Forget iOS 8.3, Apple Watch Jailbreak Coming After K33N’s iOS 9 Jailbreak?

Apple Watch Jailbreak Coming After iOS 9 Utility? Forget About iOS 8.3 Jailbreak! - Recently, ensuing Apple’s WWDC last week and the release of iOS 9.0 beta 1, a new team dubbed K33N announced that they may have a major role to play in jailbreaking moving forward - specifically beyond the suspected forthcoming Pangu jailbreak for iOS 8.3 and iOS 8.4 for the inevitable iOS 9 update. However, what’s even more tantalizing is the prospect of an Apple Watch jailbreak. Currently, beyond developers being locked into creating apps strictly via WatchKit, apps don’t run natively on the Apple Watch - instead, apps run in the background on the iPhone the Watch is paired with and are mirrored to the device. With WatchOS 2 (the next major update for the Apple Watch that was announced alongside iOS 9 and WWDC), which is launching this fall, Apple is opening up native app development for the Watch. Having said that, there will still be limitations even for native apps: e.g. access to manipulating the core user interface isn’t permitted, as Apple wants to control the Apple Watch experience for all apps to maintain the same exquisite design standards the company is renowned for. As you can imagine, that doesn’t bode well for those seeking to customize their devices - enter, jailbreaking! For more on the future of jailbreak past iOS 8.3 and the latest news in Apple Watch jailbreaking, continue reading past the break.

Jailbreak for Apple Watch Coming After iOS 9? Forget iOS 8.3, Jailbreak The Apple Watch!

Also, to preface, in light of the fact that developers aren’t allowed access to modifying the UI, frameworks like UIKit cannot be utilized to create a fully custom experience across apps (UIKit is a framework developers can utilize to create iOS apps - as stated on Apple’s support documents: “(UIKit.framework) provides the crucial infrastructure needed to construct and manage iOS apps”). Again though, instead of being able to harness the power of UIKit, Apple Watch app developers are limited to WatchKit’s stock layouts.

WatchOS 2’s Native App Restrictions

Now, with the core concept of Apple Watch apps fully grasped, let’s discuss the latest development in Apple Watch hacking. Over the weekend, developer Steve Troughton-Smith, Adam Bell and Jay Freeman (better known online as Saurik, the brilliant individual behind Cydia) posted proof of a completely interactive 3D model rendering in realtime on the Apple Watch utilizing Apple’s SceneKit framework instead of being locked into the WatchKit UI choices.

This is a huge accomplishment, as it’s an adequate demonstration that code other than what Apple allows in WatchKit is capable of running on the device, which opens up an entirely new world of possibilities for future apps that Apple would never allow in their “walled garden” App Store ecosystem. In short, this appears to be the future of jailbreaking and could very well be the spark of new life that reignites interest in jailbreaking for those who feel the community is becoming stagnant as far as what can be done on iOS once jailbroken.

Apple Watch Running Non-WatchKit Code!

As for how this demo actually functions, the Watch in the above video is undoubtedly running WatchOS 2 and, what’s more, the app was unquestionably installed strictly using developer certificates - i.e. the app is only installable by the developer and the device’s he has allowed access to via UDID registration under his developer account. Unless Apple approves the app, which they certainly won’t, this remains proof of the concept; to run code that isn’t approved, and in turn signed by Apple, one would first need root privileges on WatchOS (in other words, a jailbreak).

However, as mentioned above, the process of installing the native app isn’t the cool or intriguing portion, instead it’s the fact that the code running on the device isn’t bound by the rules and regulations of WatchKit, a feat that Saurik admits to not fully comprehending (he stated that he mostly provided “company and moral support”).

Forget iOS 8.3, Let’s Jailbreak The Apple Watch

To sum up this incredible news, it appears to be the beginning of something incredible for the jailbreak community and if anything major (like an Apple Watch Jailbreak) comes of it, as with iOS, it will certainly prompt more individuals to purchase the Apple Watch and increase the public’s already astonishing interest in the device.

First though, as we theorized prior to the Apple Watch’s release, any potential jailbreak will likely be heavily contingent upon a ‘sister’ jailbreak, so to speak, for the iPhone (and iOS). Due to the Apple Watch’s heavily co-dependent relationship with the iPhone, any unapproved code would likely originate from iOS, meaning the iPhone would almost certainly need to be jailbroken prior to any sort of Apple Watch equivalent jailbreak. There’s where we turn our attention to the future: iOS 9 and the K33N Team’s plans to jailbreak the firmware would be the first step in the inevitable massive evolution of the Apple Watch.

Jailbreak iOS 8.3 And Apple Watch Updates

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