Rumor: iOS 18 Will Finally Let You React to iMessages With Any Emoji

Friday June 7, 2024 7:21 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

iOS 18 will introduce at least two changes to the Tapback feature in the Messages app on the iPhone, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

An emoji Tapback menu on iOS 18 (concept)

Introduced with iOS 10, Tapback icons are the heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, "HA HA" symbol, exclamation marks, and question mark that can be added to messages. In a report outlining his WWDC expectations, Gurman said these icons will look more colorful on iOS 18, whereas they currently have very basic designs.

More significantly, he said the Tapback system will work with any emoji starting on iOS 18, providing users with hundreds of new options to choose from. This means the Messages app would finally support in-line emoji reactions, a feature that other messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram have offered for a long time. Currently, the Messages app only allows emoji to be added to messages as stickers.

It is unclear if the revamped Tapback system will also work with the AI-generated emoji feature previously reported to be coming with iOS 18.

Another much-requested feature coming to the Messages app with iOS 18 is the ability to schedule a message to be sent later, according to Gurman.

Apple will unveil iOS 18 and other major software updates for its platforms during its WWDC keynote, which will be live streamed via the Apple Events website, YouTube, Apple TV app, and Apple Developer app on June 10 starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. The new Messages features would extend to the iPad and Mac.

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Tag: Messages

Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...

• 108 comments

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...

• 93 comments

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

• 102 comments

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...

• 164 comments

Apple Stores Giving Away a Limited-Edition Pin For Free Today

Thursday April 24, 2025 10:15 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Starting today, April 24, Apple Stores around the world are giving away a special pin for free to customers who request one, while supplies last. Photo Credit: Filip Chudzinski The enamel pin's design is inspired by the Global Close Your Rings Day award in the Activity app, which Apple Watch users can receive by closing all three Activity rings today. The limited-edition pin is the physical...

• 86 comments

White House Hits Back at Apple's Massive EU Fine

Thursday April 24, 2025 5:57 am PDT by Hartley Charlton

Apple's $570 million fine from the EU has triggered a sharp rebuke from the White House, which called the fine a form of economic extortion, Reuters reports. The fine was announced on Wednesday by the European Commission, following a formal investigation into Apple's compliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing the market dominance of ...

• 221 comments

iPadOS 19 Rumored to Show Mac-Like Menu Bar When Connected to Magic Keyboard

Thursday April 24, 2025 12:09 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

When an iPad running iPadOS 19 is connected to a Magic Keyboard, a macOS-like menu bar will appear on the screen, according to the leaker Majin Bu. This change would further blur the lines between the iPad and the Mac. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously claimed that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS," with unspecified improvements to productivity, multitasking, and app window management,...

• 121 comments

Top Rated Comments

The Clark

12 months ago

That's cool, I've wanted this for a long time now.

Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

glsillygili

12 months ago

Killer feature

Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

phenste

12 months ago

The "Add Sticker" and then selecting any emoji gives us that ability right now yea?

in the most stilted, awkward fashion possible. stickers appear lazily slapped over the message, giving horribly uneven margins to everything in the thread. emojis can’t be found using the search function, limiting you to scrolling through the emoji and praying you don’t accidentally tap on the wrong one, otherwise you’re pretty much stuck with it. this was my attempt to show you using an iMessage thread with myself. the two emoji besides the facepalm were accidental.

this is an embarrassingly overdue update when Apple consistently touts themselves as having best-in-class messaging. other apps have made inline emoji reaction incredibly simple for years where Apple has not.