Everything New in the iOS 18 Messages App https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2024/06/iOS-18-Messages-Feature-1.jpg iOS ๐ฏ 18 is bringing major changes ๐ to the Messages app, with ๐ Apple adding Tapback ๐ reaction changes new formatting, updated effects, satellite support, ๐ better texting ๐ with green bubble people, and eventually, several fun Apple Intelligence features. ๐ฏ This guide highlights everything ๐ that's new in ๐ the โiOS 18โ ๐ Messages app, and what's coming later. ๐ Send Later โiOS ๐ 18โ adds the option to schedule ๐ an ๐ฏ iMessage to ๐ be ๐ sent to someone ๐ at a later time ๐ or date. If you know someone's birthday is coming up, for ๐ example, ๐ you can schedule a happy birthday text ๐ to them ahead of the ๐ date ๐ so it's ๐ ready ๐ to go. Scheduling a ๐ message can be only be done ๐ in conversations with ๐ other iMessage ๐ users, and it is not an ๐ฏ option when texting with an Android user. It works in both individual ๐ and group chats, as long as all ๐ participants have ๐ค an Apple device and access to iMessage. To schedule ๐ a message, ๐ follow these ๐ค steps: ๐ฏ Open up a conversation in the Messages ๐ app. ๐ Tap on ๐ the "+" button on the left ๐ side of the text box. Tap on More. Choose Send ๐ฅ Later. Type in your Message. To change the send time, tap on the blue bubble that defaults ๐ฅ to Tomorrow ๐ 9:00 am. From there, ๐ฏ you will ๐ฅ have a ๐ค slider that lets you input ๐ a date and a time. ๐ With your time selected and your message typed in, ๐ tap on the blue ๐ฅ arrow to schedule it. iPhone is ๐ offline ๐ without a ๐ฅ Wi-Fi or cellular connection. ๐ค Scheduled ๐ฅ messages are displayed ๐ at the ๐ bottom of a conversation. If ๐ you want ๐ to change ๐ the time of a message or cancel it, tap ๐ on the ๐ค "Edit" button. You ๐ will have options to edit the time, delete the message, or send it ๐ฅ immediately. Tapback Reactions ๐ฏ Tapbacks are those little characters you can ๐ฏ use to respond to a message by ๐ long pressing ๐ on it, so you don't need to type out a whole ๐ฏ response to something ๐ that can be answered with a thumbs up or a heart. โiOS ๐ 18โ has two key ๐ updates for ๐ Tapbacks. Updated ๐ Design ๐ The six standard Tapback icons ๐ฏ now feature ๐ color and more ๐ detail. You can see the ๐ค new look when long pressing on a text to ๐ respond, and ๐ in the Tapbacks that you receive. When you tap on ๐ a Tapback you've ๐ฅ received on a ๐ message, you can now see who sent ๐ what, ๐ฅ which is useful if you are ๐ in a group chat ๐ and get multiple ๐ Tapback ๐ responses. ๐ Emoji Support Along with the six classic ๐ฏ Tapback responses, you can now choose any emoji character ๐ when ๐ using Tapback. After long pressing ๐ to respond to a ๐ message, swipe ๐ to ๐ the left to see common ๐ emoji responses or ๐ tap ๐ค on the generic ๐ emoji ๐ icon thought ๐ bubble ๐ to bring up the ๐ emoji picker. You can choose any emoji, but you can also select from ๐ฏ your stickers or your ๐ค Memoji. ๐ Tap on ๐ฏ the Memoji icon at the bottom ๐ฅ left to ๐ค get to Memoji, or the ๐ sticker icon to see ๐ your sticker ๐ selections. ๐ To add one as a Tapback, ๐ค just tap on your ๐ selection. Stickers can be ๐ hard to see at the small size of a Tapback, but most emoji characters and Memoji work well. RCS RCS, or Rich ๐ Communication ๐ค Services, is ๐ a new text ๐ message ๐ protocol replacing SMS and ๐ค MMS. You'll ๐ see ๐ฏ it ๐ when texting ๐ people who don't ๐ have ๐ iMessage, ๐ such as Android users. โRCSโ has ๐ nothing to do with ๐ฅ iMessage ๐ conversations, aka ๐ the conversations you ๐ have with other ๐ Apple device owners (blue