Messages (Apple)

Messages is an instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. for its macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS operating systems.

Not to be confused with iMessage, an Apple messaging service that Messages can use.
Messages
Developer(s)Apple Inc.
Initial releaseiOS: June 7, 2009 (2009-06-07)
macOS: July 25, 2012 (2012-07-25)
watchOS: April 24, 2015 (2015-04-24)
Operating systemiOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS
PredecessorText (iOS)
iChat (macOS)
LicenseFreeware
Part of a series on
macOS
Features
Versions
Applications
Utilities
Related

The mobile version of Messages on iOS used on iPhone and iPad also supports SMS and MMS due to replacing the older text messaging Text app since iPhone OS 3. Users can tell the difference between a message sent via SMS and one sent over iMessage as the bubbles will appear either green (SMS) or blue (iMessage).

The desktop Messages application replaced iChat as the native OS X instant messaging client with the release of OS X Mountain Lion in July 2012.[1] While it inherits the majority of iChat's features, Messages also brings support for iMessage, Apple's messaging service for iOS, as well as FaceTime integration.

iOS and iPadOS versions
Messages on iOS 11

Apple released Messages for the iPhone as a built-in application with iPhone OS 3.0 on June 17, 2009.[2] It replaced the Text application which had been the native messaging application since the iPhone's inception. The change in name was due to the iPhone gaining native support for the MMS protocol, in addition to the previously available SMS protocol.[3] The original iPhone did not receive support for MMS, citing hardware challenges.[3] Messages also gained support for sharing contacts using the vCard standard. Other changes included support for copy and paste, and the ability to forward or delete multiple messages at a time.[4]

Messages received minor upgrades with iOS 4. Among the new features was the ability to search within text messages, much like the search feature in Mail. It also added support for displaying a character count to notify when one had gone over the standard SMS character limit.[5] iOS 4.0 also included support for a red exclamation mark to appear on the app's icon to warn failure to send a message.[6][7] Developers were provided with a new API that allowed them to add embedded messaging functionality to their apps.[7]

iMessage support was added with iOS 5 on October 12, 2011.[8][9] The iPhone supported SMS, MMS and iMessage, while the iPad and iPod touch only supported iMessage. With iMessage, users could send text, picture messages and contacts over WiFi or 3G to other iOS 5 devices without using their carrier quota. In addition, a user could start their conversation on one device and continue on another. Messages also introduced typing indication, delivery and read receipts.[9][10] With the introduction of Notification Center, new SMS, MMS or iMessages could be seen on the lock screen or by pulling down the Notification Center.

iOS 6 helped improve syncing between multiple devices. iPod touch and iPad users could now use their iPhone phone numbers to send or receive iMessages.[11] Earlier, iPhone users could not receive iMessages sent to their phone number on iPad or iPod touch. Users could now add additional emails to receive and send messages on any device.[12] iOS 6 also added a Share button on apps like Safari and Photos, which enabled users to share links and photos using SMS/MMS or iMessage without leaving the app.[13]

Messages received a new user interface in iOS 7. Apple also allowed users to see a message post date by swiping from right to left. In iOS 8, users can send audio and video messages by holding down the record button. In group conversations, users can remove/add someone to a thread, name a thread, share their location in a thread, view all attachments, and turn on Do Not Disturb to not receive notifications from a specific thread.[14] As a part of the new continuity feature, users can now use their iPhones as a relay to send and receive SMS and MMS messages on Macs and iPads. In iOS 9, the app received a redesigned overlay when sending an audio clip, as well as seeing contact photos in list view on iPhone 6 or later. In iOS 10, the app has its own App Store allowing the user to download third-party apps that allow users to send stickers and play games within the app.[15] It also received new visual effects, for example, chat bubbles with a "loud" or "gentle" effect.[16][17]

watchOS version

Messages has been included in every version of watchOS on the Apple Watch. Apple Watches can send and receive SMS and MMS messages through a paired iPhone, while iMessages can be sent and received over Wi-Fi without a paired iPhone.[18] As the Apple Watch has no keyboard, users can respond to messages using preset replies or text transcribed by Siri. Apple Watch can also send emojis, audio recordings, and hand-drawn "scribbles".[19]

macOS version
Messages on OS X Mountain Lion

Messages was announced for OS X as a beta application on February 16, 2012 for Macs running Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion".[20] The stable release of Messages was released on July 25, 2012 with OS X Mountain Lion, replacing iChat.[21] In addition to supporting Apple's new iMessage protocol, Messages retained its support for AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and Jabber.[22]

