iPhone Owners Will Get Big iMessage Update With 12 New iOS 18 Features – And It’s Coming Sooner Than Expected

THERE’S a treasure trove of new iMessage features about to hit your iPhone, including satellite texts and custom emojis.

And Apple boss Tim Cook announced this week that they will arrive sooner than expected.

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The tech giant released iOS 18 – dubbed Apple’s “biggest update ever” – to iPhone owners who are part of Apple’s Developer Program last week.

Although the much-awaited Apple Intelligence features were missing.

It was previously thought that Apple Intelligence features would come to iPhones in 2025.

However, Cook squashed that rumor, saying, “We started with some Apple Intelligence features, not the full suite.

“There are other features, like languages ​​other than US English, that will be happening throughout the year.

“And there are other features that will happen throughout the year, and ChatGPT will be integrated by the end of the calendar year, so, yes, it is a staggered launch.”

There are 12 features coming to iMessage as part of iOS 18.

And five of them rely exclusively on Apple Intelligence.

• See The Sun’s iOS 18 release date prediction here

iMessage Boost in iOS 18

iPhone owners eligible for the iOS 18 update will be able to use seven features right away, including:

Send later – Which will allow users to schedule a message in conversations with other iMessage users.

Tapback emojis – Along with the six classic Tapback responses, users will be able to choose any emoji character when using Tapback.

After long-pressing to reply to a message, users can choose any emoji to react to a message.

iPhone owners can also select their stickers or the Memoji menu.

RCS Support – This long-requested feature is set to bring eight iMessage-style features to texting between iPhone and Android users, including:

• High resolution photos and videos
• Audio messages
• Typing indicators
• Read receipts
• Wi-Fi Messaging Between iPhones and Android Devices
• Improved group chats, including the ability for iPhone users to leave a conversation that includes Android users
• Improved encryption compared to SMS
• Share location with people in text conversations

Satellite Messaging – Once connected to iMessage via satellite, iPhone owners will be able to use key features like emoji and Tapbacks.

According to Apple, “To connect to a satellite, you need to be outdoors with a clear view of the sky and horizon.

“When you use a satellite connection, the experience is different from sending or receiving a message via a mobile connection.”

Text formatting – Which will give users the option to add bold, italic, underline or strikethrough formatting to their iMessages – like they do on WhatsApp.

Text Effects – New animated text effects that can be applied to an entire message, a single word, phrase, or even an emoji or sticker are also coming.

This can give iMessages dramatic movements that help emphasize a text.

Math notes – This feature allows your ‌iPhone‌ to solve equations for you within iMessage.

It can even be used to convert currencies, temperatures and measurements into text – so no more confusion from $ to £ or Fahrenheit to Celsius.

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Apple Intelligence

Features that require Apple Intelligence to work are expected to arrive somewhat later than the initial iOS 18 features. These include:

Smart Replies – Using Apple Intelligence, your ‌iPhone‌ can actually respond to a message for you.

By analyzing the content of a message you receive, AI can suggest Smart Reply options that users can tap for a quick response.

Writing Tools – Although not specific to the iMessage app, these tools can proofread, rewrite, and summarize text you’ve written before sending.

Notification summaries – Apple Intelligence will summarize various notifications from the iMessage app so you can quickly follow up.

Image park – This feature is designed to allow users to create images using text-based prompts.

AI can create custom images, in sketch, illustration, and animation styles, based on the people in your photo album.

You can see how this feature works in the video above.

Genmoji – This allows iPhone owners to generate custom emojis with text instructions.

All users have to do is type what they’re looking for, and iOS 18’s AI injection will do it.

For example, giving the prompt “T-Rex wearing a tutu on a surfboard” will give you exactly that emoji.