The Life, Death, and Legacy of iPhone Jailbreaking (vice.com)

From a Motherboard article: Jailbreaking is the art of hacking into Apple's ultra-secure iOS operating system and unlocking it -- and thus allowing users to customize the phone, and write or install any software unimpeded by Apple's restrictions. At the time I met with Todesco (a person who offered jailbreaking service), in December 2016, there was no known jailbreak (for the iPhone 7) -- no public knowledge of this hack -- for the latest iOS version that was installed on my iPhone (iOS 10.2). The world's first jailbreaking step-by-step procedure, discovered in 2007, was posted online for all to see. Subsequent jailbreaks were used by millions of people. At one point, there was even a website -- called jailbreakme.com -- that was free for all to use and jailbroke your phone simply by visiting it. [...] Ten years after the iPhone hit the sleek tables of Apple Stores worldwide, and the first-ever jailbreak, that Wild West is gone. There's now a professionalized, multi-million dollar industry of iPhone security research. It's a world where jailbreaking itself -- at least jailbreaking as we've come to know it -- might be over.

Comments

jailbreaking... might be over.

[fustakrakich]

:-) Always do love a challenge. But if all this 'new' security benefits the user as much as the company, it's all good

Re: jailbreaking... might be over.

[bn-7bc]

Well DRM was, an in some cases stil is yhe only way tio cet the content owners to agree to online distribution. I can see the frustration of having things locked to a device or aplication (And yes iTunes is not exectly the best application ever made by Apple). Last I checked you coukd get at lest DRM free music forn Itunes so things are moving in the right direction. As for moivies ant tv shows, I can't comment as I've never used Itunes for that.

Re: jailbreaking... might be over.

[TheFakeTimCook]

Well, then it's not all good right? I mean, the DRM and other stuff is there to benefit mainly the company.

Or do you think iTunes is good for the user? Really?

What do iTunes have to do with iOS?

Advanced mode

[ArchieBunker]

I wish iOS had an advanced mode you could enable. Take down the "walls" and let me run ssh to customize things to my liking.

Re:Advanced mode

[ArchieBunker]

I had Android devices for years but they always seemed slow and laggy compared to iPhones. Right now I have a 5C which was released in 2013 and still gets updates for the latest iOS. I had one Android phone and it only received ONE update for the OS.

I'm not a fan of iTunes or Apple's method of managing mp3 files. When I ask about getting files on the phone without iTunes people tell me ridiculous things like upload to iCloud or stream the files through another service. I have the phone sitting on my desk with a USB cable and you're telling me streaming is the only solution? Say I'm at work and want to add some files. Even with iTunes installed it will want to sync the phone to what this computer has and wipe out whatever is currently on the phone. Dumb dumb dumb.

Re:Advanced mode

[bn-7bc]

That would be a great idea, with a code you got from apple, to avoid accidental unlocking. But I'm not certain the demand is big enugh for apple to consider implementing it, Shal wa start a peition?

Re:Advanced mode

[bn-7bc]

Not necererely, you might want to sideload a legitemat app, that you for some reason dont'tn want on the publick app store, btw how hard is it to set up an internal app store for your organisation and still enable people to get apps from the normal one?

Re:Advanced mode

[unixisc]

I have a whole bunch of music videos that I downloaded from YouTube. Most of which are not available in iTunes. So I want to download those videos. I can, but guess what! I can only watch them under Photos, not Music. Which sucks, b'cos I want to put those in Music under a playlist, so that when I'm driving, I don't need to do anything but listen, while paying attention to the road.

Why do I use Apple for this? Reason - my car has an iPod player in the console/dashboard navigation system, so it can play an iToy, but for anything else, it has to be by Bluetooth, and there, I can't switch things around while driving. I have a Lumia as well w/ all the songs, but Groove doesn't play music videos like Apple Music does, and Movies doesn't allow playlists. Once upon a time, Microsoft had Windows Media Player on PCs, but they never took it to Windows Phone - at least not 8.x or 10. And an Android device - my car has trouble reading that even through the Bluetooth.

