Main adjustments are coming to the Messages app with iOS 18, with Apple including a number of enjoyable Apple Intelligence options, new formatting, up to date results, satellite tv for pc assist, higher texting with inexperienced bubble folks, and tons extra.
This information highlights all the things that is new within the iOS 18 Messages app.
Ship Later
iOS 18 provides the choice to schedule an iMessage to be despatched to somebody at a later time or date. If you recognize somebody’s birthday is developing, for instance, you may schedule a contented birthday textual content to them forward of the date so it is able to go.
Scheduling a message may be solely be carried out in conversations with different iMessage customers, and it’s not an possibility when texting with an Android consumer. It really works in each particular person and group chats, so long as all individuals have an Apple system and entry to iMessage.
To schedule a message, observe these steps:
- Open up a dialog within the Messages app.
- Faucet on the “+” button on the left facet of the textual content field.
- Faucet on Extra.
- Select Ship Later.
- Sort in your Message.
- To alter the ship time, faucet on the blue bubble that defaults to Tomorrow 9:00 am. From there, you should have a slider that permits you to enter a date and a time.
- Together with your time chosen and your message typed in, faucet on the blue arrow to schedule it.
Messages may be scheduled as much as 14 days prematurely, so if it is August 1, for instance, you may schedule as much as August 15. Messages are despatched even when your iPhone is offline with out a Wi-Fi or mobile connection.
Scheduled messages are displayed on the backside of a dialog. If you wish to change the time of a message or cancel it, faucet on the “Edit” button. You’ll have choices to edit the time, delete the message, or ship it instantly.
Tapback Reactions
Tapbacks are these little characters you need to use to answer a message by lengthy urgent on it, so that you need not sort out an entire response to one thing that may be answered with a thumbs up or a coronary heart. iOS 18 has two key updates for Tapbacks.
Up to date Design
The six customary Tapback icons now function shade and extra element. You may see the brand new look when lengthy urgent on a textual content to reply, and within the Tapbacks that you simply obtain.
Whenever you faucet on a Tapback you have acquired on a message, now you can see who despatched what, which is beneficial if you’re in a bunch chat and get a number of Tapback responses.
Emoji Help
Together with the six basic Tapback responses, now you can select any emoji character when utilizing Tapback. After lengthy urgent to answer a message, swipe to the left to see widespread emoji responses or faucet on the generic emoji icon thought bubble to carry up the emoji picker.
You may select any emoji, however you may also choose out of your stickers or your Memoji. Faucet on the Memoji icon on the backside left to get to Memoji, or the sticker icon to see your sticker alternatives. So as to add one as a Tapback, simply faucet in your choice.
Stickers may be exhausting to see on the small dimension of a Tapback, however most emoji characters and Memoji work effectively.
RCS
RCS, or Wealthy Communication Companies, is a brand new textual content message protocol changing SMS and MMS. You will see it when texting individuals who do not have iMessage, similar to Android customers. RCS has nothing to do with iMessage conversations, aka the conversations you will have with different Apple system house owners (blue bubbles), nevertheless it does enhance texts with inexperienced bubble Android customers.
RCS is a extra fashionable expertise than SMS, and it permits for extra function parity in iPhone to Android textual content message conversations. Most of the frustrations you might need encountered when texting somebody with an Android system are resolved with RCS, similar to errors sending pictures and movies.
This is what you will get with RCS:
- Help for greater decision pictures and movies.
- Help for bigger file sizes and file sharing.
- Audio messages.
- Cross-platform emoji reactions.
- Actual-time typing indicators.
- Learn receipts.
- Capability to ship messages over mobile or Wi-Fi (SMS is mobile solely). There isn’t any value to ship an RCS message over Wi-Fi.
- Improved group chats.
Once more, RCS solely comes into play if you’re texting somebody who has an Android system. iMessage continues to be the default for conversations between Apple system house owners, and blue bubbles and inexperienced bubbles are usually not altering.
We have a full information on RCS if you wish to know extra about what to anticipate.
Messages by way of Satellite tv for pc
Messages by way of satellite tv for pc is a brand new function that permits you to ship texts even when you do not have a Wi-Fi or mobile connection, leveraging the satellites that Apple makes use of for the Emergency SOS by way of satellite tv for pc function.
Messages by way of satellite tv for pc is offered on the iPhone 14 or later, and you’ll ship and obtain each iMessage and SMS messages, so you are not restricted to texting with simply iPhone customers.
Proper now, Messages by way of satellite tv for pc is free, identical to Emergency SOS by way of satellite tv for pc. Apple presents two free years of satellite tv for pc entry with an iPhone 14 or later, however the firm has expanded free entry for the iPhone 14 till November 2025. Apple has not supplied any perception into how a lot it should finally cost for satellite tv for pc entry.
Good Replies (Apple Intelligence)
Utilizing Apple Intelligence, your iPhone can analyze the content material in a message that you have acquired, suggesting Good Reply choices which you can faucet for a fast response.
If somebody asks a query like “Do you need to go to the films?” Messages will counsel responses like “Certain!” or “Sorry, busy tomorrow.” Good Replies aren’t an possibility for each message that you simply obtain, however Apple typically has a suggestion.
Good Replies present up on the high of the keyboard, the place ideas have been in prior variations of iOS. Good Replies are just like ideas, however are extra clever and are sometimes full phrases and responses moderately than phrase ideas that pop up as you sort.
To make use of a Good Reply, simply faucet it and it will populate the textual content field so you may ship it. In the event you do not look after the suggestion, simply ignore it, and kind in your individual response. You will nonetheless see ideas when you disregard a Good Reply.
