How to Schedule a Text Message to Send Later on iPhone

iOS 18 is finally out and a lot of iPhone models are getting the new software update around the world. Of course, iOS 18 brings in a ton of new features, including the popular Apple Intelligence AI tools that make using your iPhone even better. One of the new and probably going to be the most used features on iOS 18 devices is the Send Later option for iMessages.

Apart from the Send Later feature brought in for iMessage via iOS 18, there are also several new and useful features that the new OS update has brought in. But if you are interested in the Send Later feature for iMessage and want to know how it works, you have come to the right place.

Schedule Messages to Send Later via iMessage

Send Later is a brand-new iMessage feature that is compatible with all Apple devices that are running on the latest available firmware. Almost all of Apple’s smart devices and Macs have iMessage. Here is a list of compatible devices that will be able to make use of Send Later via iMessage.

iPhone running on iOS 18
iPads on iPadOS 18
Macs running on macOS Sequoia
Apple Watch running on watchOS 11
Apple Vision Pro running on visionOS 2

Now that you know what compatible devices will be able to make use of this feature, let’s take a look at how you can schedule a message to send later using iMessage on your Apple iPhone.

How to Schedule a Text on iPhone

How to Schedule a Text Message to Send Later on iPhone

Ensure that your iPhone is running on iOS 18.
Now, launch the iMessages app and tap on the + icon.
Tap on Send Later. Now choose the time to open the scheduler.
Once the time has been set up, enter the text message that you wish to send.
Finally, tap on the arrow icon to send the message.
The text balloon will have a dashed outline around it.
Once the time to send the message has come, the text balloon will now turn into either blue or green, depending on whom you have sent the message.

How to Reschedule the Message

If for some reason you want to change the time of the message that you have already scheduled earlier, the iMessage apps let you just do that. Here are the steps:

Open the iMessages app.
Now, open the conversation screen of the message that you wish to reschedule.
Scroll to the message that you have scheduled and tap on the Edit option.
You will see two options.
If you tap on reschedule, you can choose to change the time that you wish the message will be sent.
If not, you can simply tap on Send it Immediately. This will send the message right away.

Edit The Scheduled Message

Is there something else that you wish to add to your scheduled message? You can easily do that by following these steps.

Open the iMessages app on your iPhone and tap on the conversation whose message you wish to edit.
Now look for the message that you planned to Send Later.
Tap and hold onto the message bubble.
Choose Edit. Now type in the text that you wish to add to the message.
If you are done making changes, tap on the blue tick mark icon. To revert or cancel any edits, tap on the small x icon.

Deleting a Scheduled Message

There can be times when you might have set up a message to send and then later realized that you would rather not send that text. Well, in the case of scheduled messages, you can delete messages that have not been sent. Here is what you need to do.

Open the conversation with the scheduled message in the iMessages app.
Now, tap on the scheduled message.
You will see an option that says Delete. Tapping on Delete will remove the scheduled message from the conversation screen.

New iMessage Features with iOS 18

Apart from the Send Later Scheduled messages that are now available on iOS18, there are a bunch of new features that you will like.

Tapback Reactions: you can now react to a message sent to you in iMessage with a set of 6 emojis. If you want to react with another emoji, simply swipe left and react with the emoji of your choice.
RCS: Apple has finally added RCS messaging into the iMessages app. With RCS, you can now easily send text messages to users who are on Android. With the adoption of RCS, you can easily send images and videos in higher quality, send SMS messages via Wi-Fi, get read receipts, see typing indicators, and also send large files and better group chats.
Send Messages via Satellite Connection: If you ever have no cellular or Wi-Fi network where you are, you can make use of satellites to send texts, just like how the emergency SOS feature works using satellites.
Smarter Replies: Thanks to Apple Intelligence, you can now reply to texts quickly with the help of improved smart replies. Based on the text you receive, you can choose from some reply options that will be offered to you by Apple Intelligence.
New Writing Tools: powered by Apple Intelligence, you can make use of many writing tools that will help you to proofread, check for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, and also create summaries out of texts that you have received.
iMessage Notification Summaries: With Apple Intelligence, you can now get summaries of the messages that have been sent to you. Get to know everything without having to open the app and read the text.
Emoji sizes, stickers, and Memojis: iOS18 lets you pick emoji sizes in the iMessages app. Additionally, you can now use stickers and Memojis as emojis within the iMessage app.
Text Formatting and Text Effects: emphasize text messages that you send by formatting them. Apart from the bold italics and underlining, can now give your texts a little effect based on what the word is.
Math Notes: Want to know the solution or sum of an equation? Simply type the equation in the text bar of the iMessages app and your iPhone will solve it for you right away.
Improved Link Cards: Before you send a link, you will be able to see its preview as well as customize the link card right away. You can choose between a simply styled card or a card with a preview.

Closing Thoughts

This concludes everything that you need to know about how you can make use of the Send Later feature in iMessage on iOS 18. Apart from the Scheduled messages, you can also see that many useful features have been brought into the iMessage app, including the AI features that make sending texts quick and easy.

Will you be making use of the Send Later feature in iMessage? Let us know your thoughts below.

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