Re:Property

[Njorthbiatr]

At that point, it's no longer capitalism.

Re:Property

[Jeremi]

Well, of course. Using that narrow definition of "purpose", the purpose of every commercial product is to generate income for the company that is manufacturing and selling that product; any desirable functionality of the product is only a means toward that end.

That's a true observation, but also an obvious and unremarkable one, except to anyone who was under the impression that corporations were a type of public-service-oriented nonprofit.

What's relevant is whether or not the product serves the customer's needs well, or not.

Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

Apple has no restrictions on source code. Just download the development kit and compile your own apps from source. Always been that way. Apple is only a walled garden to people who cannot program for themselves.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

You're basically saying, "that's not a wall, it's a high fence."

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Anonymous Coward]

He also left out the part where the dev kit costs $100/year and that you need at least a $1500 Mac to run it on. So, sure, "anyone" can do that, at long as they're OK with paying out the nose for the "privilege".

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't need to pay the $99/year anymore actually. They made it free a couple of years ago if you aren't going to be selling anything through the app store. You still need access to a mac to compile it and load it onto your iphone though.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Anonymous Coward]

You left out the part where you need electricity to power everything, a place to house the stuff. Oh, and sustenance and oxygen to breath.

BTW, for personal use the dev account is free to use and deploy to iOS devices. I know it's hard to keep up with 2 year old news but please do try.

Re: Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Anonymous Coward]

Great! How do I develop some software and make it available to the public at large people without Apple's permission? How do I sell it without Apple taking their cut off the top? Without using Apple's store?

Or is it a walled garden after all, where Apple determines what is acceptable for people to do with their own hardware?

Re: Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a walled garden that includes a dirt box where you can grow something. If Apple says it's OK, you can then proceed to grow it in the rest of the garden, but it's still just as much a part of the garden and Apple can revoke that permission at any time it sees fit.

Jailbreaking/rooting phones is pretty much the only way to actually ensure you control the hardware you paid for, especially when you're forced to run whatever software the company wants (for example, mandatory upgrades). Apple owns that phone in every way that matters. You just get to pay for the device and its upkeep and eventual replacement, yet the device obeys its manufacturer above you, so it's a win-win for Apple.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Anubis IV]

He also left out the part where the dev kit costs $100/year

Probably because you don't need it. The dev tools are free to download and use. You only need a developer account if you want to sell your app in the App Store.

and that you need at least a $1500 Mac to run it on.

A $500 Mac mini bought brand new would suffice, or, even better, buy a used Mac for cheaper.

Hell, I was given an early MacBook Air a few years back. It'd resale used for maybe $100 at this point, but it'd be more than enough if all you wanted to do was compile the occasional app. Given that you already paid $700+ for the phone, paying an extra $100 for a machine that can compile code for it isn't exactly a big ask.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Bert64]

You need to own an expensive apple phone in order to bypass their walled garden too...

Re: Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Bert64]

You make it available in source code form, and other people can take that source, compile it themselves and install it on their own devices. All this does is limit your audience to those who are willing and capable of doing that.

Re: Don't make counter-factual statements.

[TheFakeTimCook]

You make it available in source code form, and other people can take that source, compile it themselves and install it on their own devices. All this does is limit your audience to those who are willing and capable of doing that.

Or you can simply use Cydia Impactor to load .ipa files, even from a Windos machine, and then tell iOS to "Trust this Publisher".

There truly isn't a "walled garden" anymore. Not for several years.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

No, I am saying Apple's walled garden is about six inches high. The only bitch one could have is that they do not supply the source code for the OS and Applications they write. Darwin itself is open source though.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

No, I am just a dumb slashdot poster. I am not part of any elite.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

If they have started charging for the devout, that is new to me. And it runs on a mac mini. Why are you so bigoted?

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

You have to understand how to program and you have to be able to beg, borrow or steal a pretty cheap computer. It is a pretty low bar

Re: Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

You sell or provide the source. But isn't open source about about source being open? So what do you want exactly?

