Table of Contents
So, you’ve finally decided to leave your Android life behind and switch over to iOS, huh?
Not that we have any beef with Android, of course. Both operating systems have their respective strengths that it’s no wonder why these two lead the race when it comes to mobile phone development and innovation (see more). But as consumers, we also like to play favorites and favoring one brand over the another is just a matter of preference.
Regardless of whether you’ve switched phones or it’s your very first time owning one, you probably have a couple questions about your new tech. Some of which, you may be too shy to ask thinking it should be common knowledge for everyone. Don’t worry; all iPhone users have been first time owners at one point and they all had the same questions you do.
Thus, we’ve prepared this guide specifically for first time users like you. While we can’t tackle every single feature there is on the iPhone, we can delve deeper into the features of one of its most important functions: Messaging.
6 Messaging Features You Need To Know About Your New iPhone Inbox
Fellow iPhone Users Turn Up In Blue
That’s right; Apple’s “exclusivity” is even apparent in the way iOS to iOS messages turn up in Apple devices. Blue is for iOS and green is for just about every other operating system out there. When you see a message come in and it’s one of these two colors, then you’d already know whether you are conversing with a fellow iPhone user or not. This is relevant in terms of knowing what other iOS features you can use to communicate with the other person which we will further discuss below.
Other iOS Users Can See If You’ve Opened A Message
Just like online chat applications, you can also see if someone has opened a message you sent or when you have read theirs. This can be both a pro and a con but in case of emergencies or urgent matters, you would want to have the advantage of knowing when your text gets read, right?
Also, Apple does give you the option to hide these status alerts for you or for your sender. You just have to open the messaging settings and turn off read notifications for everyone or for specific people. Read more about it here.
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of disabling read notifications, this next feature can also help you get around read notifications.
You Can Read Messages Without Opening Them
This is probably one of my favorite perks as an iPhone user and as far as I know, this feature is only available to iOS devices. If you receive messages from an unknown sender, or maybe someone you know but you don’t really want to entertain at the moment due to whatever reason, you can simply “long press” a message and it’ll show you the contents of the message on a pop up window. You can go over all the details of the message and simply close the window when you’re done, and all this without notifying the sender that you have read their text. It sure doesn’t sound like a very nice thing to do, but we all receive those type of texts, right?
Moreover, this feature doesn’t just work on Apple’s messaging app. You can also use the same feature on other messaging applications like Messenger and Instagram DMs. Pretty neat, if I must say.
You Can Form Group Chats With Other iPhone Users
IOS has a lot of very helpful features, especially when your circle is also composed of fellow Apple users. One such feature is being able to form group chats with them so you guys can virtually stay connected whenever and wherever.
Apart from the advantage of sending a single message to notify the entire group, you can also do group calls and video sharing which can be very convenient for business meetings or after work hangouts. This feature has been especially helpful during lockdown times when friends and family members can only communicate and hangout online.
On the other hand, if you got added to one and you’re wondering how to leave group chat on iphone, well you can easily opt out by removing yourself from the chat. To do so, just click on the chat name to access details and click on “Leave this conversation.
You Can “React” To Messages
Yes! This feature is definitely a plus for those who like to be more expressive in their messaging conversations. If you’re not up for writing out a text reply, you can also react (like, heart, exclamation, laugh, etc.) to a message you received to acknowledge or express how you feel about it.
You Can Send Over Voice Notes
If you’re not much of a texter and a mere text reaction wouldn’t really help convey your point across, you can also send voice notes over text. These are voice recorded messages that you can text someone who is an iPhone or iOS user. Just click on the little mic icon and it should begin recording your voice message shortly.
