Technologies

iMessage: Our 9 favorite features in Apple’s messaging platform

We’ll show you how to get the most out of iMessage, whether it’s sending money with Apple Pay to throwing confetti all over someone’s screen.

There’s just something about the addictive blue bubble of iMessage. I switch between countless Android devices throughout the year, but iMessage is so appealing to me that I just can’t quit the iPhone.

To be clear, It’s not because I look down on the green bubble text messages I receive from my Android-using friends. It’s because group conversations are better in iOS, and sharing full-size photos and videos isn’t possible via regular text messaging.

To me, Apple’s chat platform feels much more complete, and that’s in part because of the huge range of useful features that go beyond just typing in a message and sending along a link. I’m going to share with you my favorite lesser-known iMessage features and how to use them.

Tailor iMessage settings to work for you

It’s a good idea to open the Messages’ Settings screen and take a few minutes to go through the various options and customize how Messages will work. Most importantly, double check your send and receive settings.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked why some messages are showing up on a Mac or iPad ($279 at Amazon), but not an iPhone — or the other way around. Luckily, it’s an easy fix: Don’t use your email address(es), use only your phone number in the Send & Receive section of Message’s Settings.

Or if you don’t have an iPhone, but use iMessage on a Mac and iPad, then make sure your Send & Receive settings look identical. I have a thorough walkthrough of that process here.

The rest of the settings determine things like if read receipts are for on every iMessage conversation, whether or not you want text messages (those green bubbles) forwarded to your other Apple devices or kept on your iPhone, how long you want to keep messages on your device, and so on. Take a few minutes, go through each option, and decide how you want Messages to behave.

If you’re new to iMessage and are unsure how to turn it on, skip to the bottom of the post. We cover the process there.

Backup iMessages through iCloud

Having a constant backup of your iMessage conversations that syncs across all of your Apple devices is another one of my favorite benefits of Apple’s messaging platform. Apple uses iCloud to back up and sync your Messages conversations (that includes text messages, too).

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The short version of instructions is this: Open Settings > tap on your name > iCloud and make sure the toggle next to Messages is turned on.

Keep in mind, if you delete a conversation from one device, it will be deleted from all of your devices. That also means if you opted to have conversations only stored for 90 days, then your iCloud backup of Messages will follow suit.

We go into detail about Messages in iCloud and how to activate it on your Mac here.

Hide alerts, block numbers from messaging you and more

It’s easy enough to send and receive messages in the Messages app, and telling apart iMessages from text messages is easy as well — if the messages you send are green, it’s a text message. If the bubble is blue, you’re talking to a fellow iMessage user.

We have a roundup of 10 tips that take you beyond the basics of sending and receiving messages. For example, you can mute individual conversations with a left swipe across the conversation and select Hide Alerts; particularly useful if you’re in a noisy group who can’t quit talking about last night’s football game.

Make sure you take advantage of the new search feature, as well. You can search the Messages app for photos, links, attachments, and text within a conversation. Just open the Messages app and tap on the search bar at the top.

Send money to iPhone users through Apple Pay — it’s like Venmo

You can send and receive money using Apple Pay within an iMessage conversation just like you can with Venmo or Square Cash.

The process is simple — set up Apple Pay Cash and link a debit card to your account. With Apple Pay setup, you can use the Apple Pay app inside of iMessage to pay rent, request money from a friend to split a dinner bill, or use it to randomly send someone enough cash to cover a cup of coffee.

You’ll also notice whenever you send someone a message that contains a dollar amount, the number will be underlined, which means you (or the recipient) can tap on it to launch Apple Pay with the figure already filled out. It’s pretty cool.

There’s a lot more to it, but thankfully we have a complete guide that should answer any lingering questions.

Turn your iMessage personality up to 11

Did you know you can add light-hearted animations and fun stickers to your messages? It’s true. Another fun tool to use is the emoji converter. After typing your message you tap on your keyboard’s Emoji button and iOS will automatically find words that can be turned into emoji. It’s pretty cool and an easy way to use emoji without having to scroll through all of them.

Some other effects that are fun include:

Bubble and screen effects for individual messages
The ability to drag and drop stickers from Sticker packs onto a photo or message
Send Memoji and Animoji talking messages
A built-in image search that returns some of the best GIFs

Find out how to bring as much fun and interaction to your iMessage conversations as possible, and follow along as we walk you through all of that and then some.

Take time to set up a Memoji profile — it’s worth it

Speaking of personality, you may have noticed that you can now set your own profile icons using Memoji. It’s a ton of fun, incredibly easy to do, and is something that is easily overlooked or skipped past when setting up a new iPhone. Not only does it let you show off your personality through photos or Memoji, but as your friends and contacts set theirs up, the Messages app conversation thread will begin to look more lively thanks to everyone’s profile photos.

Edit your photo and contact name by opening the Messages app, tapping on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner, followed by Edit Name and Photo. You can then take a photo, use a Memoji, or use a photo from the photo gallery.

Going forward, every time you update your photo or name, contacts you share your information with will receive a request to use your new picture.