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

It has been free for decades not a couple of years ago.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

A pretty low bar for something that would basically be covered by "add another repo" if end users had actual control? "Install gentoo" is arguably a lower bar.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

It's six inches high for someone who is already an iOS dev. For the average iPhone user, it might as well be six hundred feet high. I'm sorry, but I've spent years hearing people whine endlessly at the mere possibility of having to compile something on Linux, and you are now claiming that writing and compiling your own software is only a minor barrier?

Re: Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

It does when the objection lacks any form of proportion or even sanity really.
Whoever pointed out this "expensive inconvenience " is also blowing hot air. The post you actually replied to showed its falsity. The user made a counter factual statement. You are supporting that demonstrable falsity.
It would seem that you and the other think that having to obtain the use of a computer and the development environment should be free.
You lean to program and someone should give you a computer? sorry, I am not that communist. I'm only a socialist.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

My feeling is that it is six inches for anyone who knows the language they are using and that language is available in the development kit. A person off the street? They will not understand very much. But the audience here, well, I would not expect to many non-programmers here. SO, yes, I expect the audience to be able to compile and link and rapidly find out how to do so on any new system. That is why it is a six inch barrier. If you are competent to program, there is no real issue. The documentation is all there. And the 'playground' utility is useful to do all sorts of things.

There are lots of things I could bag Apple for but this walled garden thing is just shise and I get a bit sick of it. If you can use a computer rather than use applications there is no barrier. But, yes, it would be hard or impossible for people off the street.

I'm sorry, but I've spent years hearing people whine endlessly at the mere possibility of having to compile something on Linux, and you are now claiming that writing and compiling your own software is only a minor barrier

Actually, for a programmer, the recommended audience here, it should be no barrier at all. So that is why I said what I said. It is what it is.

My view might not be agreeable to many but it would be difficult for me to call someone who could not compile, link, run and test their code, a competent programmer.

Sorry for the awkward structure of the last sentence

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

To install gentoo (never used it, I like BSD) you would still first have to obtain the use of an appropriate computer.

"add another repo" means what? What control is lacking? Could you explain to me how I am limited?

Re: Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Anubis IV]

You show us anywhere that you can buy even a broken macbook Air for $100. Go ahead, we'll wait

Here are 220 sold listings on eBay in the last three months alone, all of which sold for under $100.

Given that the one I have is a 2010 or 2011 model and can't even operate without being plugged in, I'd say that many of those are comparable to what I have.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

Yes, you would need a computer. A computer that is one of the following architectures: IA-32, x86-64, IA-64, PA-RISC; PowerPC 32/64, SPARC 64-bit, DEC Alpha, ARM, Motorola 68K. As opposed to an x86-64 computer that was manufactured by Apple, or one More importantly, "install gentoo" was troll advice, similar to "delete system 32," because the task was needlessly cumbersome and complex for the needs of the overwhelming majority of users.

You are bitching about compiling your own software being no big deal, and you don't even know what a repo is? Adding another repo is adding another source to download software packages from, thus allowing you to escape your distro's "walled garden." That is basically what your convoluted process entails (and what jailbreaking, a much more accessible process, did). On most operating systems with packaging systems, it's typically one or two commands, plus the command to install the specific software you want.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

The audience of slashdot is simply "technology nerds," which is a significantly different demographic than programmers, let alone Objective-C programmers. Even assuming that the /. audience was primarily programmers, a competent programmer is not necessarily a competent QA tester, or competent at design, or doing the entire process themselves. Now, granted, a lot of apps are little more than glorified websites in their scope, but if you want anything past significantly past that, you do need a much more diverse skill set.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Anonymous Coward]

He also left out the part where the dev kit costs $100/year

Probably because you don't need it. The dev tools are free to download and use. You only need a developer account if you want to sell your app in the App Store.

Is that true? I've never used iStuff, but at least it used to be the case that you needed to register as a developer in order to install programs that you have compiled on your own iPhone. That if you were not a registered developer, the only way to install software on your device was by using the app store.

