Since the dawn of the iPod, first made available to the public by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL ) close to 15 years ago, in October, 2001, pre-teens and other various segments of the population have made it their business to crack and hack the devices. Pangu has reportedly released its most recent 9.0.2 iOS jailbreak, according to Value Walk .
There are many reasons why on-demand “jailbreak” apps, such as the one offered by Pangu, are available. A turnkey entry into the world of voiding your Apple warranty — what could be better?
Some who jailbreak might point to the fact that menus can be displayed in a way more suited to their tastes. Others may cite a preference for the ability to play different types of media, of the type that aren’t recognized by iOS 9. Others may jailbreak their Apple devices simply because they are able to.
Apple is notoriously limiting in what it allows users to do with its devices and software. Part of the appeal of an Apple device, for many users, appears to be the continuing relationship with Apple once the device is purchased. One would think that most who purchase Apple devices know that their device will be syncing with iTunes regularly. Jailbreaking an Apple device is completely absurd. Why not just buy a Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT ) Windows 10 or Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG , GOOGL ) Android device? They are, comparatively, much more flexible.
Jailbreaking an iOS 9 device is also absurd because of how little is gained by doing so. There is almost guaranteed to be an app or software that accomplishes whatever is attempting to being accomplished by jailbreaking an iOS 9 device.
On top of the fact that jailbreaking an iOS 9 device, or any device, barely allows users to doing anything special, it has been reported by ValueWalk , to leave systems unstable, causing spontaneous restarts and other problems. Jailbreaking Apple tablets and iPods can make them more susceptible to malware, too.
Further, users who run their iOS 9 device with an Apple computer don’t even have the option to jailbreak available to them. Users must be using a Windows computer to use the iOS 9 jailbreak app, as reported by the Inquisitr .
Once an Apple device has had a jailbreak applied, getting future updates may be difficult or impossible. Rolling back changes to previous versions becomes difficult, as well. Apple is reported to only keep updates available for limited periods. Running a jailbreak on an Apple iOS 9 device also completely voids the warranty, which is something that Apple has a good reputation for honoring and contributes to the absurdity of why someone would want to jailbreak an Apple iOS 9 device in the first place.
It would seem that any but the most cursory outlay of human capital into the Apple device jailbreaking proposition would be more efficiently put to work in any of number of different capacities. Global Citizen , for example, is looking for volunteers to complete tasks online. The NASDAQ stock market offers almost unlimited opportunity to test the usefulness of any app builder or jailbreaker. Companies like TradeStation provide tools that would appear to amount to a hacker’s dream. Direct access to equity and futures markets and the ability to program a computer to trade automatically. What is “cooler?” Writing a program to scalp S&P futures or writing a program to turn a $300 device into a doorstop?
Apple is scheduled to report its fourth quarter 2015 earnings on October 27. Analysts are expecting annual revenues of $233.2 billion, and earnings per share of $1.88. A report beating these figures or offering future upside earnings or sales guidance could cause AAPL shares to rally.
[Feature Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images]
