Texting as we know it is evolving, and the Messages app in iOS 18 is leading the way. Gone are the days of plain, lifeless messages. Now, communication is more dynamic and engaging than ever. With iOS 18, chatting becomes a whole new experience: Animated effects and text formatting bring your conversations to life. RCS compatibility lets your Android friends send high-resolution photos seamlessly. Scheduled messaging ensures you can compose texts late at night without disturbing anyone. Exciting new features like Genmoji, exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16, allow you to create personalized emojis. Plus, you can even send texts via satellite for those moments when you're off the grid. iPhone Message Features in iOS 18.2 If you haven't explored these eight incredible updates to the Messages app yet, now's the time to dive in and transform the way you communicate! RCS Messaging With the Rich Communication Services protocol added to Messages, talking with friends who have Android phones should be easier. It allows for end-to-end encryption, read receipts, and improved picture transfers (while preserving the green color of Android message bubbles). If your carrier supports RCS, you will most likely be able to utilize it without doing anything. Enable RCS Messaging by going to Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging. Send Texts via Satellite The Emergency SOS via Satellite tool that came with the iPhone 14 has saved countless lives. If you can't get a cell signal, you can connect to a satellite and send short text messages to the first rescuers. With the necessary infrastructure in place, Apple now allows non-emergency messages to be sent through the Messages app. iPhone 14 and later users will be prompted to connect to a satellite when they're outside of cell phone or Wi-Fi range. The Dynamic Island on your phone will guide you to stay aligned with the satellites above while you're connected. Once connected, you can send regular text messages, and features like emojis and Tapbacks will still work. To use this feature: Go to Settings > Apps > Messages > Messages via Satellite > Satellite Connection Demo. Alternatively, you can try it out by heading to a remote location and testing it yourself. Animate Your Text Messages Text messages can now be animated in eight different styles, offering a fun way to emphasize key points. In iOS 18, animations like Big, Small, Shake, Nod, Explode, Ripple, Bloom, or Jitter can be applied to your message to convey more emotion or highlight important details. To add animation: Type your message. Select the text by tapping Formatting in the suggestion bar. Choose your preferred animation style. Each selection can have only one animation, so you can't combine multiple effects on the same word. For users without iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS Sequoia, the messages will appear as plain text. While these new features add flair, you can still choose between text formatting and animation for a more personalized touch. Turn Off Auto-Playing Animations Imagine your friend has just upgraded to iOS 18 and is excited to try out all the new animation effects in their messages. Soon, your screen is filled with pulsating, resizing, jittering, and exploding texts—an overload of eye-popping animations that might even give you a headache! Don't worry, you can turn off the automatic repetition of these animations. To do so, go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion, and disable Auto-Play Message Effects. This will prevent the animations from repeating, but your friend can still send animated texts that will play once when received. Format Your Text in Messages You can now format your text in Messages for better expression. Instead of relying on all caps, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia allow you to use bold, italics, underline, and strikethrough in your messages. To format your text: Type your message. Tap the Formatting button to highlight the entire text, or double-tap a word to select it. Choose from options like bold, italic, underline, or strikethrough from the formatting panel. This makes it easier to emphasize your message exactly how you want. Use Emojis or Stickers for Tapbacks in Messages In iOS 18, Tapback icons can now be used for any emoji or sticker, allowing for quicker and more expressive responses. These icons, which used to be monochromatic, are now colorful and have a more playful design. To use Tapbacks: Press and hold a message until the Tapback bubble appears. Tap the emoji button below the icons. You can also swipe left on the bubble to view recent emojis, stickers, or the grey library button. Select a sticker (on the left) or choose from hundreds of emojis in the picker. This feature allows for more dynamic and personalized responses, whether it's love, agreement, disagreement, laughter, alarm, or curiosity. Schedule Text Messages with Send Later The ability to schedule texts in the Messages app is helpful for those times when you want to share something but don’t need an immediate response. It’s perfect for sending messages without disturbing friends who may be asleep or unavailable at that moment. To schedule a message: Compose your message. Press the More (+) icon. Choose Send Later (you may need to swipe up to locate it). Pick the date and time you want your message to be sent. Tap the Send Message button (the upward arrow) to finalize the schedule. Generate Unique Emojis Using Genmoji iOS 18.2 introduces Genmoji, allowing you to create custom emojis by simply describing them. Available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, and iPhone 16 Pro, you can use it in the Messages app once you join the waitlist for the Image Playground app. To create a Genmoji: In a conversation, tap the emoji button. Select Genmoji next to the "Describe an Emoji" field. Type or dictate a description (e.g., “bluebird” or “crying emoji surfing”). Browse through the generated options and tweak the description if needed. When satisfied, tap Add to use your Genmoji.