If that is no longer the case, it makes an enormous difference: it would then be possible to distribute free software to iPhone users without jailbreaking.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

Let us get this straight. You are now objecting to the fact that. actually, I don't know what you are objecting to. When there are still "Hakintoshes" out there and loads of Apple boxes running something other than OS X , what exactly are you bitching about.

And I am not 'bitching", I am not the one sledging a manufacturer and operating system out of what? "Join the party", "look how clever I am"...... Whatever it is vanity.

My first post said "Apple has no restrictions on source code. Just download the development kit and compile your own apps from source. Always been that way. Apple is only a walled garden to people who cannot program for themselves.". That happens to be absolutely correct. If you cannot compile link and debug then do not call yourself a competent programmer because you are not one as you do not have the abilities required to do the job. If you want to argue otherwise, well you have been trying to, but you have not given a case, have you? You just went "Blart!", and denigrated programmers.

This conversation is done. If you can come up with something rational gimme a ping. But you won't because you are wrong. A competent programmer should be able to compile and test their work. If they cannot they are not competent. End Of Signal.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

Now, granted, a lot of apps are little more than glorified websites in their scope, but if you want anything past significantly past that, you do need a much more diverse skill set.

Well that is a bit mealy mouthed, but thank you for the retraction and conceding the argument. Since you now agree with me I can consider this done.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

I didn't retract anything. I'm saying that it's a walled garden, and you're argument that it's not a walled garden because it can be circumvented by a decent portion of slashdot is utter bullshit, because slashdot doesn't represent the general public, and a decent portion of slashdot can circumvent many things (like DRM, for example) with far less difficulty.

Wikipedia defines a walled garden as "a software system where the carrier or service provider has control over applications, content, and media, and restricts convenient access to non-approved applications or content." It also lists iOS as an example of a walled garden. Compiling excludes convenient by definition.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

The factually correct statement that I made and that you are objecting to was "Apple is only a walled garden to people who cannot program for themselves". Nothing you have said makes that statement inaccurate. It wasn't about the general public or even the readers of slashdot just "those who can program for themselves". Go play with your own straw men please.

You want to play with logic you do not know how to use? Fine.
1. OS X does not have control over applications since you can compile your own or copy the (appropriate) binary from someone who has, including the Internet. Therefore the entire proposition fails.
2. OS X does not have control over all content, only DRM'd content. Therefore the entire proposition fails.
3. OS X does not have control over all media, only DRM'd media. Therefore the entire proposition fails.
4. OS X allows the user to authorise which applications may run not Apple. Therefore the entire proposition fails.

Therefore the definition that Wikipedia provides is in contradiction with the Wikipedia example. The article needs work

There is no way for you to win this argument because "Apple is only a walled garden to people who cannot program for themselves" has a truth value of one.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

Yeah, I can't win the argument unless I insist on the definition of walled garden being the one that the entire world does. I'm not saying that you aren't right about the exception, but you called it a fucking "six inches high" wall, when even for a programmer, it's a pain in the ass, meaning it's a walled garden. Therefore, no strawman, just your idiocy in insisting that the world use your ridiculous definition. Consoles are the epitome of a walled garden, and running homebrew apps is less work on most of the ones capable of software updates.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Anubis IV]

Is that true? I've never used iStuff, but at least it used to be the case that you needed to register as a developer in order to install programs that you have compiled on your own iPhone.

Yup, it's true. You're correct that it used to require a paid account, but we haven't needed paid accounts to compile and sideload apps since Xcode 7 launched in mid-2015.

One point of clarification: you do need a developer account, just not a paid one. Getting a free developer is as simple as visiting Apple's developer site, logging in with your Apple ID, and agreeing to their developer terms. That's it. Once you do, it'll unlock access to the developer tools for your Apple ID, including the ability to sideload.

it would then be possible to distribute free software to iPhone users without jailbreaking.

Indeed, which is why you can find plenty of emulators and other apps that aren't allowed in the App Store being distributed via other channels.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

It waa NEVER the case you needed to pay for the development kit. You do need to register to obtain it.
Even so, have people not heard of the command line and utilities to edit, compile and link?
It has aways been possible to distribute free software without jailbreaking via source code.