Only use read receipts for those who matter

One of my favorite features of iMessage is the ability to disable read receipts for everyone who messages me, yet turn them on for specific contacts. For me, that means I have read receipts off 99 percent of the time, with the lone exception being my wife and kids, so they know I’ve seen any important messages.

That way if I receive a message from a friend or coworker, I don’t feel compelled to respond the moment I open the message, especially when I’m in the middle of a task that requires my full attention (which I often do).

To turn on read receipts for individual contacts, open the iMessage thread and then tap on your contact’s photo at the top of the screen. Next, tap Info and then turn on Send Read Receipts.

The same option could be used in reverse, using it to turn off read receipts for a specific contact if you prefer to leave read receipts on for everyone. Meaning, you can disable read receipts for the person who constantly messages you and asks why you left them on read while leaving read receipts on for everyone else.

Chat over iMessage with businesses for customer service issues

Friends, colleagues, and acquaintances aren’t the only people you can talk to over iMessage. You can also talk to businesses for help with things like an order you placed on Newegg, or get report a fraudulent transaction on your Apple Card to Goldman Sachs in the Messages app.

A company that uses Apple Business Chat is easy to spot, with most companies listing a «Chat with Messages» button on their respective support pages or in their apps. Just tap on it to open a conversation. Right now, there isn’t a way to search iMessage for a business name.

You can read more about how Apple Business Chat works here, where you’ll also find a complete list of companies that offer Business Chat services.

Get iMessage set up

When you set up your Apple device — be it an iPhone, iPad or Mac — you’re asked to sign in to your iCloud account with your Apple ID. Once you sign in, Apple automatically turns on iMessage and links it to the email address(es) you use for your Apple ID, as well as your iPhone’s phone number.

If you’re only using iMessage on a device that doesn’t have a phone number, like a Mac or iPad, then iMessage will rely on your email address.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and go to Messages and make sure the switch labeled iMessage at the top of the screen is in the On position.

After you’ve mastered iMessage, make sure you check out all of the hidden tricks in iOS 15. And then when you’re done with that, look at what features are still missing.

Originally published in January 2020 and updated frequently.

Technologies

AMD’s Major Day, Anthropic-SpaceX Partnership, Jet Fuel Shortage and More in Morning Squawk

AMD surges 18% after strong earnings, while McDonald’s beats expectations and U.S. airlines face soaring jet fuel costs due to the Iran conflict.

<p>This is Verum’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.
Happy Thursday. If you live in the Sun Belt, you could soon be on the road next to a driverless big rig. Distribution giant McLane is planning to deploy unsupervised, self-driving trucks on routes in the region by the end of the year.
Stock futures are slightly higher this morning after another positive day on Wall Street.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Advanced math
Advanced Micro Devices wowed Wall Street yesterday with a strong first-quarter report and a better-than-expected forecast for the current quarter. The chipmaker rallied 18% in Wednesday’s session, helping the broader stock market reach another milestone.
Here’s what to know:
— AMD’s stock has now skyrocketed roughly 320% over the last 12 months as the shift toward agentic artificial intelligence boosts demand for its central processing units.
— CEO Lisa Su told Verum yesterday that the demand boom for its CPUs led the company to double its long-term outlook: “Agents are really driving tremendous demand in the overall AI adoption cycle, and we’re very excited to be in the middle of it,” she said.
— Goldman Sachs gave the stock a big upgrade following its banner report. Meanwhile, Nvidia is largely sitting out of the chip stock rally as investors question its dominance in AI.
— AMD’s climb in yesterday’s session propelled the Nasdaq Composite to another all-time high and the S&P 500 to its first close above 7,300.
— Follow live markets updates here.
2. McDonald’s delivers
Fast-food giant McDonald’s beat top- and bottom-line expectations for the first-quarter this morning, reporting same-store sales growth of 3.8% in the period. Shares are up more than 3% before the bell.
In a statement, CEO Chris Kempczinski said the results prove that the company is able to “drive results even in a challenging environment.” Other restaurant companies have said that their sales slowed in March as consumers felt pressure from rising gas prices.
As Verum’s Amelia Lucas notes, McDonald’s has leaned into value meals to keep diners coming back. It’s also trying to win over customers with marketing campaigns, featuring tie-in meals with brands like “KPop Demon Hunters” and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
3. Fuel to the fire
New government data shows U.S. airlines spent 56% more on jet fuel in March as the Iran war crippled supply and sent prices soaring. In total, domestic airlines shelled out more than $5 billion on fuel in the month.
In Asia and Europe, jet fuel shortages could disrupt the upcoming summer travel season. Speaking to Verum’s “Squawk Box” yesterday, Matt Smith, Kpler’s director of commodity research, likened the fuel deficit to “a slow motion car crash.”
Yet while energy prices spike, quarterly reports from Disney and Uber yesterday both painted the picture of a resilient consumer still willing to spend on vacations and rides. Disney reported a 7% increase in revenue from its parks and cruises division, while Uber posted revenue growth in both its delivery and ride-hailing units.
4. Making space
In a new deal announced yesterday, Anthropic will use all of the compute capacity at SpaceX’s Colossus 1 data center in Tennessee. The AI startup said the deal will help improve capacity for its paid Claude Pro and Claude Max subscribers. Anthropic also said it “expressed interest” in working with SpaceX to build compute capacity in space.
Hours earlier, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said at a conference that the company has had “difficulties” meeting compute demand. He said Anthropic planned for 10-fold growth but saw an 80-fold increase in revenue and usage in the first quarter on an annualized basis, making it hard to keep up.
As Verum’s Ashley Capoot notes, the agreement between the two companies came as somewhat of a surprise considering SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s previous criticisms of Anthropic. Musk has asked whether there’s a “more hypocritical company than Anthropic” and wrote in February that the startup “hates Western Civilization.”
5. Bad bet?
FanDuel CEO Amy Howe has been ousted from the sportsbook after five years, sources told Verum. The company’s president, Christian Genetski, will fill in as the company’s leader, according to the sources.
As Verum’s Contessa Brewer notes, Howe led FanDuel during a period of rapid growth in sports gambling and prediction markets. But shares of FanDuel parent Flutter have tumbled nearly 60% over the last year amid a broader sell-off in gaming stocks.
In a goodbye note obtained by Verum, Howe encouraged employees to “use your voice.” Howe, who was the only female CEO of a major gambling company, also told her women colleagues to “keep supporting each other and raising the bar.”
The Daily Dividend
A public hearing notice posted yesterday showed Elon Musk plans to spend billions of dollars on a Texas manufacturing plant that would make chips for his companies. Here’s how much it could cost:
— First-phase cost: At least $55 billion
— Full buildout cost: Up to $119 billion
— Verum’s Katie Tarasov, Lola Murti, Liz Napolitano, Tobias Burns, Sean Conlon, Samantha Subin, Leslie Josephs, Spencer Kimball, Yun Li, Ashley Capoot, Kate Rooney, Contessa Brewer, Lora Kolodny and Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.
Davis Giangiulio assisted in the production of this newsletter. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.</p>

