Every New Messages Feature Coming to iOS 18

---

During Apple’s WWDC 2024 keynote, the company finally revealed more about what will happen in iOS 18. Messages is one of the apps that seems to be receiving the most updates, with many new features on the way which aim to make iMessage more fun and useful. . The new features in the Messages app will ship with a public update in fall 2024, but public beta users will be able to try them as early as July 2024. Here’s a quick summary of everything new you can expect see it in Messages later this year.

Tapback

In iOS 18, Tapbacks, the feature that allows you to react to an iMessage with a question mark or a “ha ha”, for example, is the subject of a nice overhaul. In iOS 18, you will be able to reply to messages using any emoji, something that has been popularized by WhatsApp and Instagram. Tapback icons are also getting an overhaul and will be more colorful.

Schedule messages

In iOS, you’ll finally be able to schedule messages to send later, something that’s missing in other popular messaging apps, like WhatsApp. With this feature, you can write a message and schedule it to be sent later in the day, or the next day, for example.

Text formatting

iMessage adopts old-fashioned text formatting. With iOS 18, you can bold, underline, and italicize text in Messages.

New text effects

You’ll also be able to add effects to just part of a message’s text, rather than the entire message. This includes effects such as jitter, shake, bounce, etc.

Satellite message

Apple is building on the SOS emergency call feature that lets you make emergency calls using satellite access and also bringing it to Messages. You will be able to send iMessages, emojis, Tapbacks using satellites. This will also work for SMS.

RCS on iPhone really happens

We knew RCS was coming to iPhone this year, but we didn’t know when exactly. We still don’t know all the details, but we know for sure that it comes with iOS 18.