The 'walled garden' just keeps out the wankers.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

Nope. For any competent programmer it is no barrier at all. That is my point. However if YOU want to change the definition of a programmer to remove the required skills of compiling and linking. I am not inclined to agree with your personal redefinition of 'programmer'. Which is the bigger idiot?

Re: Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

You distribute source. Lots of people do. Go look at GitHub.

Re: Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

You do realise you post is just bullshit don't you?

Do not make counterfactual statements. Many people call them lies.

Just distribute source code and be thankful apple won't let binary blobs from random strangers run.

Re: Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

So, why criticise it's best features? If you want to write something the development kit does not permit then just don't use it. OS X still has all the normal Unix features. The "no shell access" is a strange one. Either you are using an IDE or not. If have an Integrated Development Environment and you need a shell then the IDE is broken (not integrated).

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

"For any competent programmer" is a fucking barrier, you dolt. If that's six inches, how would you describe a one-click jailbreak, or a two page mod process for homebrew? A planck-length fence? Step outside of your own fucking head for a second, and stop defining things in your own, made up terms.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

Dolt? Pot calling the kettle black.

To write a program or app you need to be able to program? Why can you not get this through your head? It is inherent in the term. It is not a "made up" term. It is the reality. So, no, there is no real barrier. That is reality.
Well, I'm stepping out of my own head right now an looking at your own. Pretty unpleasant swamp you live in. Illogic, ad hominems, arguments from authority and you seem to think that trumps both definition and usage. Why don't you just claim I am 'false news'.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

But this isn't an argument about WRITING a program, it's an argument about INSTALLING a program. You keep insisting that walled garden is a term primarily relative to programmers, which is a crock of shit you just made up.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

Nop-e, never was. Go back and read. You have failed in your argument (because it is false) and now you are retreating from the argument and making it about something else. Standard tactic - which didn't work either.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

From the start, you framed your argument in your own bullshit definition of what you could call a walled garden. If you do that, the term walled garden is completely meaningless. Yes, you were consistent in your bullshit, but it was bullshit nonetheless. It's like saying "if you don't count red meat or fish, I'm a vegetarian." I don't know if there's anything that could be called a walled garden by your gaping exceptions, or ones of a relatively similar magnitude.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

It is completely meaningless to the competent. Those who have not earned their chops have some difficulty. The rest of what you have to say is garbage. You have failed to counter my original statement because it is correct. I have refused to let you straw man me

You lost an argument, no big deal, but the way you are reacting to it is pathetic.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[king neckbeard]

I never disagreed with you on your technical claims of what can be done, only disputing your ridiculous claims, just like your latest that it's completely meaningless to the competent. Competent programmers tend to prefer the path of least resistance. It's completely possible to the subset of competent familiar with Objective-C and the iOS API, but having to compile from source is a pain in the ass.

I disagreed with on your abuse of terminology, which renders the term "walled garden" completely meaningless. 99% of the general population can't do it (something you don't disagree with me on), which means it's a walled garden. If I lost the argument, then name what you consider some actual walled gardens. If some other means of adding unapproved software is less trivial, it's not a valid argument. So, you can't name any console with homebrew without negating your own argument.

Re:Don't make counter-factual statements.

[Demena]

I never disagreed with you on your technical claims of what can be done, only disputing your ridiculous claims, just like your latest that it's completely meaningless to the competent. Competent programmers tend to prefer the path of least resistance. It's completely possible to the subset of competent familiar with Objective-C and the iOS API, but having to compile from source is a pain in the ass.

A competent programmer is prepared to learn something new to achieve his ends and that usually is the path of least resistance. If you are writing something new then you are likely to learn something new. One of the joys of programming.

I disagreed with on your abuse of terminology, which renders the term "walled garden" completely meaningless. 99% of the general population can't do it (something you don't disagree with me on), which means it's a walled garden. If I lost the argument, then name what you consider some actual walled gardens. If some other means of adding unapproved software is less trivial, it's not a valid argument. So, you can't name any console with homebrew without negating your own argument.

