iOS 26: Every Change to the Messages App

The Messages app has the Liquid Glass redesign that's been introduced passim iOS 26, but Apple besides added respective long-desired features that marque for a amended acquisition successful some one-to-one and radical chats, specified arsenic customized backgrounds and radical typing indicators.

Message Backgrounds

In immoderate speech successful the Messages app, you tin acceptable a customized background, a diagnostic that's disposable successful galore third-party messaging apps.


To acceptable a customized background, pat connected the sanction of the idiosyncratic oregon radical astatine the top, and take the "Backgrounds" option. There are pre-set options similar sky, water, and aurora, oregon you tin take a coagulated color.

You tin besides opt to prime a photograph from your Photo Library, oregon make an representation with Image Playground. Backgrounds are changed for each subordinate successful the conversation, but you request to person ‌iOS 26‌, iPadOS 26, oregon macOS Tahoe. Custom backgrounds tin lone beryllium acceptable for iMessage conversations astatine the existent time, and determination won't beryllium an enactment to acceptable a customized inheritance successful a chat with idiosyncratic who has an Android device.

If you don't privation to spot customized backgrounds that radical set, you tin crook disconnected the enactment successful the Messages conception of the Settings app. Just spell to Settings > Apps > Messages and toggle disconnected Conversation Backgrounds.

Regardless of the inheritance that you choose, connection bubbles volition inactive beryllium blue, and bubble colour can't beryllium changed.

Polls

For conversations wherever you're asking radical to take 1 of aggregate options, you tin present make a poll. If you pat connected the "+" fastener adjacent to the Messages text, there's a canvass option.


You tin adhd up to 12 choices successful a poll, and past nonstop it to radical successful a speech to ballot on. If you nonstop a canvass and idiosyncratic thinks an enactment is missing, they tin edit it and adhd successful different choice.

On devices that enactment Apple Intelligence, the Messages app volition suggest a canvass successful applicable conversations. If you're asking the radical whether to get pizza, burgers, oregon pasta, for example, you mightiness spot a proposition to make a poll.

Live Translation

‌iOS 26‌ supports a unrecorded construe diagnostic successful Messages connected devices with ‌Apple Intelligence‌. If you're conversing with idiosyncratic that speaks different language, you tin crook connected translate. What they benignant volition beryllium translated to your language, and what you benignant volition beryllium translated to their language. Translations are adjacent instantaneous and don't dilatory down substance conversations.


Languages that are supported see Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified), French, German, Italian, English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain).

To opt successful to automatic translate, pat connected the person's name, scroll down, and toggle connected the Automatically Translate option. You volition request to prime a connection to construe from, and download that connection battalion if you don't already person it installed (they're astir 900MB).


Messages that you nonstop volition amusement up successful some your connection and the translated connection connected your ain phone, but the idiosyncratic connected the different extremity volition lone spot the connection successful their language. Messages they respond with volition amusement their connection and the translated language.


Live Translation is an ‌Apple Intelligence‌ feature, and it works champion erstwhile some participants person ‌iOS 26‌, ‌iPadOS 26‌, oregon macOS Tahoe. You tin usage Live Translation with idiosyncratic who has an older instrumentality oregon an Android device, and it volition construe their substance connected your end, but your responses are not translated to their language.

Group Chat Improvements

When you're successful a radical chat, you'll spot typing indicators for radical who are typing a response.

Apple Cash is besides present supported successful radical chats, truthful members of the radical tin nonstop wealth to 1 different without having to divided retired into abstracted conversations.

If you're successful a radical chat and there's a idiosyncratic that you don't know, there's present an enactment to adhd that idiosyncratic to your Contacts app with a tap.

Copy/Paste

If you privation to transcript conscionable a portion of a message, specified arsenic an code oregon a bundle tracking number, there's an enactment successful ‌iOS 26‌ to bash so. Long property connected the connection that you privation to transcript and past pat connected the "Select" option.

Message Filtering

Apple separated spam messages and messages from chartless senders into 2 categories successful ‌iOS 26‌, and some tin beryllium filtered retired if you prefer.


There's a Filter conception that you tin entree by tapping the icon astatine the apical close of the Messages app interface that volition fto you spot messages with circumstantial content. Options see Unknown Senders, Transactions, Promotions, Spam, and Recently Deleted.

You tin person messages from chartless senders (aka not saved successful your Contacts) sent straight to the Unknown Senders list, and you won't get notifications. You'll spot a badge successful the filter conception of the Messages app truthful you cognize the connection is there, but you won't beryllium bothered by it.

There's an objection you tin crook connected for Time Sensitive notifications, truthful you won't miss thing similar a nutrient transportation idiosyncratic sending you a message. Messages classified arsenic spam volition beryllium sent to the spam box, and you won't spot a notification oregon a badge.

You tin besides crook connected filtering notifications for messages that are classified arsenic Personal (not from businesses), Transactions (order receipts and confirmations), and Promotions.

Natural Language Search

Messages supports earthy connection search, truthful you tin usage conversational words erstwhile looking for a substance thread oregon thing circumstantial successful a conversation.

Low Data Photo Sharing

Apple added a "Send Low Quality Photo Previews" mounting that tin beryllium enabled successful the Messages conception of the Settings app. When it's turned on, Messages volition nonstop a little prime preview of an representation if your iPhone is successful Low Data Mode. The afloat mentation of the photograph is sent astatine a aboriginal clip erstwhile you person a Wi-Fi connection.

Genmoji

In Messages, the Genmoji diagnostic has been updated to enactment mixing 2 oregon much existing emoji characters unneurotic to make a caller emoji.


In a conversation, pat connected ‌Genmoji‌ to marque a customized emoji character. Once successful the ‌Genmoji‌ interface, pat connected the grin icon with a "+" adjacent to it, and you tin prime the emoji characters that you privation to adhd from the emoji menu. You tin adhd 2 emoji, oregon adjacent much if you want.

Combined emoji tin beryllium further edited with text-based descriptions, and if idiosyncratic sends you a combo emoji, you tin agelong property connected it and take "New Emoji" to tweak it further.

CarPlay

When you're driving, you tin present respond to an incoming connection with a speedy Tapback response. Plus you tin pin conversations to the Messages app successful CarPlay truthful you tin entree your favourite contacts quickly.

EU Changes

In the European Union, there's a caller EU-only API for developers that volition let third-party messages apps to nonstop and person RCS/MMS/SMS messages by default alternatively of the built-in Messages app.

End-to-End RCS Encryption

Apple is readying to bring end-to-end encryption to ‌RCS‌ conversations betwixt ‌iPhone‌ and Android users successful a aboriginal bundle update, but the functionality is not implemented yet.

Read More

We person a implicit iOS 26 roundup that covers each of the caller features that are disposable successful the update.
This article, "iOS 26: Every Change to the Messages App" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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