In iOS 26, Apple is introducing several new features for its Messages app, and this one in particular is likely to make interacting with message bubbles way less frustrating.

ios 26 messages select copy paste
When you tap and hold on any message bubble, a new "Select" option now appears alongside the familiar copy and reaction choices, finally solving one of Messages' most persistent frustrations.

The Select feature allows you to highlight specific portions of text within a message rather than copying the entire message. Simply tap and hold any message bubble, choose "Select" from the contextual menu, and then use the drag handles to highlight exactly the text you need. It works across all message types, including text messages and iMessages.

The new selective text feature should come in handy in a range of scenarios. For example, if someone shares a lengthy message containing multiple pieces of information – like an address, phone number, and restaurant recommendation – you can now copy just the address for pasting into the Maps app.

select text messages ios 26
It's a big improvement over the previous all-or-nothing approach where tapping "Copy" would grab the entire message content, forcing you to manually edit out unwanted portions later. Apple is expected to release the first public beta of iOS 26 imminently, with a general release coming in the fall.

Top Rated Comments

dsdevries Avatar
7 hours ago at 04:44 am
TBH, I find the text selection on iOS the most frustrating thing ever. When it was first released it seemed to work fine, but at one point it changed into something completely unusable. There are just so many issues with it.

* Sometimes it won't let you select text when you want it to
* Sometimes it already selects the whole centence, or just a single word when you only want to place the cursor
* Sometimes you want to place the cursor somewhere, but it won't let you
* Sometimes you want to place the cursor somewhere but it moves as soon as you let go
* When you want to move the cursor to the correct position after it has moved, it suddenly selects the text instead.
* The magnifying glass is always on a different spot, or doesn't show at all.

It just really suck!
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Radeon85 Avatar
6 hours ago at 05:02 am
Only took them 18 years to fix that
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdavid_rp Avatar
7 hours ago at 04:33 am
Would be so nice to bring back 3D Touch, so we could just hold for the select mode and peek to invoke the contextual menu.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arobert3434 Avatar
5 hours ago at 06:13 am
Finally there must have been one guy at Apple who actually uses an iPhone.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Porco Avatar
7 hours ago at 04:42 am
This is a very welcome improvement, have wanted it for years.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Havalo Avatar
7 hours ago at 04:24 am
If only the developers also found a way to reposition the smiley and dictation button too. Currently wasting valuable space for the sake of two buttons...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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