Ninety-nine per cent of the population (your number) probably cannot program. But pretty much anyone can follow a set of instructions. "Put this file in that place, start the IDE, select the file, compile and execute....
So it takes a programmer to write the app but pretty much anyone can compile and install it.

What would I consider a "walled garden"? Well some factors would be the unavailability of root (in the ecosystem not just a particular device), the inability to run self-signed code maybe other things, forbidding multiple operating systems... It is a bit open ended.

Basically, when someone has cracked something (which may require a programmer with appropriate knowledge) the crack can and will and does spread around. The fact that people "root" phones is evidence of this. How many owners of jailbroken phones, android or iPhone or anything else could actually write the jailbreak themselves? Why is one a "walled garden" and one not? Apple does not allow unapproved binary blobs. You know I always though that the open source movement did not like binary blobs either. They are proprietary by nature (even if free) and a massive security issue.

Seems obsolete anyway

[interkin3tic]

Jailbreaking the iphone back in the day, like my 3GS, it made sense.

Why the heck did Apple decide you could only have a black background anyway? And only three text tones? No hiding iconseither. It wasn't like they sold background apps or SMS tones for a fee, they just said "no, not your phone."

It's obsolete now because... you can just get an android. And apple decided to give users some control over things like the background.

Yep...

[XSportSeeker]

Jailbreaking, both for Android and iOS, came to be and became popular because it enable several things users were asking for and either the OSs couldn't do it, didn't want you to do, or just simply weren't high enough in the list of priorities for the companies.

Time passed and a whole ton of features, functionalities and customization options that came first from the jailbreak community were adopted and sometimes appropriated by the official OSs. So it's not only because security has hardened on iOS or Android, but more because these days there are not many people needing extra features that a jailbreak would enable.

How branding went through all these years also helped to estabilish proper markets I guess... Hardware is pretty much the same these days for Android phones and iPhones, and it's plenty estabilished that people who wants to be tinkering with their phones going beyond mainstream capabilities will flock towards Android anyways, so it just doesn't make that much sense for someone who intends to mess and customize their phones to the limits would get an iPhone for it anymore.

Re:Yep...

[drinkypoo]

Jailbreaking for android is still a significant thing, but major cellphone vendors are still actually enabling it. Motorola uses the opportunity to print a warning to you about losing your warranty, which is an open violation of the Magnusson-Moss act, but at least they provide you a simple mechanism for performing the unlock.

Re:Property

[Desler]

First they get you to hand over lots of money to get hold of it,

So exactly like Samsung who sells the S8 for $725?

to download apps, get subscriptions, etc — every time Apple get 30% of the money.

So exactly like the Google Play store.

No mention of Android

[ezdiy]

Apple ... just works. It makes calls and runs popular apps. And nothing else.

Funny how history repeats itself - Android is the new IBM PCs, while early iphone was the Apple II - last apple open to tinkering, if in somewhat awkward fashion.

In short, Android displaced iPhone in the tinkerer market niche, and the decline of jailbreaking strongly correlates with android eating up Apple's market. The article, oddly, doesn't make any mention of this.

Re:No mention of Android

[Corbets]

The media doesn’t mention market share because a) its off topic and b) perhaps they actually understand apple’s market better than you. Apple isn’t going to be the only cell phone manufacturer and doesn’t want to even be the phone used by the majority; they want to be the cell phone of choice amongst people with high disposable income. That’s a small subset of buyers who generate the huge pile of cash Apple is sleeping on.

Everything else is just gravy.

There is only 1 reason to jailbreak my droid

[Snotnose]

Let me remove apps I never use. Facebook, snapchat, dropbox et all, I'm looking at you. I don't have infinite storage on my phone, and as Android now encrypts SDCC cards it's not easy to upgrade said card.

20 years ago we called this crap shovelware, and when we bought a new PC we spent a few hours looking at everything pre-installed, trying to figure out if we needed/wanted it (pre google), and deleting the ones we didn't want. Had a vendor back then been stupid enough to disallow you to remove this crap the outcry would have been amazing, and the vendor would be out of business in 6 months.

