Due to their large size and added screen real estate, Apple included a new feature for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus known as "Reachability." Essentially, this function makes reaching the top part of the display easier by double-tapping the home key to shift the screen down closer to your thumb.
After using this feature, I couldn't help but think that Apple should've been a little more creative by adding something to the vacant space left behind after shifting the display almost halfway down the screen.
Apple may not want to expand on this feature, but the jailbreak community does, so today we'll be going over five tweaks that'll help add appeal and function to Reachability. You will need to have a jailbroken iOS 8 device for any of these tweaks to work.
Before We Get Started
If this feature is new to you, then you may have to enable it by going to Settings -> General -> Accessibility and toggling on "Reachability."
To install any of the tweaks below, just enter the Cydia application, use the search function to locate the tweak, and tap "Install." To access the tweaks' preferences, just locate them in your iPhone's Settings app.
#1: ColorReachability (Add Colors or Reduce Blur)
By default, once you activate Reachability, the space left above an app will reflect a highly blurred version of your home screen's background, which can look hideous depending on your wallpaper.
To add some color to Reachability, use ColorReachability from developer Merdok. By adjusting the color and blur in the tweak's settings, you can make that empty space any color you'd like. Also, if you reduce the blur to zero, you can have a clear image of your wallpaper.
#2: ReachApp (Better Multitasking)
An innovative take on the Reachability feature is a soon-to-be released tweak titled ReachApp from developer Elijah Frederickson. It's still in beta and currently getting bugs cleaned up, but once it's released, users will be able to view and interact with the last app they were in by activating Reachability. Also, in the settings, you can replace the last app view with the Notification Center.
If you're up for testing out the beta version, add the following source to Cydia to download the tweak:
#3: ReachWeather (Weather Forecasts)
Along with adding color to Reachability, you can also add weather information using ReachWeather from developer Shivadoc.
Once you enable the tweak and adjust its preferences, you'll be able to seamlessly view weather conditions from within in any app. This also looks great with the ColorReachability tweak highlighted above.
#4: MyReachability (Reach Even Better)
Reachability is meant to make reaching the top portion of your display easier on your large device, but some sometimes reaching the very top of the screen is where people have the most difficulty, like tapping the top left or right side of your screen.
Using the tweak MyReachability from developer Shine, you'll be able to do exactly that. With the tweak enabled, you can double-tap to reach the top corners of your display; making it much less stressful for your poor thumbs.
#5: ReachAll (Reachability for Older iPhones)
You don't need to miss out on this new feature simply because you don't have an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. To get Reachability working on older iPhones running iOS 8, install ReachAll. The tweak will enable the use of Reachability either through Touch ID or Activator.
Reachability is new, uncharted territory for jailbreak developers, so remain on the lookout for new tweaks to be released in the near future. And as always, share us your thoughts or feelings in the comment section below, or drop us a line on Facebook, Google+, or Twitter.
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