bubbles), but it does improve texts with ๐ green bubble Android users. โRCSโ is ๐ a more ๐ modern ๐ technology than SMS, and it allows ๐ for more feature parity in ๐ฏ โiPhoneโ to Android text message conversations. Many of the frustrations you ๐ might have encountered when texting ๐ someone ๐ with an ๐ค Android device are resolved with โRCSโ, such as ๐ errors ๐ sending photos ๐ฅ and videos. Here's what you'll ๐ค get ๐ with โRCSโ: Support for higher resolution photos and videos. Support for larger file sizes ๐ and file ๐ฏ sharing. Audio messages. ๐ Real-time typing indicators. Read receipts. Ability to ๐ send messages ๐ over cellular ๐ or Wi-Fi (SMS ๐ is ๐ฏ cellular only). There is ๐ no cost to send an โRCSโ message over ๐ Wi-Fi. Improved group ๐ฏ chats. Again, โRCSโ only comes into play when you're ๐ texting someone who has an Android device. ๐ฏ iMessage is still the default for conversations between Apple device owners, and blue bubbles and green bubbles ๐ are not changing. have a full guide on RCS if you want to know more about what to expect. Messages via Satellite Messages via satellite is a new feature ๐ฏ that lets you send ๐ texts ๐ even when you don't have a ๐ Wi-Fi or ๐ฏ cellular connection, leveraging the satellites that ๐ Apple uses for the Emergency SOS via ๐ satellite feature. Messages ๐ฏ via ๐ satellite is available on the iPhone ๐ฏ 14 or later, and you ๐ฅ can send and receive both iMessage and SMS ๐ฅ messages, so you're not limited to texting with ๐ just ๐ โiPhoneโ users. Right now, Messages via ๐ค satellite is free, just like Emergency SOS via satellite. Apple ๐ค offers two free ๐ years ๐ฏ of ๐ satellite ๐ access with an ๐ โiPhone 14โ ๐ฅ or later, but the company has expanded free access for the โiPhone 14โ until November 2025. Apple has not provided any insight into how much ๐ it will eventually charge ๐ for ๐ satellite access. Smart Replies (Apple ๐ Intelligence - iOS 18.1) Using Apple Intelligence, your โiPhoneโ can analyze the content in a message that ๐ you've received, suggesting Smart Reply ๐ฏ options ๐ฏ that you can tap for ๐ a quick ๐ response. ๐ฏ If ๐ someone asks a question like "Do you want ๐ to go to the movies?" Messages ๐ฏ suggests responses like "Sure!" or "Sorry, busy tomorrow." ๐ Smart Replies aren't ๐ an option for every ๐ message that you receive, but Apple ๐ often has ๐ค a suggestion. Smart Replies show up ๐ at the top ๐ of the keyboard, where suggestions have been ๐ in prior versions of ๐ iOS. Smart Replies are ๐ similar to suggestions, but are ๐ more intelligent ๐ and ๐ค are ๐ often ๐ complete phrases and ๐ responses rather than word suggestions that ๐ pop ๐ฅ up as you type. To use a ๐ฏ Smart Reply, just tap it and it'll populate the ๐ฅ text box ๐ so you ๐ can send ๐ it. If you don't care for the suggestion, just ignore it, and type in your own response. You'll still see suggestions once you ๐ฏ disregard ๐ค a ๐ฏ Smart Reply. ๐ฏ Smart Replies ๐ค are an Apple ๐ฏ Intelligence Messages feature ๐ฏ in iOS 18.1, which ๐ค Apple is currently beta testing. Writing Tools (Apple Intelligence - iOS 18.1) Writing Tools ๐ aren't ๐ specific to the ๐ค Messages app, but are ๐ a systemwide ๐ฅ option anywhere you can input text. In Messages, ๐ you can write ๐ out a text and then select ๐ฅ it with a tap and drag ๐ gesture to ๐ bring up the Writing ๐ Tools interface. ๐ Here's what ๐ Writing Tools can do for a text message: ๐ฏ Proofread what you've written for spelling ๐ฏ and ๐ฏ grammar errors, including ๐ word choice and sentence structure. Rewrite with a different tone, with options that include Friendly, Professional, and Concise. Summarize