5 Awesome iPhone 4 and 4S Hacks

5 Awesome iPhone 4 and 4S Hacks

According to comScore, the Apple iPhone controls approximately 30 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, only to be outdone by Google’s mobile OS, Android. Even so, Apple’s iOS operating system is a bit limited, at least out of the box. Additionally, Apple has stricter guidelines for what and what not to allow in their AppStore. The following 5 hacks for the iPhone 4 and 4S will allow you to do more things with your smartphone and add even more customization.

1. Install Siri on iPhone 4
The Siri personal assistant software is not natively supported on most versions of the iPhone, with the exception of the latest 4S. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that phones like the regular iPhone 4 are incapable of running the software, but rather, Apple restricts Siri to the 4S so that more customers will buy a new phone.

The YouTube user guingui212222, however, has found a simple way to port Siri directly from an iPhone 4S to an iPhone 4. So, for this hack, you will need an iPhone 4S to use as well as the iPhone 4, iPad, iPad 2 or iPod Touch that you would like to enable Siri on. By using the AssistantConnect software and by slightly modifying an Apple receipt token, Siri can be ported to other iPhones, iPads and even iPods. Check it out on YouTube.
2. Carrier Unlock for iPhone 4S
By performing a carrier unlock on the iPhone 4S, restrictions and other carrier specific rules are removed from the phone, allowing you to use it on more networks and with other carriers. For example, by unlocking an AT&T smartphone, you may be able to use it with a different carrier, such as T-Mobile.

One advantage that the 4S iPhone has compared to other iPhone models is that it is more of a travel phone, being compatible with more wireless providers worldwide. Most carrier unlock tutorials for previous generation iPhones and even the 4S revolve around a traditional unlock using programs that are similar to jailbreaking apps.
However, dedicated sim cards like the one pictured above have been becoming quite popular as of lately, and they only cost around $10.00 USD. By simply swapping out the sim card in an iPhone 4S with a 3rd party sim card, you can unlock your 4S without having to go through all of the app based software hacking.
3. Complete iPhone Cases and Shells for iPhone 4 and 4S
The iPhone is pretty black and white when it comes to color options, which is why complete iPhone replacement casings and shells are becoming quite the trend.

Want an actual pink iPhone? Our partner website SwitchingToMac has more details about custom iPhone shells.
4. Siri Translator for iPhone 4S
For multilingual iPhone users, or maybe more so, non-multilingual iPhone users, the Cydia App Lingual adds multi-language support to the Siri personal assistant on the 4S.
With a jailbroken iPhone 4S, or iPhone 4 with Siri ported (mentioned above), you can use the personal assistant software to translate your native language to other languages quickly and easily. Check out this YouTube video for a demo.
5. Video Ringtones for iPhone 4 and 4S
Custom ringtones have made quite an impact on the cell phone industry, but video ringtones offer even more customization. The YouTube user iKryptic describes a way to get full video ringtones on the iPhone using VUZIQ, a Cydia application. Jump to his tutorial video here.

Today’s post features 5 awesome iPhone hacks. However, there are simply tons of other great iPhone hacks out there also. If anyone knows of any other cool tips or tricks for the iPhone, feel free to link to them in the comments section.