Swipe to the right and there is a full camera button. One observation: if you use the small in–line camera preview, the photo you take will not be saved to camera roll. If you swipe over and open the full screen camera app, the photo will be saved to camera roll like it used to be.
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The new iMessage
- Thread starter xero9
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Swipe to the right and there is a full camera button. One observation: if you use the small in–line camera preview, the photo you take will not be saved to camera roll. If you swipe over and open the full screen camera app, the photo will be saved to camera roll like it used to be.
On iPhone there's a triangle to the left that discloses some buttons. On iPad the buttons are there from the start.
I still don't quite follow how this really gets in the way of just "simple and clean" texting when I've been able to keep on doing it as usual. Seems like if I can do it so can other people who are interested in that as well.
As far as various things you bring up. The whole copy thing seems to be a non-issue really and is actually better in some ways as covered a few posts ago at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/the-new-imessage.1977127/page-11#post-23540553.
Turning the phone in landscape mode shows the handwriting view the first time, but if you simply select the regular keyboard then it shows that and stays on that in the future as well. So essentially a non-issue too.
Progress bar seems to be more of a bug/glitch than anything else given that it shows up in some cases and not other. So that doesn't seem to have much to do with any "childish" changes. (Realistically that bar hasn't been as useful really as often it would fill up almost to the end and then stop and wait for a while until the message got sent. Ultimately the "Delivered" indicator is more of a useful and meaningful indicator if anything.)
The bar at the top seems to be a bit of a redesign similarly to how thumbnails were added to the conversation view in earlier iOS versions. It doesn't have much to do with "childishness" either. It also doesn't really get much in the way aside from the really smaller screens. Hopefully Apple will add an option not to display that thumbnail like they added one for the conversation list thumbnails in an update.
I really cannot puzzle this thread out at all.
@boltjames you seem like a reasonable, measured person on every other topic but this one. I can see it it annoys you a lot but I can't work out why it's quite so extreme. I was insulting earlier in the thread and I quite regret it, for what it's worth.
I'm a fan but not a fanboy (see my posts on universal clipboard, OS X 1st party design quality and copy and paste in safari in iOS. The latter is so broken as to be nearly worthless imo) so it's not like I'm just ra-ra-ing Apple here.
Anyway, exiting this thread. It makes no sense.
@boltjames you seem like a reasonable, measured person on every other topic but this one. I can see it it annoys you a lot but I can't work out why it's quite so extreme. I was insulting earlier in the thread and I quite regret it, for what it's worth.
I'm a fan but not a fanboy (see my posts on universal clipboard, OS X 1st party design quality and copy and paste in safari in iOS. The latter is so broken as to be nearly worthless imo) so it's not like I'm just ra-ra-ing Apple here.
Anyway, exiting this thread. It makes no sense.
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I think the progress bar may just be delayed (whether due to a bug or intentional). When I send regular texts I don't get the progress bar because they send so quickly. When I sent an image along with my text a progress bar appeared after a few moments.
Maybe if your message takes longer than specified time to send then the progress bar appears.
Certainly a possibility. Could be a slight change in design like that. Could be a bug behind that. In either case though, not really something that drastically affects the typical use of the Messages app, nor something "childish" in some way.
I agree. And the status bar at the top with contact images isn't good or bad to me, it's just there.
You can disable apps within Messages so that taping the app icon only brings up the [admittedly] odd written replies, but no "Rude GIFs." So that isn't really any issue. I admit that I think the app is cluttered. For instance, I'll never use "Tap Back" so I wish I could hide the button, but it doesn't impede my usage of the app.
The only real functional complaint I have with the app is that the camera button now gets hidden behind the arrow when you begin typing a message. Now it takes three taps to get to your full camera app (tap arrow, tap camera, swipe and tap camera icon), but that's not a loss of functionality so I can adjust; just a minor annoyance.
EDIT: I will add that the ability to take a picture within the text app that isn't saved to camera roll is a nice addition that will save useless shots of labels or miscellaneous things from cluttering up my camera roll.
The removal of features (progress bar) and the reduction of usable real estate (compose field) and the addition of noise (app store bar) are not "childish". They were badly augmented to make room for that which is "childish".
The new iMessage is no different than Twitter placing adds in the News Feed. Yeah, you can still get to your content, but the experience is compromised by noise and the UI is compromised by bloat.
BJ
Not sure how progress bar not working the way it was before either due to a change in behavior or due to a bug related to any other new features in Messages.
It does seem like most of the other things I commented on are essentially as I laid them out to be.
And while you perhaps perceive it all as being on the level of having ads in the news feed, it's certainly not "no different" from that, and actually fairly different from that. Again, it might certainly be perceived to be that impactful to you for some reason, but it doesn't appear to actually be that way in practice given that it's all not early as impactful for those that would like to avoid it.
Ultimately it's basically down to a difference in the level of impact (or perceived impact) of it all--there's the idea that it is of great or even extreme impact, and then there's the more practical take on it all being of some impact, but mostly minor and/or fairly manageable.
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I've inadvertently found a widget that makes iMessage a little more palatable, it's called Favorites Widget, it's claim to fame is that in one widget it can put all your favorite contacts and puts you a button press away from a text, phone call, facetime, etc.
