Yes, You'll Soon be Able to send and Edit Text Messages on IOS 16

 

Apple is expected to announce the release date for iOS 16 during its "Far Out" event this Wednesday, September 7, and one new feature that many are looking forward to is text messages on the iPhone. Finally the ability to send and edit them.

If you make a grammar mistake or even text the wrong person, you'll have 15 minutes to edit the content of the message and 2 minutes to unsend and essentially delete the text. We'll explain more about how these two new texting features work in the guide below.

And if you want to explore iOS 16 now, before the general public release, here's how to download and install the latest iOS 16 beta on your iPhone and iPad.

Other new features coming to the iPhone include new lock screen customization options and later Apple Pay. and joining SharePlay messages.

Edit Messages You've Already Sent

If you use messaging tools like Slack, you've probably edited at least one -- or 100 -- of the messages you've sent. Whether you've made a typo or your message contains incorrect data, the editing feature is a great way to quickly make your corrections. With iOS 16, you'll also be able to edit your messages sent from your iPhone within 15 minutes of sending.

To Edit a Text Message, you'll need to launch Messages and go to any thread that uses iMessage, which you probably know as BlueText. This feature will not work with SMS text messages (green text). Now, press and hold your finger down on the message you want to edit. This will bring up the tapback reactions and quick action menu. Finally, tap on Edit.

 

The text message will then become editable. You can delete the entire message, fix any mistakes or add more text. Once you're done, Hit the Blue Checkmark Button on the right to Save Your Edits. You can only Edit one message up to 5 times.

An actionable Edit button will appear below your edited text message. The person on the other end will also know that the message has been edited, and if they tap Edited, all previous versions of your text message will be slightly grayed out above the edited text message. Outchat will appear in bubbles.

Instantly Recall Messages You Sent by Mistake

Accidental messages are frequent. Maybe you tapped the send button when you meant to select the emoji. Or maybe you messaged the wrong person entirely. In both cases, you will be able to recall these messages with iOS 16. Unlike the message editing feature, you only have 2 minutes to send a text.

To Unsend a Text Message, launch the Messages app, press and hold the message (blue text only) you want to send, and tap Undo Send.

The text message will disappear from your thread, both on your end and the recipient's. A message will appear on your thread, saying that your message is unsent, but that the recipient has already seen it.

Unfortunately, if the other person is running something older than iOS 16, the message won't actually be unsent even though your phone will say it is.

The recipient will see a gray text status message that says, “[name] did not send message” if they have already seen the text. This is similar to the delete message feature already present in apps like WhatsApp and Signal, which displays the same message even after recalling a text.