You can send text messages, images, and much more. You can reply within a conversation or to specific comments in a thread. You can even use Siri to listen and respond to your messages.
If you have more than one number, you can send a text message from your other number. And if you’ve ever wondered why some bubbles are blue and others green, there’s an answer for that, too.
Siri: Ask Siri something like, “Read my last message from Antonio.”
Make sure you set up Messages so you can fully use all the features in the Messages app.
Start a conversation
To start a new conversation, send a text message to one or more people.
- Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
- In the conversation list, tap the Compose button at the bottom of the screen.
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Tap the To field. Enter the phone number, contact name, or Apple Account of each recipient.
To choose recipients from your contacts, tap the Add Contact button in the To field.
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Do any of the following:
- Tap the text field above the keyboard, then type your message.
- Tap the Emoji key or the Next Keyboard key to add emoji.
- Tap the Dictate key to dictate text in the language of your keyboard.
- Tap the Add button (to the left of the text field) to send photos, videos, stickers, polls, audio messages, your location, and more with iMessage apps.
- Tap the Send button to send.
If a message can’t be sent, an alert appears. Tap the Send Failure button to try sending the message again.
To return to the conversation list from a conversation, tap the Back button.
Reply to a message
In the conversation list, messages are grouped by conversation, and a dot means you haven’t read one or more messages in that conversation yet.
- Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
- Go to the conversation that you want to participate in.
- Tap the text field, create your message. Then tap the Send button to send your message.
Quick tip: Swipe left on the message bubble, and you’ll see timestamps for all messages in the conversation. That’s how you find out when a message was sent to you.
You can quickly craft a response with Apple Intelligence. Just tap a suggested reply above the keyboard.
Note: Apple Intelligence on iOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or iPhone 16 model or later. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.*
Reply inline to a specific message
You can reply inline to a specific message, and the inline reply quotes the message you’re responding to, so it’s clear which response relates to which message in a busy conversation.
- Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
- In the conversation list, tap the conversation that you want to participate in.
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Do one of the following:
- Swipe right on the message bubble that you want to reply to.
- Touch and hold the message bubble that you want to reply to, then tap Reply.
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Enter your message and then tap the Send button.
Note: Everyone in a group conversation can see your inline reply. To reply privately, tap the group icon at the top of the conversation, touch and hold the icon of the person you want to message privately, then tap Message.
- To return to the main conversation, tap the blurred background.
Touch and hold a message to react with a Tapback, such as a thumbs-up or a heart.
Quick tip: To copy only part of a message, touch and hold it, tap Select, select the text you want, and then tap Copy.
Send a text message from your other number
With Dual SIM set up on your iPhone, you can switch which line a conversation uses.
- Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
- Open a conversation and then tap the contact or group icon at the top of the conversation.
- Tap Conversation Line and then tap a line or alias.
Why are some bubbles blue and others green?
A blue Send arrow means a message can be sent using iMessage, and it appears in a blue bubble.
If you can’t use iMessage, for example because a recipient isn’t using an Apple device, you can send with SMS, MMS, or RCS instead, and those messages appear in green bubbles.
Note: If your recipients are using non-Apple devices, content in your messages may not appear as expected.
*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions.
Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts.
Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.
