14 Ways Apple Is Improving Messages in iOS 27

Apple at this year's WWDC emphasized that its approach to i OS 27 development was to add fewer newer features and instead make existing features better. Examples of that approach can be seen across the operating system, but it is arguably most obvious in the changes coming to Messages. That's not to say there's nothing original coming to Messages in i OS 27. For instance, one new Apple Intelligence feature brings content-aware suggestions directly into conversations. If someone asks for photos, for example, Messages can recognize what's being discussed and suggest searching your photo library, using details like people, places, and keywords to surface relevant images. The app can also detect when a conversation would benefit from creating a reminder or note and offer a shortcut to do so without leaving the thread. Apple is also bringing drawing tools directly into Messages, allowing users to create and share hand-drawn sketches within conversations. Otherwise, Apple's focus has been on making the following enhancements and improvements to its broader Messages platform: Faster message loading: Large conversations, especially those containing years of history and thousands of attachments, should load and scroll more quickly. Improved syncing across devices: Apple says Messages, read states, reactions, and attachments sync more reliably and quickly between iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. Find offloaded media in Messages: Search can surface photos and videos that have been offloaded from local storage and stored in iCloud. Thumbnails for offloaded media: Offloaded photos and videos now get visible preview thumbnails instead of generic placeholders, making older media easier to identify. Personalized Smart Reply suggestions: Apple Intelligence-generated Smart Reply suggestions can now reflect a user's own writing style, making suggested responses feel more natural and personal. Consolidated notifications for multiple Tapbacks: Multiple reactions to a messag