6 great features in Messages in iOS 26<\/p>\n
Messages is one of the most important and frequently used apps on many people\u2019s iPhones<\/a>. It keeps you in touch with family and friends, and also provides a platform for all kinds of social groups. In fact, having a blue bubble in group chats \u2014 which indicates a message sent using Apple\u2019s proprietary iMessage service, with no Android heathens in the mix \u2014 is an important status symbol<\/a> for some.<\/p>\n But Messages is more than just a fun way to chat with your in-group. Increasingly, the app offers a direct line to anyone you deal with, including major corporations. It\u2019s becoming the preferred method to get customer support or lodge complaints.<\/p>\n In fact, Messages is almost becoming an \u201ceverything\u201d app \u2014 and the latest update only makes it more indispensable.<\/p>\n If you and all your friends own iPhones, you should definitely check out these features. And if any of your friends remain on iOS 18, you should encourage them all to update to iOS 26<\/a> so you can take advantage of all the new Messages features in group chats.<\/p>\n Note: These features rely on iMessage, Apple\u2019s proprietary \u201cblue bubble\u201d messaging system, which enables features exclusive to Apple devices. However, if you have a bunch of \u201cgreen bubble\u201d Android friends, don\u2019t worry \u2014 you\u2019ll enjoy some other improvements, too.<\/p>\n Table of contents: 6 great features in Messages in iOS 26<\/p>\n Create a poll<\/a> Create a poll in the Messages app In Messages in iOS 26, you can create a poll that the members of a group chat can vote on. If you ever have a hard time deciding where to eat, what date works best for hanging out, or what movie to see, polls can help the group decide. Everyone in the group needs to be running iOS 26 to participate, and on iMessage \u2014 this isn\u2019t supported in SMS or RCS messaging<\/a>.<\/p>\n To set up a poll, tap the Add (+) menu to the left of the text field, then tap Polls. Type something into each of the\u00a0Choice fields. If you fill in all three, a fourth will appear below. You can add up to 12 options to your poll.\u00a0<\/p>\n After you send your poll, other people in the group can add their own items as well. You can vote for as many options as you want. You can also change your vote after the fact, if you change your mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unfortunately, there aren\u2019t any settings. You can\u2019t restrict people from adding their own choices, nor can you force them to choose only one. But it\u2019s still a handy feature.\u00a0<\/p>\n Set a background image for a chat Just as you can change a group name or a group icon in Messages, you can now set a background image for group messages. (You can set a background for individual contacts, too.) This feature is also limited to iMessage conversations.<\/p>\n This can add some personality to a group chat and make it visually stand out from the rest of your conversations. Plus, if you set different backgrounds for your partner and your parents, you\u2019ll be much less likely to text the wrong person accidentally.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tap on the contact or group name at the top of the screen, then tap Backgrounds. You will see several choices:<\/p>\n Photo will let you choose an image from your photo library. Personally, I only used background images ironically<\/a>. But with the right crowd, it could be fun.\u00a0<\/p>\n Request group payments in the Messages app In iOS 26, you can now request group payments using Apple Cash right in the Messages app. You don\u2019t need to go around requesting money from each person. Just drop the request in the group chat, and everyone can pay you back at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n To request payment, tap the Add (+) menu to the left, then tap\u00a0Apple Cash. You can tap the\u00a0+ and\u00a0\u2212 to enter a number, or swipe up to type in a precise amount.\u00a0Alternatively, tap Request Without Amount, and everyone can pay back different quantities. (Choose this if some people owe more than others.)<\/p>\n If you want, you can type a message to include. To issue the request, just tap Send. You\u2019ll be notified when people fulfill your request.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hide texts from unknown numbers To cut down on spam, promotions and other irritating junk, the Messages app now automatically filters out texts from unknown numbers. (The new Phone app in iOS 26 does the same thing with unknown calls and voicemails. For more info, read: How to use the new Phone app or get the old one back<\/a>.)<\/p>\n To see the messages from unknown numbers, tap the Filter button in the upper right of your Messages list. The app sorts them into a few different categories: Unknown Senders, Transactions, Promotions\u00a0and Spam. Tap on a category to switch to that list; tap the Filter button and go back to\u00a0Messages to see your normal conversations again.\u00a0<\/p>\n You\u2019ll also see\u00a0Drafts if you have any messages you\u2019ve started to type but haven\u2019t finished.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tap\u00a0Recently Deleted to see texts and conversations you\u2019ve erased. You have 30 days to recover them before they disappear forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t want the Messages app to hide messages from unknown numbers, tap Manage Filtering. That\u2019ll take you to the screen in Settings where you can disable the feature. Turn off Screen Unknown Senders\u00a0to see all\u00a0messages in one list again. If you\u2019re all right with being spammed as well, tap\u00a0Text Message Filter and set it to\u00a0None \u2014 but I really don\u2019t recommend doing that.