what ๐ you've written. ๐ You can get a quick ๐ฏ summary, pull out key ๐ points, ๐ค create a list ๐ค of topics, or ๐ค make a table. You can tap on the various options to ๐ use the Writing Tools, and you can preview changes and decide not to use them or swap them in for ๐ what you've ๐ written. The ๐ฏ Writing Tools feature is ๐ฅ set to be available in iOS 18.1. ๐ Notification Summaries (Apple Intelligence ๐ - iOS 18.1) If you have multiple notifications from the ๐ฅ Messages ๐ app, Apple ๐ฅ Intelligence ๐ will summarize them for you so you can catch ๐ค up at a glance and see what's most important without having to read through everything. ๐ This works for both individual conversations and group ๐ฏ conversations, and you can see the ๐ summaries on the Lock ๐ Screen. You'll get notification summaries in iOS 18.1. Emoji Design Updates ๐ When you send a single emoji to someone in ๐ โiOS 18โ, the ๐ฏ emoji now appears much larger than ๐ before so ๐ฅ the detail is ๐ฅ easier to see. Emojis in ๐ค other quantities are still displayed ๐ at the same size. Apple has also updated ๐ the ๐ emoji picker. Emoji ๐ are ๐ฅ displayed ๐ larger and with ๐ฅ more space between them, ๐ฏ plus ๐ the Sticker and Memoji interfaces have been integrated into the emoji ๐ window. Tapping on the ๐ two ๐ฏ icons on the ๐ค bottom left of the emoji picker will ๐ take you to Memoji and Stickers, ๐ฏ respectively. You can create Memoji and make new stickers ๐ directly from ๐ค the ๐ฅ two sections that ๐ฏ are ๐ in the emoji ๐ picker. For stickers, select the ๐ค sticker ๐ค section and ๐ tap ๐ on ๐ฏ the blank sticker icon. For Memoji, tap ๐ค into ๐ค the ๐ Memoji section, tap the three dots, and ๐ฏ then choose ๐ New, Edit, or Duplicate. Stickers ๐ and Memoji as Emoji Stickers and ๐ Memoji have new dedicated sections in the emoji picker because you ๐ can now ๐ use a sticker or a Memoji just like ๐ค an emoji. If you add a sticker when ๐ typing a text, for ๐ค example, it ๐ฏ is added to the ๐ฅ end ๐ of your text ๐ rather ๐ฏ than sent as a separate image. You can still send ๐ค a full-size sticker as ๐ long as ๐ฅ you send it ๐ separate from text. Stickers and Memoji ๐ sent as emoji only display ๐ as ๐ค emoji ๐ on devices running โiOS 18โ, iPadOS ๐ 18, macOS Sequoia, ๐ค visionOS 2, and watchOS ๐ 11. On earlier versions of iOS, ๐ stickers are sent as separate ๐ค images as before. Text Formatting You can enhance your text messages ๐ฏ with new ๐ formatting options. After typing something, tap ๐ on the "A" icon above the keyboard. What you've typed is selected, and you can add ๐ bold, italic, underline, ๐ or strikethrough formatting. ๐ฏ To add formatting ๐ to just one word, ๐ double tap on the ๐ค word to select it and ๐ then ๐ค tap on ๐ the ๐ "A" icon. ๐ You can also ๐ use the Text ๐ Effects option from ๐ the popup menu. Formatting can be ๐ used ๐ with emoji, but the ๐ bold ๐ and italic options don't ๐ do anything. Text Effects Along with the bold, italic, ๐ underline, and strikethrough formatting, there are new animated text effects that can be applied to your entire message, a single word, ๐ค a phrase, ๐ or even ๐ an emoji or ๐ sticker. Just select the text that you want ๐ to add ๐ an ๐ effect ๐ to with a double tap and then ๐ฅ tap ๐ฅ on the ๐ "A" icon to ๐ฅ get to ๐ the text ๐ effects interface. Options include Big, Small, Shake, Nod, Explode, ๐ Ripple, Bloom, ๐ฅ and Jitter. ๐ฅ In a conversation with someone running ๐ โiOS 18โ or ๐ค one of its sister ๐ updates, the text or emoji that ๐ has an ๐ effect ๐ฅ applied to it ๐ will continually animate when viewed. These effects do not ๐ฏ work on earlier