iMessage for iOS 10: All the new features

There's a ton of new features in iMessage for iOS. A ton, we tell ya. There's so much new stuff, in fact, that you will most likely miss some of it if you don't intentionally check every nook and cranny of the app. Fear not, iOS 10 user, for we have you covered on this one! Here's our complete guide of all the new and updated things in iMessage for iOS 10. Enjoy!

Adding emphasis with message bubble animations and backgrounds

In iMessage for iOS 10, Apple has added a new layer of expressiveness to your chats with animated message bubbles and backgrounds. The new effects menu can be accessed by long-pressing — or 3D-touching, depending on your device — the blue send button. From then on, you can select between four different animations for getting your point across. They are:

• Invisible ink: Obfuscates your message in mist. The recipient has to tap on the bubble to reveal the message's content.
• Gentle: Message bubble is sent small but grows to normal size... gently.
• Loud: Simulates yelling with a big message that trembles and then shrinks.
• Slam: Message is slammed into the chat with a satisfying puff of dust, sending a shock wave through all visible bubbles above. Has to be our favorite.

Tapping the “Screen” tab will take you to a new menu with five options for spicing up your conversation. Their names are pretty self-explanatory — Balloons, Confetti, Lasers, Fireworks, and Shooting Star — and selecting one will add an over-the-top animated background to your message. Check them all out below:



Note: If you are using “Reduced Motion” on your device, the “Effects” sub-menu becomes completely inaccessible, and you won't be receiving any animated messages either.

Handwritten messages and disappearing Digital Touch drawings

Temporary messages via Digital Touch

iMessage for iOS 10 adds ephemeral content to the mix, in the form of Digital Touch scribbles making the jump from the Apple Watch to the iPhone. To send one, tap the arrow to the left of the message box and select the Digital Touch icon (looks like a heart with two fingers on it). You can then perform six different actions on the black canvas that will yield you different results – you can simply sketch with one finger, tap with one finger to send “taps” that look like drops of water, long-press with one finger for a “Fireball”, tap with two fingers for a “Kiss”, tap and hold with two fingers for a “Heartbeat”, and long-press and slide down with two fingers for a “Heartbreak”.

You can also perform the aforementioned actions on photos and even over 10-second video clips. To do this, tap the “Camera” icon on the left to open the Digital Touch canvas in full screen, and then either tap on the red “Record” button in the bottom middle of the screen to begin recording, or the white “Shutter” button next to it to take a still shot. You can draw on the canvas before, during, or after you've recorded a video or taken a picture.

All Digital Touch scribbles disappear within 2 minutes from sending them, but can be kept by the recipient. The sender is notified of when a temporary message is kept.

Handwritten messages

You can send cool handwritten notes by tilting your iPhone in landscape mode. If you still see the on-screen virtual keyboard, tap the new “scribble” button, next to “return”, and this will open a blank “canvas” to doodle and write on. Anything you draw on the virtual paper settles with a subtle, but nonetheless cool, ink bleed effect, while the recipient will have the dubious pleasure of seeing a playback of your calligraphic efforts. If you should find that the fine art of hand lettering is not for you, you can choose from a number of pre-made handwritten phrases, but where's the fun in that? Your handwritten messages are kept in the quick access tab at the bottom of the screen, but can be deleted by long-pressing them and tapping the “x” button.