“The debut of apps that can run inside the iMessage chat system could prove to be one of the most far-reaching changes in iOS 10, provided Apple can get more developers to play along,” Ina Fried writes for Recode.
“Ideally, Apple would like to see iMessage follow in the footsteps of WeChat, which is used for way more than just messaging, especially in China,” Fried writes. “There, people use WeChat to do everything from hailing rides to paying bills to reading celebrity blogs.”
“For now, iMessage apps are a lot more limited. You can use Venmo to send money, check the forecast on the Weather Channel or discuss potential travel plans with Airbnb,” Fried writes. “The first group of iMessage apps also includes a number of games, including word games and things like chess, checkers and tic-tac-toe. Here, Apple faces a decidedly uphill battle to make gaming within chat apps a thing. Many others have tried and failed, including Yahoo, which offered in-chat games for years, but pulled the feature a couple years back amid dwindling interest.”
MacDailyNews Take: Let face it, Yahoo has failed at pretty much everything.
Fried writes, “‘I think Apple opening up iMessage is as big of an opportunity as when Facebook opened up its web platform in 2007,’ said JibJab CEO Gregg Spiridellis. JibJab already has its namesake title as a featured iMessage app along with two other titles. ‘I have completely redirected my product road map,’ Spiridellis said.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Have you played a game via Messages, yet? It works!
There’s a lot to learn with the new iOS 10 Messages app. The best, easiest way is to watch this video:
SEE ALSO:
iOS 10 Messages: How to use stickers, iMessages apps, Digital Touch, rich links, and more – September 14, 2016
Cook chases Facebook & Snapchat. Apple’s Messages will now suggest emoji. How professional. I’m sure the 11 year olds are cheering. I am not.
so don’t use those features….SMH
This is not my idea of Messages.
I sort of agree, in that like iTunes, the features in the app are no longer representative of that app name itself. But I don’t begrudge the new features between iOS10 devices.
You don’t have to use any of the extra features and it works just like it did before.. get over yourselves…
A bit off-topic, sorry.
On my Mac, iPhone and iPad, the App is called Messages.
Why do I see iMessage written everywhere?
Wikipedia:
iMessage is an instant messaging service developed by Apple Inc. It is supported by the Messages application in iOS 5 and later and OS X Mountain Lion and later.
Thanks Constance.
From what I understand, iMessage is the service, Messages is the App.
Regards!
The heartbeat thing and a few other features are neat.
Problem is do they show up cross platform? I message allot of people for business who are on android or something as it is green not blue when I message them.
Sure it works just like always for the haters and there are some diff things for those who want them. The link thing is nice rather then having a super long link.
Those feature don’t even show up on all iPhones. For example, if you have Reduce Motion activated under Accessibility, you won’t get the Screen or Bubble effects.
BFD. Aside from being able to take and send photos within the message app, nothing here of real utility. Apple should develop the much-requested ability to set up an auto-reply to text messages. There are third-party apps but either they do not support the iMessage platform or are complete crap (or both). These new features are not reflective of the Apple mission to deliver “the power to be your best.”
MDN….I figured you might have said “Yahoo fails at everything…except picking an attractive CEO” or something. Bring back the red dress and ball-chair-thingy!
Updated my iPhone 6 plus and it bricked upon restart. Took an extra hour to get it rebooted. Anyway, What the hell has happened to Apple? iOS 10 is a mess and everyone is jumping for joy over this iMessage crap. Seriously, What the hell? I’d like a dang file system in iOS 10 because iCloud sucks. I want grown up features for my thousand dollar pocket computer.
They need to make it interoperable with all the other services. It’s better on macOS, but it sucks on iOS because you still need other apps for Google, MSN, Yahoo, Skype, etc. Apple should either build in support for all these or make iOS able to have third-party apps connect through it. But they need to make it clear what service is currently in use. That’s one failing of macOS.