Messages were updated this spring to handle iMessage reactions. Whenever someone responded to a text using the Tapback emoji reaction in iMessage, an emoji would now appear on the side of a message instead of spamming a group chats with separate messages.
As part of iOS 16, Apple appears to be resolving this longstanding annoyance as well.The feature was first spotted by 9to5Mac on Monday as one of several Messages updates coming with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura.
In Apple's WWDC keynote address on Monday, the company discussed several highlights, including editing messaging, marking unread, and retractions, but the new feature 'SMS Tapback Inference' was not mentioned.
It is designed by design that the conversation between iMessage and Android users will be SMS-based. In a group chat, even one Android user can destroy the blue bubbles, a decision Apple has used to lock iPhone users into their platform, especially teens who dislike the green bubbles.
There is a high likelihood that every iPhone user will encounter an Android user at some point, and in those cases, Tapback emoji reactions will result in spam.
In contrast to emojis appearing alongside messages when chatting across mobile platforms, users get separate (and very irritating!) additional texts when someone likes, loves or otherwise responds to a message across mobile platforms.
As a result, group chats become cluttered, notifications become excessive, and the user experience is poor.Consequently, Android will now be able to interact more effectively with this emoji reaction feature as a result of Apple's action.
An emoji reaction will be displayed alongside the message users are responding to instead of an extra text — but in green to indicate Android origins.
Even though RCS supports emoji reactions natively, Apple has yet to launch RCS support, perhaps due to similar RCS features to iMessage, such as typing indicators, read receipts, and higher-quality picture messages.
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