Re:Property

[keith_nt4]

You're forgetting one minor detail: post-purchase support. With the iPhone locked down to be one specific way consistently it's much, much easier to support. Less time per support call means more calls-per-hour and fewer over all calls. Support just eats into profits, doesn't make the company any money ya see. So anything Apple can do (from their point of view) to decrease number of calls is a win for them.

I can only imagine what it must be like trying to support an Android OS. All those launchers, different versions of the Settings screen, different UI mods. And that's without rooting it. Sounds like a nightmare.

Wrong choice of device

[Stormwatch]

Android can do anything that iOS does, but the same flexibility of a jailbreak can be had out of the box. So why even look at the iPhone?

Re:Wrong choice of device

[Balial]

If it were just about features, surely Amazon's fire phone would have taken over the world. But it flopped. As have so many "iPhone Killers". People seem to assume that users line up a set of check boxes and buy the one with more ticks. 10 years on, that's still not how folks buy phones.

Re:Wrong choice of device

[Stormwatch]

Yes, but after that short period - and particularly after the major revamp of Ice Cream Sandwich - Android became a fully viable and much less locked down alternative.

Re:Wrong choice of device

[Stormwatch]

Did the Fire have any actual compelling feature? That 3D-ish interface was cute, but it was just a gimmick. Amazon fucked up by trying to create their own ecosystem when people were already hooked on Google's.

Re:Wrong choice of device

[watice]

because I don't want my apps running with permissions outside of a sandbox, and certainly not with root privs. This is insanely insecure, and I used to try to actively discourage jailbreaking but if you're stupid enough to do it, you'll mess up eventually anyway.

Apple fanboi's are funny

[crimson tsunami]

Jailbreaking is the art of hacking into Apple's ultra-secure iOS operating system and unlocking it.

VS

there was even a website -- called jailbreakme.com -- that was free for all to use and jailbroke your phone simply by visiting it.

One of these must be wrong...

Re:Apple fanboi's are funny

[Stormwatch]

Two different situations at two different points in time.

Re:Property

[crimson tsunami]

Apart from the fact Samsung don't own the Google Play store.
And the even bigger fact you can install anything you want on your Android from any store you like, or even no store at all.

Re:Property

[Anonymous Coward]

I can only imagine what it must be like trying to support an Android OS. All those launchers, different versions of the Settings screen, different UI mods. And that's without rooting it. Sounds like a nightmare.

It's probably quite easy. You just tell people that you only support the software that shipped on the phone, which is pretty much standard across all of IT on any product ever. And is as it should be.

Also, anyone actually contacting the manufacturer for support on a cell phone is probably not someone that would know how to change anything anyway.

Re: Vice's reporting has really gone downhill

[Anonymous Coward]

Android: The OS of choice for law-abiding citizens.

Not with Obsolescence Enforcement Suite (CTS).

[sethstorm]

here is plenty of choice in the market still, since you have OnePlus and Google allowing you to easily unlock your phone and flash whatever rom you want

Not if you count the restrictions arbitrarily enforced by Google through their "Compatibility" Test Suite.

Re: Property

[LocalH]

All the stuff that was mentioned is preloaded on the phone.

iMessage

[rsilvergun]

it's practically a social network; and one you only get with an iPhone. Android's never managed to come up with anything like it. I think mostly because the various handset manufacturers all wanted to do it themselves. You need a single standard for that.

Functionality cycle & client/server side chang

[jago25_98]

I think there's a been a bit of a change, reducing the more obvious reasons why root & jailbreak is useful:

1) Root brought us a lot of innovation over the years (night screen, swipe keyboards, permissions... etc). It took Apple a long time to implement some of these, but they have now. When we were rooting before we never thought the likes of Apple and Google would actually help us with app permissions.

