The best new features from the Messages app in iOS 8 [Video]

iOS 8 Messages Features

Without a doubt, I believe that quick reply for Messages was by far the most wanted feature of iOS 8 for the majority of long-time users. It’s a feature that has been egregiously overlooked by Apple with seemingly little explanation.

This morning’s keynote address finally brought an end to the wait, as native quick reply was revealed in all its glory on stage at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. To be honest, the keynote seemed to teeter on the side of fan service, but I’m certainly not complaining, especially when a part of that fan service is the long-awaited quick reply.

After installing the beta of iOS 8, one of the first things I’ve begun to play around with is the stock Message app, and of course, perhaps the most anticipated feature in iOS 8: quick reply. Have a look at our video walkthrough of some of the most prominent iOS 8 Messages app features.

When I think about iOS 8 and the Messages app in general, I think polish. iOS 7 was the cornerstone of a new direction, and iOS 8 is the first time we’ve been able to see Apple’s creative juices really go to work in the post-Forstall era. As such, we’re seeing a ton of brand new features that I’m sure the iOS engineers have been dying to show off for the longest time. Now that time is finally here.

Quick Reply

Quick reply works pretty much as one would expect it to. If you’ve ever used Auki—the jailbreak tweak by Surenix and Benno, then you definitely know what to expect.

Quick Reply iOS 8

To use quick reply in iOS 8, simply slide down on an incoming banner notification. The background will blur, the interface will darken a bit, and you can send a new message reply or compose a new voice reply without having to open the full-fledged Messages app. Quick replies can also be sent from the Lock screen by means of a swipe gesture on the message notification.

Sending recent photos or videos

IOS 8 messages recent

Apple has finally figured out that its users want to interact with the photos that have recently been snapped. Now we have the ability, at least within iOS 8’s Messages app at least, to quickly insert recent photos and videos. Along with that, you can insert multiple photos or videos simultaneously.

Location sharing

iOS 8 Messages Location Sharing

Apple’s Find My Friends app just went on life support as soon as Apple unveiled the new location sharing features in the stock iOS 8 Messages app. The location features allow you to send a one time message containing your current location, or you can establish location sharing for an hour, entire day, or indefinitely.

Quick photos, videos and voice

iOS 8 Messages quick voice

iOS 8 now includes two buttons that allow you to quickly compose and send video clips, photos, or sound bytes with a one-handed action. These new features are there to promote richer multimedia sharing via iMessage, and they do enrich the experience. More importantly, all of functions can be done with one hand, which promotes a certain ease of use and simplicity.

iOS 8 Messages quick photo video

Taking control of group messaging

iOS 8 Messages Groups

The final area that I want to talk about in this post is group message management. You can now rename group message conversations, mute conversations, and remove yourself from conversations you’ve been invited to. Whereas with iOS 6 and iOS 7, group messages were intrusive and annoying due to the lack of end user control, iOS 8 puts the control back into the users hands.

Obviously there are many more changes to be found within the iOS 8 Messages app and various other apps throughout the operating system. You can expect a lot of iterative changes to happen over the lifespan of the iOS 8 beta. We’ll continue to update you on new changes, and eventually, we’ll provide you with a thorough and authoritative walkthrough, which will address the changes that have happened in iOS 8.

Stay tuned for more iOS 8 overviews of , and let us know what you think down below in the comments.