By using this widget to continue an iMessage with a contact it takes me straight into the compose field with the annoying girly bar in 'closed' mode. So I can quickly get into typing without the noise. Twas a pleasant surprise this morning.
So that's 1 of the painful 10 functional changes I've been able to work around. 9 more to go.
BJ
Quite of a few of those changes I and some others already addressed before.
And, really, now we are onto "girly"? And just when it seems that things might be sort of crossing into at least somewhat reasonable/rational territory...
Tell me about it. It's like Apple decided that text messaging needed to resemble a circus at a bad amusement park.
Animated balloons, rude GIF's, wiggling bubbles, needless 'like' stickers, crappy use of space, disorienting landscape mode, and that's just the beginning. Anyone using this thing in the car is pounding the steering wheel in frustration as Siri reads back your texts like this:
"Steven said sent with balloons lets meet at five slam effect."
BJ
Six days on I'm still enjoying iMessage and it's new features. I think it was about time it had an overhaul and I'm 34 and don't feel it's too childish at all. 
Seems like the underlying issue there is more with people using something rather than something simply being available.
Tell me about it. It's like Apple decided that text messaging needed to resemble a circus at a bad amusement park.
Animated balloons, rude GIF's, wiggling bubbles, needless 'like' stickers, crappy use of space, disorienting landscape mode, and that's just the beginning. Anyone using this thing in the car is pounding the steering wheel in frustration as Siri reads back your texts like this:
"Steven said sent with balloons lets meet at five slam effect."
BJ
The underlying issue is that a childish featureset designed for a subset of text message users is being force-fed to us all instead of as an option, and a UI that was as clean and simple as the SMS medium itself has turned into a bloated distraction.
BJ
ya..... my inner 6 year old has come out with all the stickers! my poor hubby is so DONE with all my cute and adorable (not his words! haha!) stickers!
I haven't figured out the whole stacking of stickers, though! I guess I'm supposed to be able to put bows, glasses, pirate eye patches, etc on other stickers... but they always just want to replace!
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you don't have to download or use the stickers or other stuff! so it's not really force fed at all....
The user interface has been radically redesigned for the childish features. It's not a matter of not using them, it's a matter of not being able to avoid them because they are are everywhere and are distracting.
BJ
In my opinion its fine and needed these extra features. Its not like you have to use them, I dont see whats so hard about the UI.
I wish it were that simple. These are the things we have to live with in iMessage now that are invasive:
1. Thick bar at top with name/photo of contact taking up needless space.
2. Progress bar showing message sending status removed.
3. Compose message field is 50% smaller making it harder to tap, especially one-handed or while walking.
4. Typing a message like "congrats" or "happy birthday" launches balloons by default, no way to opt out.
5. When trying to copy a message to paste into another message, the nonsense bar pops up and it is too easy to accidentally tap a thumbs down or a ha-ha when all you wanted to do was copy the message.
6. When driving and using Bluetooth to read back messages, Siri refers to all the childish effects as read text such as "Sent with balloons Tom says I will meet you at the bar at five with slam effect"
7. The new answer-back stickers encourage more texts where not necessary, where I used to be able to type "see you at the bar at five" and receive a simple "K", now I get a thumbs up notification followed by another message notification.
8. See above regarding driving and these new answer-back stickers, how Siri reads back effects as text-to-speech, and how annoying that is in a moving vehicle. "Sent with balloons sent with thumbs-up Tom says I will meet you at the bar at five with slam effect"
9. When someone sends you a message with an effect, your lock screen notification doesn't show you a few lines of the message text anymore, it instead says "Sent with balloons" and nothing else. You can't make this up.
10. If turned into landscape mode inadvertently while composing a message, the composed message text vanishes and is replaced by a big white screen with cursive buttons that say "thinking of you" and "I'm sorry".
BJ
Does any of you has problems with iMessage availability between iOS 10 and 9.3.5 devices ? My fiancé have 5C with iOS 9 and most of times even when on wifi she is not able to send me iMessage ( I am 24/7 on internet - mobile data or wifi ).
There is just no option for her, same for me. Sometimes it says on my SE that I have to turn on iMessage but it's all the time on.
What the heck?
What we tried on both devices:
Soft reboot
Forced reboot (power and home button)
Turning off iMessage and on after couple of minutes.
There is just no option for her, same for me. Sometimes it says on my SE that I have to turn on iMessage but it's all the time on.
What the heck?
What we tried on both devices:
Soft reboot
Forced reboot (power and home button)
Turning off iMessage and on after couple of minutes.
Items 1, 2, 5, and 10 have already been covered and addressed earlier. Items 6, 7, 8, and 9 are basically more on the sender/recipient choosing to use something (without having to or anything like that) than anything else.
Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are problematic for those not interested in the juvenile new features of iMessage, the fact that you have commented on them does not mean they are "covered" or "addressed".
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As has been mentioned before, items 1 and 2 have nothing at all to do with anything "juvenile" or anything related to that. Items 5 and 10 are basically non-issues as item 5 actually makes it easier to copy something compared to what it was like before, and item 10 can be changed the first time and remains that way from that point. Items 6, 7, 8, and 9 are there, but only if someone actually decides to use them, meaning that if someone doesn't actually decide to use them then they aren't a factor as they aren't used and therefore aren't involved.
Now, all of that can be ignored of course and points could be stuck to simply on principle. But that doesn't change the reality of all those things.
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