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17 iOS 11 features you can get on your iPhone right now if you jailbreak

Published Jun 13th, 2017 6:32PM EDT
iOS 11 Features Jailbreak and Android
Image: Apple

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Apple released iOS 11 into the wild more than a week ago, and you can try the first beta on compatible iPhones and iPads right now. The update brings over a variety of features, including new tricks that will make the iPad look more like a computer than ever before. But some of these iOS 11 features were already available on jailbroken iOS devices or on Android long before Apple unveiled them.

Every time a new mobile operating system launches, the inevitable comparisons with existing apps and rival platforms start to appear. That’s right, everybody in this business is inspired by competing products, among other things, so everybody copies everybody.

With that in mind, don’t be surprised to see some things on iOS 11 that will seem familiar. They were already available in jailbreak apps — the kind of apps that Apple doesn’t allow in the App Store — or on Android. So it’s likely that Apple saw them and came up with its own solutions. A more stable iOS 11 beta version should arrive next month, which should be released to the public looking to test it out, not just developers.

YouTube channel EverythingApplePro looked at 20 features that Apple swiped from jailbreaks or Android. In iOS 11, you can customize the Control Center, browse files with the help of a brand new app, record all the screen action, move multiple apps at a time, take screenshots and edit them immediately after that, read QR codes, assign different gestures to AirPods, and translate languages. These are some of the features inspired by jailbroken apps or Android. Check out the video below to see the original apps and their iOS 11 correspondents.

As it is now, iOS 11 beta 1 is rather buggy, but there is a way to experience some of these jailbreak-inspired iOS 11 features on your iPhone right now. You just have to jailbreak the handset and install these unofficial iOS apps. We would advise caution when jailbreaking and installing apps from unverified sources.

The video proves that Apple should encourage developers to create challenging apps that will never be allowed in the App Store, and support jailbreaks, at least in some unofficially capacity. As for an iOS 11 jailbreak, don’t get too excited just yet. It’s unlikely we’ll see one until the first final iOS 11 version rolls out.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.