iOS 27: 13 ways the Messages app is smarter and less boring

The Messages app is arguably the most important app on iPhone, and in iOS 27, Apple is adding some useful improvements. There are quality of life fixes for long-standing issues and new AI features.

Contextual suggestions

Messages uses Apple Intelligence to display one-click suggestions based on what’s discussed in a conversation. If someone you’re talking to asks you to send a photo, Messages recognizes the request and suggests you add the relevant photos.

If someone invites you to an event, Messages offers to add them to your calendar. If someone asks you to pick something up from the store, Messages will offer to add it to your reminders list or the Notes app.

The messages will also suggest Genmoji that you may want to generate based on the conversation.

Write with Siri

There is a system-wide Write with Siri feature available in the Messages app. ‌Siri‌ AI can write entire messages for you, proofread your messages, or give you feedback.

There’s a dedicated Write with ‌Siri‌ button above the keyboard where you can access the new ‌Siri‌ tools.

Smart answer suggestions also use your writing style to sound more natural.

Siri AI

‌Siri‌ AI integrates with the Messages app. You can ask ‌Siri‌ to search for images, videos, links, addresses, phone numbers, and more in the Messages app, and ‌Siri‌ can write replies to messages and act on information in the Messages app, like adding an event date to the Calendar app.

Drawing

You can use a new drawing interface in the Messages app to send small sketches and notes. It is available by tapping the “+” button next to the text bar in a conversation.

The drawing interface is the same as the annotation tool available in apps like Photos and Notes. There’s a marker, pen, highlighter, and eraser, plus options to use the tools in any color.

Accidental recordings

The ‌iOS 27‌ Messages app includes an option to remove the audio button from the text bar. In the Messages section of the Settings app, you can go to Show in Text Field to set the right button to Record Audio, Start Dictation, or None.

Setting the option to None will prevent you from accidentally recording a voice message with a wrong press.

Tapbacks

Messages now consolidates notifications for Tapback replies, which is useful when you’re in a group thread and tons of people are sending emojis.

Sending

When a message fails to send in ‌iOS 27‌, your iPhone will automatically try to send it again. In iOS 26, you get an alert if a message fails, but you have to manually tap to try to send it again.

The Messages app also supports continuous sending of photos, videos, and texts. If you send a photo to someone and your connection is poor or you disconnect, sending will automatically resume when the connection is restored.

Synchronization

Cross-device syncing is improved in ‌iOS 27‌, so conversations will sync more reliably across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. Fewer messages will fail to sync and display correctly when you switch between devices.

Messages, reading states, reactions, and attachments sync faster.

When you take a photo and then go to the Messages app to send it, you’re more likely to see it immediately. Apple says the iPhone is faster at adding recent camera captures to messages.

Research

Apple has improved its search index in apps like Mail and Messages, so you’re more likely to find what you’re looking for.

You can also search for conversations in Messages using a phone number or a contact’s nickname.

If you have photos or videos that were offloaded to save storage space, you can still find them in the ‌iOS 27‌ Messages app when you search.

Thumbnails are also shown for unloaded media instead of a placeholder image, so you know what’s there.

RCS

In RCS message conversations with Android users, you can now long-press on a message to send an inline reply. ‌iOS 27‌ also displays reaction emoji directly on images and videos, a feature that didn’t work in ‌iOS 26‌.

Genmoji

Apple has revamped the creation of ‌Genmoji‌ in ‌iOS 27‌. There’s an updated interface for describing an emoji you want, with options to start from an existing emoji, choose an image from ‌Photos‌, or select a person.

After uploading an image or using a text phrase to create a ‌‌Genmoji‌‌, there is a new “Describe Edit” interface to update what you have already created. You can browse designs and edit individual elements of a ‌‌Genmoji‌‌, changing colors and objects. Each change uses the old base instead of regenerating a new ‌‌Genmoji‌‌.

With a series of queries, it is possible to create a complex, multi-element ‌‌Genmoji‌‌. In addition to describing the changes, you can add additional emoji and the interface offers suggestions on what to do next.

‌‌Genmoji‌‌’s output is more consistent and ‌‌Genmoji‌‌ looks more like real emoji with a cartoonish 3D style by default. There is now an option to change the style, so if you don’t want the cartoonish look, you can request something else like a drawing or sketch.

Great conversations

Large conversations load and scroll faster in ‌iOS 27‌, according to Apple.

Learn more

To learn more about all the features of ‌iOS 27‌, check out our iOS 27 guide.