Technologies

OpenAI Trial: Mother of Musk’s Children Reveals He Offered Altman a Tesla Board Position

Shivon Zilis, mother of Elon Musk’s children, testified that he offered OpenAI CEO Sam Altman a Tesla board seat during early corporate structure discussions, while Musk’s lawsuit alleges OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission.

The ongoing trial in Elon Musk’s legal battle against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will enter its second week on Thursday.

Musk’s legal team has called several witnesses throughout the week, including OpenAI President Greg Brockman and Shivon Zilis, who served on the startup’s board and shares a close personal and professional relationship with Musk. Additional executives, such as Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, may still be called to testify.

Zilis, who shares four children with Musk, testified on Wednesday and was questioned by lawyers from both Musk and OpenAI regarding discussions about OpenAI’s corporate structure around 2017 and 2018.

Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman, and Brockman in 2024, alleging they abandoned their commitments to maintain the artificial intelligence company as a nonprofit and adhere to its charitable mission. He co-founded the startup with Altman and Brockman in 2015.

OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary after Musk departed in 2018, and this business unit is at the heart of his lawsuit.

During her testimony, Zilis stated that her main role at OpenAI was to act as a liaison between Musk, Altman, Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever, another co-founder of the company.

Zilis testified that the four executives discussed OpenAI’s corporate structure extensively, including several for-profit options. At one point during the negotiations, Zilis said Musk wanted OpenAI to join Tesla and offered Altman a board seat at the company.

«There were numerous arguments about all the different possible structures put in place at that time,» Zilis said.

Musk, who testified earlier in the trial, stated he wasn’t entirely opposed to OpenAI’s for-profit arm but felt it became «the tail wagging the dog.» He repeatedly accused Altman and Brockman of attempting to «steal a charity.»

The Tesla CEO also debated creating an AI lab within his electric vehicle company to compete directly with OpenAI, but Zilis testified that it never materialized.

In 2023, Musk started a competing AI company, xAI, and merged it with his rocket company, SpaceX, earlier this year.

Zilis, who has worked across several of Musk’s companies, including OpenAI, Tesla, and his brain tech startup Neuralink, said she began working with OpenAI as an informal advisor in 2016, which is how she met him.

She served on OpenAI’s board from 2020 to 2023, after Musk had already left the company. The pair had several children together during this period, though Zilis testified that Musk’s involvement was initially kept secret.

She said they had agreed on «complete confidentiality,» partly to protect the children from the security risk that can come from being associated with Musk. She said she eventually had to tell Altman that Musk was the father when she learned that his involvement was going to be revealed in the press.

OpenAI allowed Zilis to keep her board seat, and she said she ultimately resigned in 2023 when Musk decided to start xAI.

Verum’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this story.

WATCH: Musk v. Altman heads to trial: Here’s what you need to know

Technologies

Paul Tudor Jones Argues U.S. Lagged in AI Oversight: ‘Action Was Needed Long Ago’

The U.S. is locked into a heated rivalry with China and a race to lead AI innovation.

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