Unfortunately, not everyone can afford an iPhone 6s: even the entry-level 16 GB model can be pretty expensive to most users. The new flagship smartphones come with amazing pieces of hardware which allows it to have several capabilities, including the highly touted 3D Touch and the Live Photos feature.
However, what if I were to tell you that there are iPhone 6 hacks and software which can somehow give me a semblance of what makes the iPhone 6s unique?
Of course, you would love to jump the gun and take the chance to upgrade your iPhone 6. Before we discuss how and what, be sure to take the necessary precautions, like backing up your files prior to installing the software. Personally, I would not recommend jailbreaking (which is what you’ll have to do) software, but hey, I’m just introducing you to the tool!
Jailbreaking your iPhone 6
Pangu has recently released the public version of the untethered jailbroken iOS 9 software which can be installed on the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. It’s available for free on their website, but it’s only available via a Windows installer: a Mac version will likely come at a later date.
Before proceeding, Pangu suggests a couple of things when performing the jailbreak:
- Disable all passwords and the 2nd is to turn off the “Find my iPhone” feature to increase the success rate of the jailbreak
- If you fail, try to fully restore your iPhone’s firmware and try it again.
You will also have to completely trust the Pangu developers on this one…
Getting the 3D Touch
First on the list of these iPhone 6 hacks is the 3D Touch. In the iPhone 6s, this feature utilizes the pressure sensitive hardware installed, which allows you to maximize the device’s “Peek” and “Pop” actions.
Of course, there’s no way you can have the needed hardware installed on your iPhone 6, but the jailbreakers have found a way to replicate the force-sensitive actions. Basically, force touch allows you to access shortcuts straight from the home screen, thanks to a tweak called Forcy, which is only available on the jailbroken iOS software.
The tweak lets your iPhone 6 imitate the force touch action by either using a long press or by swiping up. If you’re worried about not being able to arrange your folders and icons after installing this, depending on the options you set, you can either swipe up or long press on the icon to initiate the wiggling action. As for the support for the apps being used, there’s another downloadable tweak called the UniversalForce, allowing you to use the improvised “force touch” features on your iPhone 6.
Being jailbroken software, you should not expect these to work seamlessly. There might be a few hiccups here and there, but regardless, installing this provides a good preview of the iPhone 6s features if you’re thinking of purchasing one.
Acquiring Live Photos
The Live Photos feature in the iPhone 6s allows you to take still photos and video-like moments before and after the photo was taken. It’s a beautiful feature and one of the new flagship smartphone’s selling points. Among the multitude of iPhone 6 hacks, there’s only one that provides Live Photos to older devices.
This is called the Flex tweak – this enables you to take and view Live Photos on your older iPhone. Unlike the force touch feature, there is no hardware required to have this installed – it’s pre-built on the iOS 9. Flex allows you to download simple powerful patches which allows you to subvert Apple’s code and makes the feature available on smartphones running iOS 9.
Once you have turned on the feature, you are well on your way to snapping Live Photos. Like the 3D Touch though, there are instances wherein in might not work seamlessly. Certain users are reporting bugs, overheating iPhones, and freezes. There’s also a catch: you obviously cannot take 12 MP high resolution photos on the iPhone 6 – hardware which is exclusive on the new iPhone 6s.
So should you actually use these iPhone 6 hacks?
Overall, take these jailbroken software with a grain of salt. Though we’re sure that their developers are working their hardest to provide the best software they can, unwanted circumstances may inevitably arise. Anyway, if you want to seamlessly enjoy the above mentioned features, your best bet is to buy yourself an iPhone 6s – after all, various networks are offering affordable payment plans.
