I have a terrible memory. Even though I try to ensure that I write everything down, whether it be in the form of a note, a reminder, or a calendar event, I still commonly lose those things in the chaos of each day — especially when it comes to communicating about any of those things with family and friends.
People have commonly pointed out to me that I forgot to reach out to them about something. Sometimes, it’s as innocent as following up about making plans for the next weekend. Other times, however, it’s because I missed wishing them a happy birthday. It’s not good.
At work, I use Slack, and its ability to schedule messages for later is a huge help for me to ensure I don’t forget to reach out to my coworkers at the right time about something. I’ve been hoping Apple would add such a feature for… forever, and I am so thankful it is finally here.
At WWDC 2024, the company announced iOS 18 and with it, a ton of new features coming to iMessage. In addition to new effects and formatting options, you’ll now finally be able to schedule a message to be sent at a later date and time.
iMessage receives all-new text effects that bring conversations to life by amplifying any letter, word, phrase, or emoji with dynamic, animated appearances. Users can better express tone by adding formatting like bold, underline, italics, and strikethrough. Tapbacks expand to include any emoji or sticker, and now users can compose a message and schedule to send it at a later time.
This is the feature I’ve been desperately wanting for a long time. There have been plenty of times that I need to send a message to someone but not right at the moment I thought or was reminded about it. Right now, whether or not that message gets sent is a toss-up, but with Send Later, I’ll actually be able to follow through on all of my communication.
I’m sure my friends and family will be even happier about this feature. They might not know I’m using it, but they’ll surely appreciate the increased consistency it’ll create on my behalf. Sorry, everyone! I promise I’ll be more consistent…in the fall when iOS 18 comes out.
Of course, that’s just one feature coming to Messages in iOS 18. There’s also RCS support for better messaging experiences with Android users and Messages via satellite, which allows us to continue messaging our family and friends—even without a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. Send Later is just the one that is going to make the biggest impact on me.