Messages unitizes the newly added Notification Center to notify of incoming messages. The introduction of a new Share button in applications like Safari, Finder and Preview gave users the ability to share links to webpages, photos, and files.[23] Messages also supported dragging and dropping files and photos for sharing. It also supports video calling through Apple's FaceTime and the third-party IM services it supports.[24] With the release of OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2, Messages gained the ability to send and receive iMessages using an iPhone phone number.[25]

Messages received a major redesign in OS X Yosemite, following the flat design aesthetic introduced in iOS 7. As a part of the new Continuity feature, users can send and receive SMS and MMS messages through paired iPhones running iOS 8 or later.

macOS Big Sur dropped the original codebase in favor of porting the iOS version using Catalyst.[26][27] This was done to retain feature parity with iOS since before the Mac version lagged behind. Big Sur brought conversation pinning, the ability to mention individuals, message searching, and more tools to send messages such as Memoji.

Reception

Praise

As a headlining feature in iOS 5, Messages was widely reviewed and was met with fairly positive reviews.

Dante Cesa from Engadget, in his review, praised the "brilliance" in Apple's execution of Messages. He complimented the way Messages did not change the earlier SMS UI and would automatically convert an SMS/MMS to iMessage if the recipient was registered; and from iMessage to SMS/MMS if they stopped using the service.[28] Dan Moren from Macworld was also in praise of Apple execution saying that "...there's no having to explain to your less technically savvy friends how they can send you a free message instead of an SMS; it's all done automatically."[29] This feature was widely praised.[30][31][32]

AnandTech praised[30] Apple's technical achievements with Messages, particularly with iMessage. They noted that doing away with SMS's character limits (140 or 160) helped eliminate messages being sent and received split up into two or more messages. In their tests they found that Apple actually prioritized using cellular networks to send text messages as opposed to WiFi networks in spite of possibly incurring data costs. They claimed that data usage with text based iMessage was small enough to ignore especially when it is considered that cellular networks are more secure than WiFi (protected or not). With picture or video messages, Apple prioritized WiFi given the much higher data consumption as compared to text.

Criticism

Most of the criticism for Messages relates to iMessage. Before the release of iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), the inability to receive iMessages sent to iPhone phone numbers on the iPad, iPod touch, and Mac was criticized.[32][33][34] This feature was addressed in iOS 6 for iPhones, iPads and iPod touches and OS X 10.8.2 for Macs.

Messages also came under fire due to multiple cases of Apple's iCloud service going down. Messages relies on iCloud to send and receive iMessages.[35][36][37][38]

Accessibility

Using Apple's VoiceOver screen reader (on both iOS and macOS), visually impaired users can tap on a message and have it be read out to them. They can also navigate the Messages UI using Voice Over. Utilizing Siri with Messages enables one to dictate and send messages with just a few commands. Siri is also able to read out new incoming messages.[39] The default font size on iOS Messages is editable under the Accessibility tab in the Settings application.[40]

