Apple’s latest update to the iPhone, iOS 17, brings a host of new features, including tools to help you better track your mental health, a new StandBy mode that turns your iPhone into a smart display of sorts, and the ability to use AirTags share with friends and relatives. And of course, Apple updated the Messages app on iPhone, with a handful of new features like Check In, a redesigned app library, and other improvements.
Below I’ll show you where to find all the new features in Messages and how to use them on your iPhone running iOS 17.
All your apps and shortcuts have been moved
The first time you open the Messages app after installing iOS 17, you’ll undoubtedly notice that all the app icons and shortcuts that previously appeared next to the text field are gone. Instead, there’s a plus sign to the left of the text field, and that’s it. All your apps can now be accessed from that plus sign. When you touch it, a scrollable list of app icons and names for all your iMessage apps will appear.
You can instantly rearrange the list while viewing it by long-pressing an item, dragging it up or down the list, and lifting your finger when you’re happy with the new placement. To disable an iMessage app, you need to open the Settings app, Selecting To inform > iMessage apps and then move the toggle switch to the off position next to the apps you don’t want to appear in the list.
You can still quickly access your photo library to send a photo in a conversation by long pressing the plus sign to launch your library automatically.
There is a new security feature called Check In
Apple has added a new feature to Messages, and more specifically iMessage conversations, in iOS 17 called Check In. The feature, which could really be a standalone app, automatically sends your location, along with other important information, to the call participants at a predetermined time or location.
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To use Check In, select the plus sign next to the text field, then tap Check In and follow the prompts. The person you’re trying to share your check-in information with must be using iOS 17 and have iMessage enabled.
The idea here is that you can use Check In to let a friend or loved one know when you’ve arrived home or at your hotel from the airport, without having to remember to send a message. If you are no longer heading towards your destination, your phone will prompt you to answer. You will then have 15 minutes to indicate that you are safe.
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If you don’t arrive on time and don’t respond to Check In directions, the feature will automatically send information to the person in the call with two different levels of information about your trip. If you choose to share limited information, the recipient will receive your current location, the cellular signal to your iPhone, how long ago the phone was unlocked, and your battery level. If you have an Apple Watch, they will also receive similar information about your watch (such as whether or not you are wearing it).
If you choose to have Check In share your full information, the recipient will receive all the information just mentioned, in addition to the exact path you took to get to your current location, with indicators of the last location your iPhone was unlocked and where your Apple Watch was removed. You can change the setting between full or limited information sharing in your iPhone’s Settings app under Messages.
Join a chatty group conversation and swipe to reply
Isn’t it super annoying to open a group conversation and have to scroll up to find the last thing you read? After installing iOS 17, you’ll be happy to know that when you open a group conversation, the app remembers where you last read, and it takes you there when you open a chatty conversation.
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Another subtle improvement Apple has made to Messages is that it’s now easier to respond to a specific message by simply swiping from left to right on a message bubble. That means you no longer have to long press and select Reply; just swipe and type.
Other miscellaneous improvements
The Messages app has received several new features that you will definitely discover and experience the more you use it. For example, the search function has been improved to mirror the search experience in Apple’s Mail app. That means you can tell Messages to only search for a specific word in conversations from a specific contact.
Recording and sending an audio message is now easier and has more options. You can now pause a recording if necessary and then resume the recording before sending it. Recipients of audio messages now receive a transcript that they can read instead of listening to it.