iOS 26: Every Change to the Messages App

[Hank001]

Poor use of the keyboard there.
Also, why are there two microphones?

 

[SactoGuy18]

I really wonder will Apple implement RCS Universal Profile 3.0 in the iOS 26 Messages app. If it does it could end much of the dominance of third-party messaging apps, especially if Google Messages from Android also supports Universal Profile 3.0.

 

[Lizzard899]

There is one thing I don't understand. If I turn on Unknown Senders , how will a delivery guys message come through ?

It will go through but your phone wont notify you or light up. There wont even be a badge on the message app, you will have to go on the app yourself and click the dots on the upper right to see the drop down menu to click on unknown senders and it will be there. I know its very dumb. I would just that feature off so you get the notification

 

[Lizzard899]

It would be nice if it were a toggle on the main message window like you have on the Mail inbox screen, but this is how you do it now.

View attachment 2528523

Yea I think theres an option under settings>appes>messages to turn off unknown senders so u can see it light up or notify u.

 

[Lizzard899]

Just fix the iMessage/iCloud messages syncing bugs during the next few betas or even the RC/final build.

I agree, its been a bug since 18.2 this could be why texts arent deleting on the server end once u manually delete them and from recently deleted.

 

[hardik7]

Message Filtering

Apple separated spam messages and messages from unknown senders into two categories in iOS 26, and both can be filtered out if you prefer.

There's a Filter section that you can access by tapping the icon at the top right of the Messages app interface that will let you see messages with specific content. Options include Unknown Senders, Transactions, Promotions, Spam, and Recently Deleted.

You can have messages from unknown senders (aka not saved in your Contacts) sent directly to the Unknown Senders list, and you won't get notifications. You'll see a badge in the filter section of the Messages app so you know the message is there, but you won't be bothered by it.

There's an exception you can turn on for Time Sensitive notifications, so you won't miss something like a food delivery person sending you a message. Messages classified as spam will be sent to the spam box, and you won't see a notification or a badge.

You can also turn on filtering notifications for messages that are classified as Personal (not from businesses), Transactions (order receipts and confirmations), and Promotions.

While the upcoming filtering features are going to be helpful, it would be beneficial if Apple included an option to mark a message as 'Not Spam.' Currently in iOS 18, Apple does not provide an explicit “Mark as Not Spam” option — messages from unknown senders that are considered spam get moved to a separate "Junk" folder automatically, and there isn’t a built-in way to mark them as “Not Spam” to correct the filter for future messages.