messages app on a jailbroken iOS device. The tweak Messages Customizer Pro adds a wide variety of options in one place to modify the look of message threads.

Besides pre-set themes to choose from, new themes can be created and completely customized using Messages Customizer Pro. Different themes can even be assigned to individual contacts or conversation threads. Bubbles for iMessage or SMS messages can also be independently customized.