Here’s how iOS 18 will make iMessage better than ever

By Bryan M. Wolfe Published June 7, 2024

Close-up photo of the Messages app on an iPhone. — Joe Maring / Digital Trends

We can’t wait for Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2024) keynote on Monday, June 10. During that event, Apple will undoubtedly introduce iOS 18 for iPhones, including the iPhone 15 Pro. The rumor mill has long suggested that iOS 18 may be a giant iPhone update.

Now, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has given us a peek at what changes could be coming to iMessage in the upcoming software update.

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One of the major new features expected in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and other upcoming software updates from Apple is the introduction of new AI capabilities under the umbrella of “Apple Intelligence.” According to Gurman, a significant part of this set of features will involve providing you with summarization tools. For example, the new AI will allow you to quickly summarize articles and webpages in Safari and condense meeting notes, text messages, and emails.

Things will extend further for the native Messages app. Thanks to AI, you can reply to messages using “fully fleshed-out responses.”

In addition to AI improvements, iMessage is also receiving updates to its built-in effects feature. In iOS 18, you can trigger an effect with specific words, and there are new colorful icons for Tapbacks. You can also use emoji for Tapbacks for the first time. The most exciting update could be the ability to schedule messages to be sent later.

Yes, you heard right. We will soon be able to schedule messages to be sent sometime in the future. Thank you, AI!

You might also recall that this update brings another feature to the Messages app: rich communication services (RCS). As promised by Apple, this SMS successor will make sharing messages with Android users easier.

We’ll hear more about the new iOS 18 goodies soon enough. As a reminder, the WWDC keynote kicks off at 10 a.m. PT on Monday , June 10. You can stream the event live or through a time delay across multiple platforms, including the web, Apple TV, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter).

Former Mobile and A/V Freelancer

Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

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