How to Master the New Messages App in IOS 10

The biggest change in iOS 10 is the Messages app, which is suddenly a lot more playful with animations, stickers, and more. Here’s how to get the most out of it.

Adding Effects to Message Bubbles and Screens

You can now add effects to messages in the form of animated message bubbles and fully animated screens. To go to the effects screen, write your message, then press and hold (or press hard on a 6s or newer phone) the up arrow next to your message. You will see a list of animations that you can add to your bubbles:

• Slam : Pops a message bubble onto the screen.
• Loud : Increases the message.
• Gentle : Reduces the size of the message.
• Invisible ink : Requires the person on the receiving end to swipe the bubble to open the message.

You can also tap the Display tab at the top of the screen to view a full-screen animation. Swipe left to switch between full screen balloons, confetti, lasers, fireworks, and a shooting star. You can’t send bubble effects and full-screen effects at the same time, however, so choose the ridiculously animated messages wisely.

If you send one of these to someone without iOS 10, be it another iPhone user or someone on Android, they’ll just get an awkward description of the effect, like “(sent using invisible ink)”.

How to write a message by hand

If you miss the days of handwritten messages, iOS 10 lets you send your own, although it’s a feature that’s pretty hidden and easy to miss:

1. Open messages.
2. Put your phone in landscape mode.
3. Click the wavy button in the lower right corner.
4. Write your message with your finger and tap the send button. You will also find some kind of stock message if you want to send it for some reason.

When someone with iOS 10 receives your message, they will see that it is animated, as if you were writing it in front of them. If they are not on iOS 10, it will be sent as an image.

Send a Digital Touch message, sketch or drawing over photos

In addition to handwritten messages, iOS 10 adds a new section called Digital Touch. Here’s how to get to Digital Touch:

1. Click the arrow button on the left side of the text box in Messages.
2. Tap the heart icon.
3. If you want a little more screen space, click the up arrow in the lower right corner to expand it to full screen mode.

Once you’re here, there are a few things you can do, including drawing a small sketch right in the black box. Like the handwriting variant, it will animate on the recipient’s side as if you were drawing it live.

You can also send Digital Touch messages using gestures on the same black canvas. They will be sent immediately after you make the gesture and do not require pressing the submit button, so be careful:

• Tap : Tap with one finger to send a small tap animation.
• Fireball : Press and hold to send a fireball animation.
• Kiss : Tap with two fingers to send a kiss.
• Heartbeat : Tap and hold with two fingers to send a heartbeat animation.
• Broken heart : Press and hold with two fingers, then drag down the screen to send a broken heart animation.

Finally, you can also sketch over live videos and photos from the same menu. Just tap the video icon and you will be taken to the video screen. Here you can paint over the camera before or during video recording. You can also take a photo by clicking the photo button on the left and then painting over it. If you’d like, add things like kissing, heartbeats, or whatever to your photos and videos using the gestures listed above. However, be careful, if you leave the screen in idle mode for about 20 seconds after taking a photo or drawing a video, the message will be sent automatically.

All of these Digital Touch messages are sent as videos or images to non-iOS 10 users. Videos make sense, but if you just send one gesture, like a kiss, it will be sent as one image, which isn’t all that fun to look at.

Send quick replies with one touch

If you don’t feel like typing a full reply to a message, iOS 10 adds quick replies. Just press and hold the received message and a pop-up window will show options to send heart, thumbs up or down, haha, !! or? The quick reply is attached directly to the posted message, as shown in the image above.

If the recipient is not on iOS 10, they will receive an inconvenient message describing what you did, for example: “Laugh at“ Hello ”.

Click to replace words with emoji

After you’ve typed your message, you can easily find if any words can be replaced with emojis. Just write your message and then click the emoji button. The Messages app will highlight any word that you can replace with an emoticon. Tap a word and it will be replaced immediately.

Download additional apps to add your own stickers, make payments, and more.

iOS 10 adds the iMessages app store. It works the same as a regular app store, but is accessible directly from the Messages app and is intended for apps that run inside messages. Right from the start, you get a GIF search engine and a few pre-written notes. Here’s how to access more apps in the store:

1. Tap the arrow icon next to the text box in messages.
2. Tap the apps icon.
3. Tap the four-circle icon in the lower left corner.
4. Click the Store button.

You can now browse the store. These apps can include all sorts of features, although perhaps the most obvious are sticker packs, games, and image search engines.

Common apps you already have installed may have iMessages extensions. For example, Yelp has an extension that you can use to search for restaurants in Messages. On the store page, click the Manage button to view apps that include iMessages apps.

To install an app, simply search for it in the store, then click the Get or Buy button as if you were doing it in the App Store. Once you’ve got the app, you can access it by swiping your finger across the bottom of the screen in the Messages app store menu, or by tapping the four-circle icon in the bottom left corner.

Send read receipts per conversation

Want to send read receipts to one friend but not another? Don’t worry, it’s now possible in iOS 10. Just tap the “i” icon in the upper right corner of the conversation thread, scroll down and tap “Send read receipts.”

QuickType is a little smarter

Smart Text in QuickType gets a little smarter in Messages. Now he is trying to provide useful answers to questions. For example, if you ask someone for a contact’s phone number, their information appears in the QuickType section. If someone asks you where you are, you will be prompted to send a map. Right now, this supports a small group of responses, including calendar availability, location, contact information, recent addresses, and multilingual typing.

More…