\u00a0<\/p>\n Automatically translate messages If your iPhone supports Apple Intelligence<\/a>, you can see live translations of messages sent in another language. This feature is supported on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 and all later models.<\/p>\n When you receive a message in a foreign language, tap and hold on it, then and tap Translate. You\u2019ll see a pop-up that asks if you want to translate only the one message, or the whole conversation. Tap Translate Message and you\u2019ll see a pop-up that translates the text into your system language.<\/p>\n Tap Translate Conversation if you want to carry on with a bilingual chat. You\u2019ll need to choose and download a language to continue. As you type in a reply, a translation for the other language will appear in real time. Any follow-up messages the other person sends will have an inline translation as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n You\u2019ll see a button at the bottom of the conversation that says\u00a0Translating. If you don\u2019t need to see the other language, tap on it and tap English Only. (That will obviously vary if your device\u2019s native language isn\u2019t English.) You can also tap\u00a0Stop Translation to turn off Messages\u2019 translation feature.\u00a0<\/p>\n And finally \u2026 iOS 26 brings typing indicators to group messages<\/p>\n Last, but certainly not least, you\u2019ll now see typing indicators from other members in a group text who have updated to iOS 26. This tells you if someone\u2019s in the middle of writing a reply. If you see the three dots popping up, you might as well wait to see what they say.\u00a0<\/p>\n More features in Messages<\/p>\n Edit or unsend messages<\/a>, soon after sending them, if you make a mistake. D. Griffin Jones is a writer, podcaster<\/a> and video producer<\/a> for Cult of Mac. Griffin has been a passionate computer enthusiast since 2002, when he got his first PC \u2014 but since getting a Mac in 2008, he hasn\u2019t turned back. His skills in graphic and web design, along with video and podcast editing, are self-taught over 20+ years. Griffin has a bachelor\u2019s degree in computer science and has written several (unpublished) apps for Mac and iOS. His collection of old computers is made up of 40+ desktops, laptops, PDAs and devices, dating back to the early \u201980s. He brings all of these creative and technical skills, along with a deep knowledge of Apple history, into his work for Cult of Mac.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Messages app gains flashy new features in iOS 26 that make group chats far more fun and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294018,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[61,2146,4178,60,140271,202,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-294017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ios-26","10":"tag-iphone","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-messages-app","13":"tag-mobile","14":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSet a background image<\/a>
\nRequest group payments<\/a>
\nHide texts from unknown numbers<\/a>
\nAutomatically translate messages<\/a>
\nTyping indicators<\/a>
\nMore features in Messages<\/a><\/p>\n
\n![\"Creating](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Message-Polls-1440x1472.jpg\" "\\"Message")
<\/a>With the new polls feature, you can figure out what the group wants.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n
\n![\"Setting](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Message-Backgrounds-1440x1472.jpg\" "\\"Message")
<\/a>Text from the bottom of a body of water, for some reason.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n
\nApple includes a few animated backgrounds: Color, Sky, Water and Aurora. Each of these comes with a few different color options; swipe left or right to preview and choose.
\nPlayground lets you generate an image using Image Playground, if you\u2019re using an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence. (Read more about Apple\u2019s tool: How to make AI images on your iPhone with Image Playground<\/a>.)
\nSuggestions will look for nice pictures in your photo library that could be background-worthy. Scroll through the list and tap on one for a preview.
\nAnd, if you don\u2019t like the background, you can tap\u00a0None back at the top of the list for a plain background.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n![\"Making](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Group-Apple-Cash-Payments-1440x1472.jpg\" "\\"Group")
<\/a>Get paid back for group orders with one request.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n
\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/text-message-spam_How_To-1B-1440x810.jpg\" "\\"How")
<\/a>Filter your spam texts.
Screenshots: Ed Hardy\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n
\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Message-Translation-1440x1472.jpg\" "\\"Message")
<\/a>The Messages app\u2019s new translation feature makes it easy to carry on bilingual conversations.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/p>\n
\nSchedule texts to send later on iPhone<\/a> to make sure you never forget to send a reminder, birthday greeting or early morning message for someone in a different time zone. You can schedule a whole slew of texts up to a week in advance, with links, photos, attachments and more.
\niMessage effects<\/a> can add much more meaning, emotion and fun to your texting. You can add\u00a0bold,\u00a0italics,\u00a0underline and strikethrough text, just like a formatted document, and even choose from a bunch of cool, animated effects.
\nCheck In<\/a> is an iPhone feature that tracks your travels and lets contacts know when you\u2019ve safely reached your destination.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1cdcbb4a566ce956a5031cda07408d0024ce4570f488d98db96bd66e91c34e21.png\")
<\/p>\n