iOS 7 Jailbreak: Is it Worth Losing for iOS 8?

Apple announced and unveiled iOS 8 earlier this week as a big upgrade from iOS 7. It keeps the same overall look and feel of iOS 7, but comes with a number of big improvements, both in usability and features.

One thing that we see every year with new iOS releases is that Apple usually introduces features that have previously been jailbreak tweaks, and iOS 8 is no exception. We’re seeing improved notifications, third-party keyboard support, quick reply to text messages, and a lot more. All of these are jailbreak tweaks that you can get on iOS 7.

Because of this, the big question is whether or not you should lose your iOS 7 jailbreak and update to iOS 8 to take advantage of all the new features and improved performance. Of course, it might be a bit too early to make a decision on that, but luckily, you’ll have all summer to think it over. In the mean time, here are some things to keep in mind when you’re debating this question.

iOS 8 Now Includes Third-Party Features Natively

There are many features that haven’t been included in past versions of iOS, and many users opt for jailbreaking in order to get these features, as well as download different apps that come with specific usability features as well. However, iOS 8 will come with a handful of these features by default, making jailbreaking less critical.

iOS 8 comes with interactive notifications, which allow users to manage notifications and respond to them right from the Notification Center. So if you get a text message you can tap on it to reply to it right there without having to open up the Messages app. These work a lot like Android’s notifications, and that’s certainly not a bad thing. These interactive notifications also work on the lock screen, and the Facebook integration even allows you to “Like” or comment on a Facebook post directed at you.

Apple also announced a new keyboard feature called QuickType, which is essentially predictive typing that’s very similar to what we’ve seen on Android with the Google Keyboard and SwiftKey. It learns your typing habits over time and provides you with suggested words as you’re typing.

In the Messages app, you can now finally remove certain contacts from group conversations and also give a custom name to group chats as well. Furthermore, you can enable Do Not Disturb for just certain conversations, so that you’ll still receive text messages from a friend, but you can quickly mute any incoming notifications from your mom.

Also in Messages, you can share your location with whomever you’re chatting with, as well as record a quick audio or video message and send it to them immediately. We’ve seen these features in other apps as well, including Snapchat and WhatsApp, but they’re now integrated into iOS, which is really cool and  it removes the need for many of these third-party apps, although these apps will most likely attempt to stay ahead of the curve.

iOS 7 Jailbreak Will Always Have Unique Features and Tweaks

While iOS 8 does come with more features that make jailbreaking slightly less exciting, the iOS 7 jailbreak will always have unique features and tweaks available to jailbreakers, so even if there are these new features in iOS 8, developers will make these features better for jailbreakers.

Plus, there are many jailbreak tweaks and apps that will simply never come to iOS due to Apple’s strict requirements and closed ecosystem. Activator comes to mind, and so does Springtomize 3. These kinds of apps are some of the most popular amongst the jailbreak community, and it’s why jailbreaking will always be the preferable option to those who use these kinds of apps and tweaks.

It Depends What iOS 7 Cydia Tweaks You Use

In all honesty, deciding whether or not you should lose your iOS 7 jailbreak and update to iOS 8 all depends on the iOS 7 Cydia tweaks that you use.

For example, if you only use a few jailbreak tweaks, go through them and think about just how much they’re benefiting your iOS experience. They’re nice to have, of course, but you could probably live without them for a couple of months until an iOS 8 jailbreak releases.

However, if you use a lot of jailbreak tweaks — and we’re talking too-many-to-count a lot — then you’re probably best sticking with your iOS 7 jailbreak for now, as you’re most likely one of those users who takes advantage of crucial apps like Activator and Springtomize.

In any case, iOS 8 will be released to the public at some point in the fall, with multiple beta versions releasing sporadically over the summer. Even if you’re not a developer, you can try out the iOS 8 beta yourself right now, but be warned that you’ll come across a lot of bugs and errors, so we recommend installing it on an iOS device that you’re not using for everyday use.