iOS 18’s new text effects make messages a lot more fun

Apple added a whole bunch of new text effects, or animations, to the Messages app in iOS 18. Not only are these effects fun to use, but they can also be applied to individual words, as opposed to the whole thing. of the message. Apart from this, the Messages app also has additional formatting options for your texts, including bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough. Some of these options are quite basic, but the end result is a more robust system that will be able to better compete with alternatives like WhatsApp and Telegram.

All new text effects in iOS 18’s Messages app

Credit: Pranay Parab

Here’s a quick list of all the new iOS 18 text effects and their functions:

• Large: Enlarges selected words or emoji for a second before returning them to normal size.

• Small: Makes the words a little smaller.

• Shake: Gives a quick movement to the selected text.

• Nod: Moves the text up and down, mimicking a head nod.

• Explode: Explodes the text or emoji. All the letters in your words will temporarily scatter in different directions, while the emoji will grow larger and disappear for a second.

• Ripple: Jumps text up and down.

• Bloom: make letters appear on the screen one after the other.

• Jitter: gives a little jitter to the selected text.

If you are worried about losing messages, all of these effects are temporary. They appear on the screen for a second or two, then your text returns to normal. iOS 18 also offers new, more permanent formatting options, but they don’t need much introduction. They’re the same as the bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough formatting that other apps have used for years.

How to use iOS 18’s new text effects

Credit: Pranay Parab

To use these shiny new text effects, first install the iOS 18 beta on a compatible phone by following these instructions. To maintain the stability of your primary device, I suggest using a backup device if possible.

Next, open the Messages app. Type something in the text box and press the button A button in the upper right corner of the keyboard. This will bring up your text formatting options. Now, select the words you want to add effects to and choose the effect you want. For formatting options, press the B, I, uOr S buttons at the top. The eight text effects are listed below, so to use one, simply select it here.

Remember that you can add multiple text effects in a single message. You can choose one effect per word, apply different effects to different emoji, and make all your words dance, if you want. You can also apply text formatting to emoji, which means you can underline your emoji or use strikethrough, for example. If you apply bold formatting, the underlined and strikethrough lines become thicker.