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Rumor: iOS 18 Will Finally Let You React to iMessages With Any Emoji

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iOS 18 will introduce at least two changes to the Tapback feature in the Messages app on the iPhone, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

iMessage-Emoji-Tapback-Mockup.jpeg
An emoji Tapback menu on iOS 18 (concept)​

Introduced with iOS 10, Tapback icons are the heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, "HA HA" symbol, exclamation marks, and question mark that can be added to messages. In a report outlining his WWDC expectations, Gurman said these icons will look more colorful on iOS 18, whereas they currently have very basic designs.

More significantly, he said the Tapback system will work with any emoji starting on iOS 18, providing users with hundreds of new options to choose from. This means the Messages app would finally support in-line emoji reactions, a feature that other messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram have offered for a long time. Currently, the Messages app only allows emoji to be added to messages as stickers.

It is unclear if the revamped Tapback system will also work with the AI-generated emoji feature previously reported to be coming with iOS 18.

Another much-requested feature coming to the Messages app with iOS 18 is the ability to schedule a message to be sent later, according to Gurman.

Apple will unveil iOS 18 and other major software updates for its platforms during its WWDC keynote, which will be live streamed via the Apple Events website, YouTube, Apple TV app, and Apple Developer app on June 10 starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. The new Messages features would extend to the iPad and Mac.

Article Link: Rumor: iOS 18 Will Finally Let You React to iMessages With Any Emoji
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/06/07/ios-18-emoji-tapback-rumor/
Last edited:
Awesome news. The current tapbacks are great, but these are obviously way better!
Power to the emoji!

It might also just be me being used to the way replies are handled in WhatsApp, but a similar interface for replies would be cool - but current one is fine.
 
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Welcome change for sure and long overdue.

But what needs immediate fixing is the quote-reply system - it's the worst of all the messaging apps. While I get they wanted provide context for the whole string / conversation, it's near impossible to quote-reply to a particular message in that thread, and for the reply to be tagged to that message and not the original message.

It's especially bad when you want to respond to a message sent a while ago .. you have to scroll up a ton to even find the message to respond to it, unlike WhatsApp or Signal, where tapping on the quote jumps you back to wherever it is in the timeline.
 
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This was a given with them adding RCS. Can‘t really have RCS Group Chats with more reaction options than iMessage ones (although RCS UP does not include reactions, so they probably scratch that from their RCS implementation).

I also wonder whether they increase the iMessage group chat size to 100 (from 32), considering RCS Groups have 100 slots as part of UP.
 
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iksretep said:
The "Add Sticker" and then selecting any emoji gives us that ability right now yea?
Click to expand...
in the most stilted, awkward fashion possible. stickers appear lazily slapped over the message, giving horribly uneven margins to everything in the thread. emojis can’t be found using the search function, limiting you to scrolling through the emoji and praying you don’t accidentally tap on the wrong one, otherwise you’re pretty much stuck with it. this was my attempt to show you using an iMessage thread with myself. the two emoji besides the facepalm were accidental.

IMG_3073.jpeg


this is an embarrassingly overdue update when Apple consistently touts themselves as having best-in-class messaging. other apps have made inline emoji reaction incredibly simple for years where Apple has not.
 
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I get
phenste said:
in the most stilted, awkward fashion possible. stickers appear lazily slapped over the message, giving horribly uneven margins to everything in the thread. emojis can’t be found using the search function, limiting you to scrolling through the emoji and praying you don’t accidentally tap on the wrong one, otherwise you’re pretty much stuck with it. this was my attempt to show you using an iMessage thread with myself. the two emoji besides the facepalm were accidental.

View attachment 2385967

this is an embarrassingly overdue update when Apple consistently touts themselves as having best-in-class messaging. other apps have made inline emoji reaction incredibly simple for years where Apple has not.
Click to expand...
I get what you're saying, it was/is not as pretty ... but I do enjoy larger emojis vs the reactions that appear with the tapback feature.
 
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Apple's (current) tapback were innovative, back when it was launched. Couldn't do it on most other messaging platforms. But now it seems so outdated, and I've wanted them to bring that change. It opens so many new ways to exchange.
 
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I just realized that we couldn’t use all the emojis. Lol. I think 99% of mine are thumbups.
 
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I have no idea how I’ve managed to live without this feature. In fact i never even knew this was a feature i didn’t have. Incredible. I can’t wait not to use this feature as soon as possible.
 
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