If you have an iPhone, then chances are you rely on the built-in Phone app to handle your inbound and outbound calls. While the app is useful, it’s also barebones by nature and could do with some improvements.
A new jailbreak tweak dubbed CallPlus by iOS developer Elias Sfeir supercharges the Phone app, giving you more features than you’re probably accustomed to out of the box.
After installation, the tweak provides you with each of these functions:
- A numeric dial pad accessible directly from the Lock screen
- Programmable speed dial for contacting your favorite contacts more quickly
- Add favorite contacts to the App Switcher and customize them with profile pictures
- Color-code incoming, outgoing, and missed phone calls in the Recents tab
- Require Touch ID authentication after pressing the phone button on the Lock screen to place a call
- Get more options when tapping on calls from the Recents tab in the Phone app
CallPlus lets you place phone calls from critical parts of your iPhone. With its App Switcher and Lock screen-based calling features, you can make phone calls to your contacts from anywhere without ever launching the Phone app.
I also find that the color-coding of recent phone calls is useful because it becomes much easier to distinguish between incoming, outgoing, and missed phone calls.
CallPlus adds a preference pane to the Settings app where you can configure the tweak:
Here, you can:
- Toggle different contact options when tapping on recent callers
- Toggle color-coding in the Phone app’s Recents tab
- Toggle authentication requirements for placing phone calls
- Require Touch ID to use the call button from the Lock screen
- Set up your speed dial contacts
- Configure your favorite App Switcher contacts and apply profile pictures to them
There are “Save” buttons at the bottom of every preference pane that should be used anytime you make changes to the preferences. This saves your settings, allowing the tweak to work how you want it to.
In my opinion, the Phone app on the iPhone has always lacked some essential features, and while CallPlus isn’t the perfect solution, it does provide a host of options that I consider useful.
If you’re interested in trying CallPlus, you can download it from Cydia’s BigBoss repository for $1.50. The tweak supports all jailbroken iPhones running iOS 10 but does not support iPod touches or iPads because it requires the Phone app.
Do you like the features that come with CallPlus? Share why or why not in the comments section below!
