News

Now that iOS 6 has appeared in developer logs Apple is gearing up to show off its latest mobile operating system at WWDC next month. Rumors of iOS ditching Google Maps for an Apple-developed replacement have been around for some time. Now screenshots of impressive 3D map renderings have surfaced.

A new silver interface surrounds the maps app, with the location button in the lower left corner next to a 3D mode toggle. Apple's in-house mapping group is also said to be working on an improved version of traffic, and possibly even native turn-by-turn navigation for iOS 6. The upcoming sixth generation hardware is widely expected to have a larger screen, which would only improve the new maps experience.

One of my biggest gripes with Siri has been fixed thanks to a new jailbreak tweak called PersistentAssistant. The new jailbreak tool allows Siri to keep listening after you ask her a question. This eliminates the need to keep tapping the button every time you want to use Siri, allowing you to have a continuous conversation with the voice assistant.

This is the perfect tweak for impatient people who are always turning Siri on and off before she has time to do her job. It's also great for those drunk nights when you're trying to show her off to your friends because it makes her much easier to use. You can tap Siri a second time or let her automatically shutdown if you only have one question.

9to5Mac has posted several photos of Apple's next-generation iPhone. The photos show the iPhone's new metal back plates, the rumored smaller dock connector and that the earphone jack has been moved to the bottom corner of the device. 9to5Mac also notes that the "speaker grills have been redesigned, and there is a new opening between the camera lens and the LED flash."

"We’re not sure what this opening is, but it is possible that Apple is moving the second microphone (Apple started shipping two microphones with the iPhone 4) to the back for improved audio capture during video recording."

For those iOS users who have been enjoying the 5.1.1 jailbreak in a tethered state, you can now convert your jailbreak to untethered without restoring your device. This means no more booting connected to a computer with redsn0w.

iOS 5.1.1 tethered jailbreakers with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation, and original iPad can take advantage of the Rocky Racoon package on Cydia. For those with A5 devices including the iPad 2, iPad 3 and iPhone 4S, you can now jailbreak untethered with Absinthe 2.0.

Windows users can enjoy the same quick untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1 devices as those with Apple computers. Absinthe 2.0 is here thanks to the efforts of Chronic Dev Team. Once jailbroken, your iOS device is free to install software from third-party developers distributed outside of the App Store.

The latest jailbreak solution works with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation, original iPad, older iPad 2 models and iPad 3 running iOS 5.1.1. Support for newer iPad 2 models (iPad2,4) is in the works.