Apple is adding several new features to the iPhone Messages app in iOS 18, and there are some updates that are going to change the way you use the Messages app. Here are the top five changes to look forward to in iOS 18, which is launching in September.
Send Later
With Send Later, you can schedule an iMessage to be sent to someone at a later time and date. Someone have a birthday coming up? Schedule a text while you're thinking of it, and you won't forget to send birthday wishes on the big day.
You can schedule messages up to 14 days in advance, but this is a feature that only works when you text message other people with Apple devices, so you can't use it to send messages to your Android-using friends.
RCS
Speaking of those Android users, green bubble chats are getting a lot better in iOS 18. If you've run into a situation where you haven't been able to send a photo or video to someone with an Android device, or those pesky green bubble people are ruining your group chats, Apple's fixing it in iOS 18.
RCS stands for Rich Communication Services, and it's a new messaging protocol that replaces SMS. It's not going to come into play when you're using iMessage to text other iPhone users (so if the bubble is blue, it's not RCS), but if you're texting an Android user, that's when you'll see RCS.
For the first time, when you text your green bubble friends, you'll be able to see real-time typing indicators, use emoji reactions, send audio messages, and turn on read receipts. Here are all the features you can expect:
- Support for higher resolution photos and videos.
- Support for larger file sizes and file sharing.
- Audio messages.
- Cross-platform emoji reactions.
- Real-time typing indicators.
- Read receipts.
- Ability to send messages over cellular or Wi-Fi (SMS is cellular only). There is no cost to send an RCS message over Wi-Fi.
- Improved group chats.
Satellite Messages
If you're somewhere that doesn't have cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity, you can still send and receive text messages using a satellite in iOS 18. Apple is using the infrastructure that it set up for Emergency SOS via satellite for this feature, but you don't need to be in an emergency situation to use it.
Messages via satellite is available when you don't have a signal, so the texting doesn't need to stop if you're in a rural area. There's no charge for this service right now, but you do need an iPhone 14 or later to use it.
Tapbacks
In iOS 18, when you use the Tapback feature to respond to a message, you're no longer limited to a small selection of icons like thumbs up, thumbs down, and a heart. Instead, you can choose any emoji, Memoji, or sticker. It seriously opens up the choices you have for quick-tap responses.
Fun Text Effects
There are new formatting and text effect options that you can add to your messages in iOS 18. You can select any word or phrase that you've typed and add bold, italic, underline, or strikethrough formatting.
You can also send it with an animated effect that makes it stand out. Options include Big, Small, Shake, Nod, Explode, Ripple, Bloom, and Jitter.
You can even use the animated effects on emoji, and the animations continually replay.
Launch Date
These new Messages features will be available in the fall when iOS 18 launches, and we're expecting it to come out in September. If you want to know more about what's coming in iOS 18, we have an in-depth roundup.