See also

References
  1. AppleInsider Staff (February 16, 2012). "Apple Unveils Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Coming this Summer". AppleInsider. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  2. Ben Parr (June 16, 2009). "iPhone OS 3.0 Released: What You Should Know". Mashable. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  3. "Apple Previews Developer Beta of iPhone OS 3.0" (Press release). Apple Inc. March 17, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  4. Peter Cohen (March 17, 2009). "Cut and paste, MMS highlight iPhone 3.0 improvements". Macworld. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  5. "Apple Previews iPhone OS 4" (Press release). Apple Inc. April 8, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  6. Jason Chen; Rosa Golijan (June 20, 2010). "The Complete Guide to Using iOS 4". Gizmodo. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  7. Rene Ritchie (June 14, 2010). "iOS 4 walkthrough". iMore. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  8. Dave Smith (October 10, 2011). "Apple iOS 5 Release: A Guide to the 200 New Features". International Business Times. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  9. "New Version of iOS Includes Notification Center, iMessage, Newsstand, Twitter Integration Among 200 New Features" (Press release). Apple Inc. June 6, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  10. Jason Parker (October 12, 2011). "Apple iOS 5 review: Modest, but definitely worthwhile". CNET. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  11. Nathan Ingraham (June 11, 2012). "iOS 6 unifies your Apple ID and phone number for improved iMessage and Facetime support". The Verge. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  12. Glenn Fleishman (November 9, 2012). "How to set up your addresses in Messages". Macworld. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  13. Lex Friedman (September 20, 2012). "Hands on with iOS 6: Social and sharing". Macworld. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  14. Rossignol, Joe (2 June 2014). "iOS 8 improves messaging on iMessage". iDownloadBlog. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  15. Painter, Lewis. "The 10 best games, apps and stickers for iMessage in iOS 10". Macworld UK. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  16. Brandom, Russell (2016-06-13). "Apple overhauls Messages with new emoji features and app drawer". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  17. "The 7 best new features of iOS 10". Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  18. "Use your Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby". Apple Support. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  19. "Check those messages on your Apple Watch too". iMore. 2019-08-17. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  20. Tim Stevens (February 16, 2012). "Messages Beta now available for Mac OS X Lion". Engadget. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  21. Chris Welch (July 24, 2012). "Apple announces OS X Mountain Lion will be released on Wednesday". The Verge. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  22. John Siracusa (July 25, 2012). "OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion: the Ars Technica review". Ars Technica. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  23. Dan Moren (July 25, 2012). "Up close with Mountain Lion: Sharing". Macworld. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  24. Alvaris Falcon (17 February 2012). "A Look Into: Messages – New IChat For Mac OS X Mountain Lion". Hongkiat. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  25. Glenn Fleishman (September 19, 2012). "Use Your iPhone's Number with Messages in OS X 10.8.2". TidBITS. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  26. "macOS Big Sur: What's new in the Messages app". Macworld. 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  27. Espósito, Filipe (2020-05-23). "Apple working to replace Messages app on Mac with a Catalyst version iOS 14 code reveals". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  28. Dante Cesa (October 12, 2011). "iOS 5 review". Engadget. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  29. Dan Moren (October 11, 2011). "iOS 5 Review: Ambitious update rings in the changes". Macworld. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  30. Vivek Gowri; Andrew Cunningham; Saumitra Bhagwat; Brian Klug (October 18, 2011). "Apple iOS 5 Review". AnandTech. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  31. Chris Hall (October 14, 2011). "Apple iOS 5 review". Pocket-lint. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  32. Jacqui Cheng (October 12, 2011). "iOS 5 reviewed: Notifications, iMessages, and iCloud, oh my!". AnandTech. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  33. Mark Crump (October 12, 2011). "iOS 5: iMessage". Gigaom. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  34. Nilay Patel (July 25, 2012). "OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion review". The Verge. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  35. T. C. Sottek (November 18, 2012). "Apple iMessage and FaceTime down for users on iOS and OS X". The Verge. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  36. Gregory Gomer (October 25, 2012). "iMessage Outage: iMessage is Down for Apple Users [Report]". BostInno. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  37. Gregory Gomer (October 30, 2012). "iMessage is Down AGAIN for Apple Users, Second Time in a Week [Report & Cute Photos]". BostInno. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  38. Gregory Gomer (November 18, 2012). "iMessage Outage: iMessage is Down AGAIN for Apple Users [Report & Cute Photos]". BostInno. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  39. "Apple - Accessibility - Vision - iPhone". Apple Inc. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  40. Austin Krause (October 8, 2012). "How to Increase the Font Size in iOS". groovyPost. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
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