Apple's iMessage to Finally Get Major Update at WWDC?

[mungo2k]

I think iMessage's ship has sailed. WhatsApp appears to be ubiquitous now, even despite the privacy concerns. There's no way I could set up any sort of group chat in any other app. Having a platform-specific chat app was always going to lose in the end. Even iTunes/Apple Music has a Windows version.

I personally avoid iMessage and FaceTime even with other Apple users, because I have found it impossible to figure out the correct settings / contacts-setup to avoid messages getting lost between SMS or iMessages, and to get the same contacts synced on each of my Apple devices, despite being signed into the same Apple ID on all of them.

 

[JBinATL]

Feature creep

 

[mansplains]

Make the icon blue and ditch the SMS green. It used to be blue on Mac heck!

In all seriousness, I think a better spam filtering system is overdue. I like that there are filters now for unknown senders versus contacts, but it's only a viewer. One of my friends got another phone number and texted me via iMessage and it asked if I wanted to report her as junk. But every time I get a spam message it's via SMS or in a group and the 'Report Junk' button is absent.

It would also be wonderful if blocking a number actually blocked it instead of hiding alerts, not only in messages but also in phone calls. Ever since enabling 'Block Unknown Callers' my spam call experience has been much better, but I'd rather not get the voicemail notification, would rather check voicemail later.

 

[jimbobb24]

iMessage is great. Still crushes the competition. It’s probably one of my favorite parts of iOS.

 

[DarkCole]

Android iMessage app.
icloud.com iMessage page.

Please Apple.

 

[KoolAid-Drink]

I really hope Apple will allow the option of muting notifications whenever somebody likes/reacts to a message in a group thread. Getting 10+ notifications, all of them "likes", is beyond annoying.

 

[alexandr]

iChat back in the day was closer to Zoom than FaceTime is today. They had big hopes for FaceTime, but a poor execution.

what's worse is the integration. if they had made it cross-platform like itunes, for instance — zoom wouldn't stand a chance imho.

 

[Eorlas]

would be nice if a quick compose function was created and allowed to be tied to any custom action the user decides on. message scheduling would also be wonderful, considering it, idk, has existed in so many other applications for over a...decade now?

oh and that jailbreaking thing people laugh about around here, allowed the best messaging app of all time to exist on iOS. it was called biteSMS and for $5 made apple's message app look like it was created by someone who just learned how to code in swift.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Introducing the iMessage Pro subscription service. Only $9.99 per month. Also available for Android for $49.99 per month.

 

[lucapple]

I really hope they don't add the ability to edit/delete messages. iMessage is the only remaining platform besides email where people can be held people accountable and communicate responsibly.

 

[BeABetterApple]

I travel the world. People who have iPhones all the way from South America to Asia use alternatives. The big issue is Apple never made it clear from the beginning that it’s not a text. All the people I ask why they don’t just use iMessages think it’s going to cost them more money. It frustrates me as an AAPL shareholder and iPhone user that Apple doesn’t tackle the message.

 

[fwmireault]

I would hope they’d also put a lot of effort into making Facetime more of a zoom competitor.

I agree but it would face the same issue as almost any Apple service (including iMessages): the walled garden ecosystem. Business wouldn’t use a FaceTime 2.0 service if it require to every user to be in the Apple ecosystem. I love FaceTime, but it is as limiting as iMessages for now and neither Apple or companies would profite of such an update.

 

[Maclander]

iMessage will never truly take off as a "social network" until it's cross platform. Half of my friends use Android phones; we all use Telegram to chat because it's available on all our devices.

Doesn’t need to be.

 

[laszlo182]

i think now it’s a great time to introduce a new social network if done right. fb is going downhill.
hopefully it’s not gonna be just stories for imessage 😅

 

[m.x]

Would love to see like an Apple Exclusive Photo Sharing with Friends feature.

No Companies, No Likes, No Ads, No Filters. Just sharing photos on a chronological photo wall.

I like seeing pictures from friends, but i hate Facebook. So I don't have Instagram or Facebook.

Isn't the Apple Photo Album Sharing feature exactly what you're looking for? I know it has likes and comments, but you don't have to use that... I use that feature with my family and my friends and it's exactly what I need - nothing more, nothing less.

 

[jon9091]

I’m hoping for a vinyl record emoji. Seriously…there’s a VHS tape in there, and a CD….even a minidisk.

 

[SigEp265]

Please let me delete all the drunk messages I sent at 2am in college. LOL

 

[Drew2dx]

I don't know anyone that uses iMessage for anything else than 2FA, so hopefully they bring some cross platform functionality.

 

[Squillace]

iMessage is great. Still crushes the competition. It’s probably one of my favorite parts of iOS.

No it doesn't.

I'm an absolute Apple fanboy with multiple Apple devices, but no, iMessage doesn't crush anything. It might have that appealing minimal Apple UI and look, it might work reliably, but it doesn't do anything better (apart from maybe privacy) than WhatsApp or Signal.

And please, US people, stop believing that iMessage is the world leader in messaging. It's not. In Europe it's irrelevant.
I would be more than happy to turn it into my main messaging app, but more than half of my family, friends and colleagues own Android devices, so we all communicate through WhatsApp. Even with the ones with iPhones.

And please, stop with that "social network" non-sense. Nobody needs "social" features in an app who's number one function is send and receive messages. These apps should limit themselves to send and receive content in a 1-on-1 or grouped way. Period. That's what I want iMessage or WhatsApp for. Not for "social networking".

 

[wigby]

Good luck with that (again).

View attachment 1786406

The main (and probably only) reason Ping failed is because Facebook agreed and then pulled support at the last minute. https://www.theverge.com/2012/10/1/3439168/ping-apple-music-social-network-closed

A social network comprised of Apple devices/users would work fine. Just not sure how valuable that would be to users.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I really wish they would update iMessage on Mac to make it as featured as iMessage on iOS

What is missing? I haven't noticed as I don't use it on the Mac all the time.

 

[Scipster]

Apple has also patented a number of as-yet unreleased iMessage features, such as the ability to edit sent messages.

Just curious, how does a company patent the ability to edit messages? This can already be done in a variety of applications, including the MacRumors forum. If it's the flow of the UI, tap to edit is also fairly commonplace, especially with text input on mobile. What am I missing?

 

[JCCL]

iMessage is great. Still crushes the competition. It’s probably one of my favorite parts of iOS.

That’s quite an unique opinion. Everything is slower and chunkier compared to other like WhatsApp.

And the fact that it’s limited to iOS only makes it useless for many people. I don’t want to have to ask if the have iOS or not. I don’t care what they have, I just want to communicate

 

[srbNYC]

Anyone else as nostalgic for Adium as I am? Cross-platform chat on the Mac.

 

[dtrj787]

I just want an iOS overhaul. MAKE IT LOOK DIFFERENT. It's been 14 years.