Christmas has come early for iOS 7 users looking for the latest jailbreak. Well, at least that’s what we thought. The new iOS 7 Jailbreak – which allows iPhones and iPads running Apple’s latest operating system to install apps outside the official App Store – is out from the Evasion team, but it’s having issues with Cydia, the major jailbreaking “alternative app store,” and also features a secret Chinese app store that sells pirated apps.
Updated on 12-27-2013 by Josh: After reports of pirated apps on the TaiG Chinese app store built into the Jailbreak, the install has been set to not install by default, and new Jailbroken devices will not include it. The Evad3r team, notably “Pod2g,” is investigating the usage of piracy. We’ve also received word that the Jailbreak includes a patched version of Cydia that Saurik did not approve. However, it may work with some bugs.
We do not recommend users update to an iOS 7 Jailbreak until an official version of Cydia, supported by its developer Saurik, is released.
We have decided to remotely disable the default installation of TaiG in China for further investigations on the piracy issue.
— pod2g (@pod2g) December 23, 2013
Original Story
The Evad3rs, the team behind several major iOS Jailbreaks through Evasi0n has released a major jailbreak that finally supports iOS 7. It’s been about 94 days since iOS 7 was released, which is well ahead of what many anticipated the wait would be, since the iOS 6 jailbreak took 138 days to achieve. However, this jailbreak is unlike any other.
Upon release, the Evad3rs noted it had some compatibility issues with Cydia, which is developed by long-time iOS hacker Jay Freeman, also known as Saurik. Saurik reportedly gave the Evad3rs plenty of time to build in Cydia and sent them his latest build to try to ensure support, but they have issued the jailbreak without any guaranteed support for the largest alternative app store, or even testing Cydia to see if it will work. Many users on Twitter and Reddit report that Cydia is not working as expected, leaving behind thousands of popular apps like Winterboard.
So, I got no lead time on evasi0n7, nor was I asked for an official iOS 7 Cydia; I was not given builds, nor was I asked for things to test.
— Jay Freeman (saurik) (@saurik) December 22, 2013
The story doesn’t end here, though. If iOS 7 users switch their local language to Chinese, a mystery app store will appear that the Evad3rs made no mention of when they released the Jailbreak.
The app store was supposedly included for Chinese users and was developed by a group known as TaiG in collaboration with the Evad3rs, according to their website. However, this store includes pirated software, something that Cydia does not allow.
iOS 7 jailbreak reportedly sponsored by Chinese firm; includes own App Store with pirated apps http://t.co/L1kTVYfCXy Via @a_titkov @i0n1c
— Aral Balkan (@aral) December 22, 2013
Another insider from the iOS development community, Stefan Esser, noted that the latest Jailbreak shows the Chinese “‘sponsored’ store” and has software built in to deter users from uninstalling the Chinese app store. The loading screen for the Jailbreak also reported includes the TaiG logo alongside the evasi0n logo
So this tweet is shows that you can have Cydia, but chinese “sponsored” store is always there, too: https://t.co/hFeK5vlKE1
— Stefan Esser (@i0n1c) December 22, 2013
Esser went as far as to speculate that the jailbreak itself may have been stolen and that there could be legal repercussions. The jailbreak is viewed with suspicion since it’s not open source and came so out so quickly. It took Evasion from Sept. 19, 2012 to Feb. 4 2013, or 138 days, to jailbreak iOS 6, and the process has been getting longer every year as Apple fills holes in its operating system.
But now we can see if the US is going after the evad3rs for violating intrusion software exploit restrictions.
— Stefan Esser (@i0n1c) December 22, 2013
If it’s true that the Evad3rs decided to cash out on their jailbreak, then it’s likely there were paid a whole lot of cash. Esser, among other developers, claim that they’ve received large offers – some over $1 million – by Chinese companies to create a jailbreak.
Too bad … I believe I deleted the email that promised iOS 7 JB sponsoring of up to $1,000,000 …
— Stefan Esser (@i0n1c) December 22, 2013
We’re in the process of trying to get in touch with not only Esser, but also Saurik and the Evad3rs. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.
Originally published 12/22/13
