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With a majority of us sending and receiving over 85 texts a day, it's high time we added a little flair. With iMessage effects, iPhone users can take their texts to a whole new level of fun and expressiveness. Whether you're looking to enhance that birthday message to your cousin or shower your husband with virtual daisies on your next anniversary, Apple makes it easy for iPhone users to spread the joy.
As long as your iPhone is running on iOS 12 or newer, you'll have access to a treasure trove of delightful iMessaging effects, including full-screen animations, customized Memojis, handwritten notes, and more. iOS 18 will bring even more iMessage effects, including the ability to add special features to individual words in a message.
Ready to elevate your messaging game? We will show you how.
Send an iMessage with full-screen effects
Full-screen effects are a great way to add a splash to celebratory texts. Animate your next birthday wish with a display of colorful balloons, or send best wishes to a friend and her new baby with a spay of confetti. You’ll choose between eight displays, including lasers, hearts, fireworks, and more. Coolest of all, the animations include sound and synchronized vibration, creating an even more impressive sensory experience.
Here’s how to send an iMessage with full-screen effects:
- Open up a new iMessage.
- Type your message and then hold down on the blue arrow in the message field. Then, select Screen at the top of the effect display.
- Swipe right to view all eight full-screen effects.
- When you’re ready to send, tap the blue arrow, and watch the magic unfold.
Words and phrases that trigger full-screen effects
You may have unintentionally sent a full-screen effect the last time you wished someone Happy New Year or Congratulations. Little do most people know that there are keywords and phrases that automatically trigger full-screen effects. As in, send a happy birthday text and balloons will magically appear.
Here is a list of trigger words and phrases and their corresponding effects. Use these to shortcut your way to a full-screen effect.
| Trigger words or phrases | Full-screen effect |
|---|---|
| Happy birthday | Balloons |
| Congrats, congratulations, best wishes | Confetti |
| Happy New Year | Fireworks |
| Happy Chinese New Year, Happy Lunar New Year | Sparkles |
| Pew Pew | Lasers |
Send an iMessage with bubble effects
Another way to spice up your iMessages is to animate your text with various bubble effects. With bubble effects, you can slam your text against the screen, have the text bounce like a bubble, shrink in size, or have it written in invisible ink.
To add some pizzazz to your iMessages with the bubble effect:
- Begin by opening a new message and holding down on the blue arrow in the message field. Then, select Bubble at the top of the effect display.
- Choose between four bubble effects: Invisible Ink, Gentle, Loud, or Slam.
- Tap the blue arrow to send your text with a bubble effect.
Customize your bubble and full-screen effects
In addition to the typical full-screen and bubble effects, you can create your own customized effects with emojis, memojis, and stickers—this is where things really get fun.
To customize full-screen and bubble effects using emojis:
- Start a new text message.
- Tap the smiley face below your keyboard and pick an emoji or two.
- Tap the blue arrow in your messaging field to access Bubble and Screen effects.
- Pick an effect and watch your emoji or emojis have some fun.
Create your own Memoji for an extra good time
If you haven’t already, it might be time to finally make your personalized, animated emoji, otherwise known as a Memoji. Memoji’s are a fun way to further customize iMessage effects. With endless customization options, you can create a Memoji that looks like you or turn yourself into an octopus, unicorn, cat, etc. You can then use your Memoji to jazz up your text messages in a number of ways. Memojis are available on the iPhone X (the phone just before iPhone 8) or newer.
To make a Memoji:
- Open a new text and tap the + sign located to the left of the message field.
- Scroll down to select More and then Memoji.
- You can choose a preset Memoji or create your own by swiping to the right until you see the large + icon reading New Memoji.
- Follow the instructions for creating your Memoji. Trust me, it’s a hoot.
Once your Memoji is made, you can use it, along with emojis and stickers to create custom effects.
To create customized effects with stickers and Memojis:
- Tap the + button to the left of your message field.
- Select Stickers. You can choose from native stickers or stickers you’ve created such as your Memojis.
3. Lastly, tap the blue arrow and choose an effect to animate your sticker or Memoji.
Send an iMessage with camera effects
Looking to inject a little dazzle into your photo sharing on iMessage? With camera effects, you can morph into a talking giraffe (and beyond) using animated Memojis, while also jazzing up your pictures with filters, text, and shapes.
To play with your camera effects, start a new iMessage and then:
- Tap the + sign near the message field.
- Select the Camera option.
- Tap the Star button in the lower left corner.
- Choose between several effects, including filters, animated Memojis, text bubbles, and shapes, to add some razzle dazzle to your photos.
5. Tap the Done button, and then the blue arrow to send the image. If you don’t want to send it, select the Close (x) button.
Send an iMessage with handwritten notes
Sometimes, it's easier (and more fun) to sketch something out rather than try to describe it, such as the plot map for your new landscaping design. Many people don’t realize they can send sketches and handwritten messages over text. While it’s not the most commonly used iMessaging effect, it is worth a try, if only to amuse the person on the receiving end.
To create a handwritten note with iMessage:
- Begin a new text and turn your phone sideways so it’s in landscape mode.
- Select the curlicue icon in the bottom right corner of your keyboard.
3. Choose from a preset handwritten message or use your finger to create your own. Tap the > symbol if you need more room to write or draw.
4. Tap Done when you’re happy with your handwritten message.
Send an iMessage using Digital Touch
If you like to draw, Digital Touch is another fun way to personalize your next iMessage. Unlike handwritten notes, these digital sketches are animated, meaning your recipient watches the sketch unfold. You can even live-draw on a video message for an added effect.
To use Digital Touch:
- Start a new text.
- Select the + button to the left of your message field.
- Tap More and then Digital Touch.
4. Start your sketch, or tap the camera icon to draw as you record.
Use iMessage Expressions
iMessage expressions are those handy-dandy hearts, thumbs, ha ha’s, and more that you can use to respond to a text easily. Honestly, what did we do before Apple added expressions? Thanks to this feature, you can react to a text with a simple tap-tap.
If you haven’t used expressions before, prepare to be amazed. Here’s how you do it:
- Open a text thread, then tap and hold down on the message bubble you want to respond to until you feel a little click.
- From the toolbar, choose between a heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, HaHa, exclamation points, or a question mark. If you've updated to iOS 18, you'll also find the ability to respond with any emoji or sticker when you select the smiley face icon just below the usual options in the toolbar.
iOS 18 iMessage features
iOS 18 features a number of new iMessage features, including the ability to bold, italicize, underline, and strikethrough text, as well as the ability to add effects (much like the pre-existing but limited bubble and full-screen effects) to individual words in your messages.
Image: Apple
Unlike previous versions of iOS, this will allow you to apply these formatting and animation effects to any word or phrase from your messages, making for endlessly customizable exchanges with your contacts list.
Other iMessaging tips and tricks
Fun and games are good and all, but for the more practical-minded, here are some other tips and tricks for optimizing your iMessaging experience.
- Use audio messaging: Tap the microphone icon within your messaging field, then begin speaking. Your iPhone will record your voice message.
- Use voice-to-text: Find the microphone in your messaging keypad's bottom right corner. Tap it, start talking, and watch your phone transcribe it for you.
- Delete messages you no longer want/need: To delete texts you’ve sent or received, tap and hold down on any message bubble, and select More…. Then, check off whichever bubbles you wish to erase and tap the trash icon in the left corner of your screen.
- Share your location: To quickly share your location via iMessage, tap the + button near the messaging field and select Location. Your iPhone will prompt you to enable location sharing if you haven’t already.
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