Col Mob

Your iPhone 5’s already a powerful pocket computer on steroids, but now it’s set to get even smarter: an iOS 6 jailbreak is on the way at last, letting you bust out of Apple’s walled garden, install your own apps and much more.

The iPhone 5 and other gizmos running iOS 6 have been securely locked to hackers so far, but iPhone security whizz pod2g has revealed that he’s figured out a way to jailbreak iOS 6 – he’s just waiting for the new iOS 6.1 update to roll out before making it public, in case Apple patches up the loophole before then.

Apple’s famously strict security stops iPhone owners from installing any apps except those it’s given the greenlight to on its own App Store. Jailbreakers hunt for bugs in Apple’s software that get round this, letting you run apps Apple doesn’t approve of, and change the layout and behaviour of your smartphone.

If you fancy a different look to your phone, more room in your dock for apps, a different notification centre or the ability to store more than 12 items in a folder on your iPhone 5, then this new jailbreak will let you do all that and more. There’s no word on a release date just yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as one arrives.

Fancy delving into the jailbreak world when iOS 6.1 releases, or are you going to keep your iPhone software pristine? Let us know what you think in the comments below.