Writing Instruments aren’t particular to the Messages app, however are a systemwide possibility wherever you may enter textual content. In Messages, you may write out a textual content after which choose it with a faucet and drag gesture to carry up the Writing Instruments interface.
This is what Writing Instruments can do for a textual content message:
- Proofread what you have written for spelling and grammar errors, together with phrase alternative and sentence construction.
- Rewrite with a unique tone, with choices that embrace Pleasant, Skilled, and Concise.
- Summarize what you have written. You may get a fast abstract, pull out key factors, create an inventory of matters, or make a desk.
You may faucet on the varied choices to make use of the Writing Instruments, and you’ll preview adjustments and resolve to not use them or swap them in for what you have written.
Notification Summaries (Apple Intelligence)
You probably have a number of notifications from the Messages app, Apple Intelligence will summarize them for you so you may catch up at a look and see what’s most necessary with out having to learn by all the things.
This works for each particular person conversations and group conversations, and you’ll see the summaries on the Lock Display screen.
Emoji Design Updates
Whenever you ship a single emoji to somebody in iOS 18, the emoji now seems a lot bigger than earlier than so the element is simpler to see. Emojis in different portions are nonetheless displayed on the identical dimension.
Apple has additionally up to date the emoji picker. Emoji are displayed bigger and with more room between them, plus the Sticker and Memoji interfaces have been built-in into the emoji window.
Tapping on the 2 icons on the underside left of the emoji picker will take you to Memoji and Stickers, respectively. You may create Memoji and make new stickers immediately from the 2 sections which might be within the emoji picker. For stickers, choose the sticker part and faucet on the clean sticker icon. For Memoji, faucet into the Memoji part, faucet the three dots, after which select New, Edit, or Duplicate.
Stickers and Memoji as Emoji
Stickers and Memoji have new devoted sections within the emoji picker as a result of now you can use a sticker or a Memoji identical to an emoji. In the event you add a sticker when typing a textual content, for instance, it’s added to the tip of your textual content moderately than despatched as a separate picture.
You may nonetheless ship a full-size sticker so long as you ship it separate from textual content.
Stickers and Memoji despatched as emoji solely show as emoji on units working iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, visionOS 2, and watchOS 11. On earlier variations of iOS, stickers are despatched as separate pictures as earlier than.
Textual content Formatting
You may improve your textual content messages with new formatting choices. After typing one thing, faucet on the “A” icon above the keyboard. What you have typed is chosen, and you’ll add daring, italic, underline, or strikethrough formatting.
So as to add formatting to only one phrase, double faucet on the phrase to pick out it after which faucet on the “A” icon. You may as well use the Textual content Results possibility from the popup menu. Formatting can be utilized with emoji, however the daring and italic choices do not do something.
Textual content Results
Together with the daring, italic, underline, and strikethrough formatting, there are new animated textual content results that may be utilized to your whole message, a single phrase, a phrase, and even an emoji or sticker.
Simply choose the textual content that you simply need to add an impact to with a double faucet after which faucet on the “A” icon to get to the textual content results interface.
Choices embrace Huge, Small, Shake, Nod, Explode, Ripple, Bloom, and Jitter.
In a dialog with somebody working iOS 18 or certainly one of its sister updates, the textual content or emoji that has an impact utilized to it should frequently animate when seen. These results don’t work on earlier variations of Apple’s working methods and easily do not present up.
Math Notes
The systemwide Math Notes function that lets your iPhone remedy equations for you works in Messages. To see it in motion, sort in an equation and you will get an instantaneous reply if you add in an equals signal.
Math Notes additionally works for conversions within the Messages app, together with foreign money conversions, temperature conversions, measurement conversions, and extra. You should utilize it by typing in your conversion, similar to “20 euros to {dollars}” after which including in an equals signal to get the consequence.
Hyperlink Card Replace
Apple tweaked the design of hyperlink playing cards within the Messages app, and the playing cards now have colourful backgrounds that match the colour of the principle picture within the hyperlink, if accessible.
You may see hyperlink card previews earlier than a hyperlink is distributed, and when you lengthy press, you will get customization choices. Hyperlink playing cards may be transformed to a less complicated card fashion or reworked right into a textual content hyperlink that solely exhibits the hyperlink with no preview in any respect.
Picture Playground (Coming Later This 12 months)
Picture Playground is an upcoming Apple Intelligence function that’s designed to allow you to create pictures utilizing text-based prompts, very similar to you are able to do with different AI picture era platforms.
Apple is integrating Picture Playground into the Messages app, so you may create and ship pictures with out having to swap over to a different app. Apple Intelligence can glean the gist of your dialog from the Messages app and provide you with ideas for pictures that you simply may need to ship.
Picture Playground may even incorporate pictures of your family and friends, so when you’re chatting with a good friend, you may create a foolish picture that makes use of the good friend’s contact photograph. Apple provides a method to every picture, so there isn’t a choice to generate one thing that might be mistaken for an actual photograph.
You may select from Animation, Illustration, and Sketch kinds, and all picture era is completed on-device.
Genmoji (Coming Later This 12 months)
Based mostly on Picture Playground, Genmoji enables you to create customized emoji with a textual content immediate. Have you ever at all times wished an emoji of a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone? It may be made with Genmoji.
Want a cat constructed from pizza, or a flower that is not a rose or a sunflower? Genmoji will make it attainable. With the Genmoji interface, you may describe a Genmoji and Apple Intelligence will generate a number of choices so that you can select from.
You may even create an emoji based mostly on the contact picture of a good friend or member of the family, just like Picture Playground.
Genmoji behave identical to emoji and can be utilized rather than emoji.
Learn Extra
Further data on new options that Apple has added in iOS 18 may be present in our iOS 18 roundup.