versions of Apple's ๐ฏ operating systems and simply ๐ don't show up. Math Notes The systemwide Math Notes ๐ฏ feature that lets ๐ your ๐ โiPhoneโ solve equations for ๐ you works ๐ in Messages. To see it in action, type ๐ in an equation and you'll get ๐ an ๐ immediate answer ๐ when you add in an equals sign. Math Notes ๐ also works for conversions in ๐ฏ the Messages app, including ๐ currency ๐ค conversions, temperature conversions, measurement conversions, and more. You ๐ can use it ๐ by typing ๐ฅ in your conversion, such as "20 euros to dollars" and then adding in an equals sign ๐ to get the result. Link ๐ Card Update Apple ๐ tweaked ๐ฏ the design of link cards ๐ in the Messages app, and the cards now ๐ have colorful backgrounds ๐ฅ that match the color ๐ค of the main image in the link, if ๐ available. You can see link ๐ card previews before a link is sent, and if you long press, ๐ you ๐ can ๐ฏ get customization options. Link cards can ๐ be ๐ฅ converted to a ๐ฏ simpler card style or transformed into a ๐ text ๐ link that only shows the hyperlink with no preview at all. ๐ Image Playground ๐ (Apple ๐ค Intelligence - Coming Later This Year) Image ๐ Playground is an ๐ฏ upcoming Apple Intelligence feature that is designed ๐ to let you create images ๐ฅ using text-based prompts, much like ๐ you ๐ can do with other AI ๐ image generation platforms. Apple is integrating ๐ Image ๐ Playground into the Messages ๐ค app, so ๐ you can create and send images ๐ without ๐ having to swap over to another ๐ app. ๐ Apple Intelligence can glean the gist of ๐ค your ๐ conversation from the ๐ Messages app and ๐ฅ come up ๐ with suggestions ๐ค for images ๐ that you might want to send. Image ๐ Playground can even incorporate images of your friends and ๐ฅ family, so if you're chatting with a friend, you can create a silly image ๐ that uses the friend's contact ๐ photo. ๐ Apple adds a style to ๐ each ๐ image, ๐ so there is ๐ no option to generate something that ๐ฏ could be mistaken ๐ฏ for a real photo. ๐ You can ๐ choose from Animation, Illustration, ๐ฏ and Sketch styles, and all image generation is ๐ done ๐ฏ on-device. Genmoji ๐ (Apple Intelligence ๐ฅ - Coming ๐ Later This Year) Based on Image ๐ Playground, Genmoji ๐ฏ lets ๐ฏ you ๐ฅ create custom emoji with a text prompt. Have you always wanted an emoji of a mint chocolate ๐ฅ chip ๐ ice cream cone? It can be ๐ made with Genmoji. Need a ๐ cat made ๐ from ๐ pizza, or a ๐ค flower that's not ๐ a rose ๐ or a sunflower? Genmoji ๐ค will make it possible. ๐ฏ With the ๐ฏ Genmoji interface, you ๐ can describe ๐ค a Genmoji and Apple Intelligence will ๐ฅ generate several options for you ๐ to choose from. ๐ You can ๐ even create an emoji ๐ฏ based ๐ฅ on the contact image of a friend ๐ or family ๐ member, similar to ๐ Image Playground. Genmoji behave just ๐ like emoji ๐ค and can be used in place ๐ค of emoji. Apple Intelligence Notes To use ๐ the upcoming Apple Intelligence features Apple will add to โiOS 18โ in iOS 18.1 and beyond, you need an iPhone 15 Pro, ๐ โiPhone ๐ 15โ Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 model. M-series iPads ๐ and Macs also support ๐ Apple Intelligence. Read ๐ More Additional information on new ๐ features that Apple has added in โiOS 18โ can be found in our iOS 18 roundup. Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18 Related ๐ Forums: iOS ๐ 18, ๐ iPadOS 18 This article, ๐ "Everything New ๐ in the ๐ iOS 18 ๐ Messages ๐ App" first appeared on ๐ค MacRumors.com Discuss this ๐ article ๐ in ๐ our forums https://www.macrumors.com/guide/ios-18-messages/
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