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Apple’s iPhones are pretty famous for being closed off, with jailbreaking being the only way that most people can imagine for sideloading apps. However, there are other ways to sideload apps onto an iPhone, and the easiest way is through AltStore.

AltStore is, as the name implies, an alternative app store for iOS devices. Made by Riley Testut, it’s the easiest and safest way to sideload apps on your iPad or iPhone. It doesn’t rely on enterprise certificates that Apple has been cracking down on, and instead makes use of a feature Apple introduced that lets you install up to three apps for free using your Apple ID.

AltStore relies on a computer on the same network running AltServer, and you’ll need both iTunes and iCloud installed on that computer, too. AltServer is a companion app that sits and waits for AltStore connections, and apps can only be installed and refreshed via AltServer.

See https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-sideload-apps-on-iphone/

#technology #iPhone #sideloading #AltStore

Apple Wallet is usually a quick double-press away on the iPhone or Apple Watch to pull up payment cards or travel cards. In a very few places you can already add drivers licenses and IDs, but beyond that, not much else (I did note Discovery Health in South Africa does a quick add of your health insurance as a digital card too).

Wallet Creator is an app that allows you to easy scan QR codes and manually add these with some details to Apple Wallet, no matter what region you are in. It works ideally with a QR code being scanned, because although it can also scan a photo or image, this ends up as a tiny thumbnail only, as far as I can see.

Just a pity my vaccination card has no QR code, and the imported image is too small to read.

See https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-manually-add-vaccination-certificate-apple-wallet/

#technology #applewallet #digitalcard #vaccinationcard

Sounds incredible if you're used to Android, and you'd think Solitaire was a reasonably basic game, but I've been through about 5 so far and some are loaded with really irritating averts (the ones you must wait 30 seconds to pass) or else they have subscriptions per month to eliminate the ads. There are only one or two that I see had a once-off purchase option (which is what I would usually consider).

So finally I find this one... no ads, no purchases, no frills. You have some basic options and an interesting stats screen when you finish a game. I did not spot it originally on my searches through the Apple app store as searching does not have filters like 'no ads' or 'no subscriptions', so I thought it worth posting about. Glad to see it has 433 ratings with average 4.5. There is good reason why Solitaire is so long-lasting in its popularity.

See https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1290718651#?platform=iphone

#technology #ios #solitaire #gaming #noadverts

Yes another thing taken for granted on an Android phone by just long pressing on the app icon (at least with Nova Launcher) but there is an effective trick using Shortcuts on an iPhone to do the same. It may be a bit long-winded, but you only have to do it once.

Why? Well because some third party apps for services like XMPP and Mastodon have really cryptic names and icons and I really can never remember what services they are for. This solves that problem once and for all!

See https://www.cnet.com/how-to/make-your-iphone-aesthetic-in-ios-14-3-heres-how-to-customize-your-home-screen/

#technology #ios #tip #iphone #apple

Details here (in French):
https://www.macg.co/logiciels/2020/08/promo-lexcellent-lecteur-de-flux-rss-reeder-est-gratuit-sur-macos-et-ios-115915

A very cool looking and powerful Mastodon client for iOS that I've used for the past year and I really like it so far!