2) Root extends the life of your phone considerably. Even if you're an iphone7+ user this affects you. You probably remember selling your iPhone#, getting a good price... this probably led you to think Apple is good quality since it's held value well.... and that influenced your decision. The thing is, Jailbreak had a market price influence on that because having control allows you to continue using your phone. I think that effect is less now because:
- apps are getting more and more bloated
- more client side processing: websites are requesting more and more processing power
- hardware like fingerprint readers getting forced down our throats
- increased convergence ...Why not move to a honest subscription model and phone companies pay for recycling instead of full subsidy motivation to create e-waste.

I'm hoping that if Jailbreak and root becomes impossible, that this creates enough of a market gap for something to stand in it's place.

Re:Property

[bn-7bc]

I'm an apple user, and persomaly I have yet to get into a situasion where what i neeed it not avalable in the app store , but your milage may wary, I've nevere felt the need to jailbreak. Ok it is a bit annoing that the openvpn app only sopports tun or tap interfaces (can't remember which but one is missing) buut fiór one app jailbreaking is not wirth it imho. Other peoiple may have other needs, well there is allways Android, if as tfs sugest jeailbreaiking IOS is coming to an end. As cosumers we still have choice so I do'nt see any big problem, unless people py iphones lock into a n year contract (their choice) and discover after the fact that the device dos not forfill their needs

Re: Property

[Anonymous Coward]

Almost immediately Apple blocked certain kinds of apps that many users wanted, simply to keep users fettered: https://www.infoworld.com/article/2606424/jailbreak-apps/21-apps-apple-doesn-t-want-on-your-3-0-iphone.html

Re:Jobs hated women like...

[johanw]

Then get an Android device instead of an overpriced Apple.

Re: Property

[drinkypoo]

All those launchers, different versions of the Settings screen, different UI mods. And that's without rooting it.

It's probably quite easy. You just tell people that you only support the software that shipped on the phone,

All the stuff that was mentioned is preloaded on the phone.

Bullshit. Phones come with one launcher, you cannot install any serious UI mods without rooting, the settings screen is provided by the OS and apps can insert more stuff into it but that doesn't change its basic functionality. You are either deliberately spreading FUD, or know fuck-all about Android.

Yes cheap shot I know :)

[crimson tsunami]

With Android you can have your choice of spell checks.

Re:Property

[TheFakeTimCook]

Apart from the fact Samsung don't own the Google Play store.

And the even bigger fact you can install anything you want on your Android from any store you like, or even no store at all.

Ever since iOS 8, you can do that (sideloading) with iOS, too. Do try to keep up.

Perhaps that's the real reason that Jailbreaking of iOS devices stopped being " a thing".

Re: Property

[TheFakeTimCook]

Just don't buy Apple and Apple will go away. Apple can not survive more than 3 flopped products in a row and if you don't but their crap those Apple shares will be worth fractions of a cent end of next year.

Dude, Apple has 200 BILLION in the bank, and no long term debt.

You can fail a LOT with that kind of cash.

Re: Property

[TheFakeTimCook]

Correct, you don't really own it. You own the hardware, but you don't own the operating system.. and you never did. Read the TERMS OF SERVICE next time you install iOS.. it's in the very first paragraph.

And you think you "own" Android?!?

Re: Property

[drinkypoo]

changing the launcher on android without root is super easy dude.

moving the goalposts in a slashdot comment is super easy dude

The claim was that the launcher came with the phone.

If you have any questions, you may direct them to that brick wall over there.

You mean like any GNU/Linux phone

[DrYak]

-I wish iOS had an advanced mode you could enable.

You mean like Palm/HP webOS's developer mode ? (type in the command "webOS2009060" in universal seach. Or for shit and giggles, you can also spell out literally the Konami code "upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart", but it's a bit longer to type) (Also the default remote-shell is a bit shitty ("novacom" - some adb-like thingy) buy you can install openssh)

You mean like Jolla Sailfish OS developer mode ? (check in the "developer mode" box in the settings, it will even automatically download ssh for you).

You mean like several android tablet that allow fastboot unlocking ? (again adb shell sucks, but I hear that drop bear is installable)

You mean like the ancient OpenMoko FreeRunner (most system image come with ssh preinstalled)

You mean like most other full GNU/Linux running phone ?

Yep. Apple is the definite oddball here.