New Messages App for iOS 10 Steals the Show with a Plethora of New Features

iOS 10 was unveiled during the keynote of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference. The release, which Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, claimed is a “huge release for developers”, and possibly the biggest release ever for users, contained several exciting new features, including revamped Apple Music, Photos, News, and Maps apps, as well as some incredible updates to HomeKit and Siri.

Possibly the most exciting update, however, came with the new functionality injected into the Messages app. Several new features make the app, which is already the most frequently used app in iOS, even more convenient, versatile, and fun to use.

Adding photos, links, videos, and more into your conversations is easier than ever with iOS 10. The camera function, for example, has been greatly enhanced – tapping the camera icon takes you directly to the camera so you can see exactly what you’re focusing on, and recently taken photos sit adjacent to the camera viewfinder making them easy to browse through. “Rich links” within the text message can show artwork and extracted titles from the link, while Apple Music links can be listened to, and YouTube links can be watched directly from the conversation transcript in the Messages app.

Emojis, which have become a popular way to express emotion within text messages, are greatly enhanced in iOS 10, as well. They now appear 3X bigger in your conversations, and the app includes emoji predictions to guess which emoji you might use next. “Emojifiable” words can now be highlighted with a single click – the word “love” within your text message can be tapped to bring up a series of heart emojis, for example. Federighi introduced all of these new features with a bit of a tongue-in-cheek vibe, but there should be no question that the changes are exciting for many iOS users.

If the new enhanced emojis weren’t enough to help you convey your emotion over text message, bubble effects, “Invisible Ink”, full-screen effects, hand-written messages, and Digital Touch, are now all available within the Messages app. Bubble effects allow you to add a transitional animation to the text bubble in any message you send, including “slam”, “loud”, or “gentle” to inject a little more emotion into your message, or “Invisible Ink” allows you to send a message that must be swiped across to reveal itself – great for surprises.

Screen effects allow you to add an animated background into your message – during the Messages demo, a “Happy New Year” text included full-screen fireworks in the background of the message, with other options such as confetti also available. Users can hand write messages, or use the popular “Digital Touch” effect from the Apple Watch to draw animated responses or send their heartbeat over the iPhone.

The Messages app has also been opened up to developers with iMessage Apps. Using these apps, users can now add stickers to their conversation as well as animated effects, payments with Square Cash, and more. During the iMessage Apps demo, Federighi showcased how a group text message can turn into a food order using the “DoorDash” iMessage app, all done without leaving the message. While iMessage Apps doesn’t seem like the most exciting addition to Messages right away, the possibilities for these apps are nearly endless, and could lead to some exciting new functionality within the Messages app.

All of the new Messages features are immediately available to developers in the iOS 10 developer build, and a public beta will be available in July. The official iOS 10 release will be available this coming fall.

What are you excited most for? Bubble effects? Invisible Ink? Let us know in the comments!