Meta (aka Facebook) today announced the introduction of Messenger "shortcuts," a new Slack-style command system that allows users to speed up communication and get messages to their intended recipients.
Building on the @username tagging method to direct a message to a specific person in a chat, the new system introduces @everyone for grabbing everyone's attention in a group chat, and /silent to send a message to members of a chat without them being immediately notified about it during their off hours.
Messenger is also gaining additional shortcuts over the next few weeks that aim to be both practical and fun, such as /Pay to send and receive money within one-on-one Messenger chats (U.S only) and /gif to easily find and send GIFs. Users need only type /gif and then their chosen topic to see GIF options appear.
Lastly, Messenger on iOS is soon to support /shrug and /tableflip to more easily convey the old-school text-based emoticons ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻. Meta says these are just the first of many more shortcuts coming to Messenger later this year.
Tuesday September 22, 2026 9:19 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman reiterated that the operating system will feature a grid of app icons, widgets, and customizable clock faces.
The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial...
Tuesday September 22, 2026 8:40 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
As usual, September has been a very busy month for Apple, with the company unveiling the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo, AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4, Beats 360, and more. Nevertheless, Apple reportedly still has many more products to release later this year, including a new iPad mini, Apple TV, HomePod mini, iMac, and more.
It seems quite likely that Apple will hold an...
Wednesday September 23, 2026 1:06 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
After releasing iOS 27 last week, Apple is already testing a follow-up iOS 27.0.1 update for iPhones, according to MacRumors logs.
iOS 27.0.1 will likely be a minor update with bug fixes and/or security patches.
Shortly after Apple launches new iPhone models, some software bugs are usually discovered as the devices get into the hands of millions of customers around the world. This year, so...
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.