Apple Has Hired MobileNotifier Developer Peter Hajas

The speculation began last week when iPhoneinCanada posted that it believes that mobile developer Peter Hajas has started working for Apple. A developer getting a new job at Apple would not be newsworthy in itself, but Hajas was the developer of a popular jailbreak notification add-on for iOS. iPhoneinCanada describes how earlier versions of the MobileNotifier add-on works:

Now, there's a hot tweak called MobileNotifier (beta 3 release) via Cydia that makes notifications unobtrusive and allows you to keep using existing apps. An elegant bar appears up top of your homescreen and with one tap you can choose to close or open the notification. Alerts will also appear on your lockscreen. When you double tap the Home button, you'll see a list of your recent alerts via the AlertDashboard.

And associated video:


Peter Hajas doesn't come right out and say that he's now working Apple but did post a cryptic update to his blog saying that he will be taking a break from MobileNotifier for a while due to other opportunities.

RedmondPie has since discovered a (now deleted) Tweet posted in early May by Hajas saying that he would be heading off to work in California at a "fruit" company. Meanwhile, we've also independently confirmed that Hajas is now an employee at Apple.

Apple is rumored to be improving iOS's notification system in the next version of iOS to be detailed at WWDC, and a report from mid-February had indicated that Apple was hiring an unnamed outside developer to revamp notifications, although it is unknown if that person was indeed Hajas. Regardless, Apple has certainly already worked heavily on such a system prior to this hire, but it's still interesting nonetheless.

Proof from Apple's internal employee directory app:

peter

Top Rated Comments

Cougarcat Avatar
168 months ago
If this guy was only just hired, I hope that doesn't mean notifications are a no-show in iOS 5.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sky Blue Avatar
168 months ago
It looks better than what is in iOS right now, but it still seems quite intrusive.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reach9 Avatar
168 months ago
There has been news of them gobbling up notification gurus for the past year alongside talks of notifications in iOS5. They got Palm's notification UI designer, they got this guy and there's rumors that they were involved with boxcar too. They are serious about getting notifications made over and I'm willing to bet it's for iOS5.

I agree.

I do think that Apple has already worked on a notification system (please god), and Peter Hajas will help "update" it, and nothing else.
Are you telling me Apple couldn't set up a notification system on their own and had to get this developer to do it? What about the designer from WebOS?
The deal-breaker for iOS 5 is a notification system.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alexhasfun28 Avatar
168 months ago
that's horrible! I've seen way better notifications. Like the one you can see all your notifications when awake your phone (before you unlock it) and you're able to swipe across a notification and it'll take you directly to it!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Superdrive Avatar
168 months ago
Now it takes TWO taps to dismiss the notification instead of one. Hopefully once Apple gets their hands on it, they can do an auto-dismiss after three seconds or so. This is a literal case of one step forward and two steps backward.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Žalgiris Avatar
168 months ago
So basically iOS needs Growl implemented?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iPad And Calculator App Feature 1

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
macbook pro purple february

Best Buy Introduces Record Low Prices on Apple's M3 MacBook Pro for Members

Thursday April 25, 2024 7:41 am PDT by
Best Buy is discounting a collection of M3 MacBook Pro computers today, this time focusing on the 14-inch version of the laptop. Every deal in this sale requires you to have a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership, although non-members can still get solid second-best prices on these MacBook Pro models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a...