So, iOS 8 is out, and many are looking to jailbreak iOS 8 and iOS 8.0.2 already on their iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. Below, we look at the current state of play in an attempt to assess when one might come about.
With iOS 7, we were somewhat spoilt, with Evad3rs covering the earlier builds before Chinese team Pangu came through to jailbreak iOS 7.1 and up. But essentially, we’re back to square one, and as millions flock to download iOS 8, where do we stand?
i0n1c, the German security researcher and perpetual jailbreaker, suggested that Apple hadn’t quite patched all of the exploits found in iOS 7.1.1 with the iOS 8 betas. What this means is, while Pangu won’t work for iOS 8, the jailbreak scene has a potential building block from which to produce yet another miracle. It all boils down to whether Apple has plugged the remainder of the holes with the final release of iOS 8, though, and until those in the know have had the chance to scrutinize it, we couldn’t possibly say either way.
The take-home here, folks, is that until the major forces in the jailbreak world have had a chance to assess the public release and henceforth offer their takes on the changes, we don’t really know the ifs, the hows or the whens of an iOS 8 untethered jailbreak.
Neither Evad3rs nor Pangu has been particularly vocal at this point, but given that the former includes several trusted, long-standing members of the community including Pod2g and MuscleNerd, here’s to hoping that we’ll have more information very soon.
It is important to note that if you update to iOS 8 today, you will lose your jailbreak that you have on iOS 7.x, and once signing window is closed for iOS 7.1.2, downgrading wont be possible. MuscleNerd also confirmed this a while ago:
So if you like your jailbreak, DO NOT update to iOS 8 yet as there is no jailbreak available for it.
With all the controversies that have afflicted jailbreakers in recent months — the latest of which was revealed only two days ago — it’s likely that many will have been scared off, but even though there’ll always be an element of risk in opening up what is essentially root access, there are also plenty of benefits to be reaped via Cydia.