Apple Is Quietly Giving iMessage a Simple But Useful New Ability

When iOS 26 rolls out this fall, it will deliver several highly anticipated new features to your iPhone’s Messages app.

At June’s WWDC, Apple revealed that the Messages app will get typing indicators for group chats, the ability to create polls to vote on, custom backgrounds, a live translation feature, and a dedicated folder to filter out spam messages.

However, now that early adopters have gotten their hands on the pubic betas, it’s been uncovered that Apple is adding another highly-requested new ability to Messages. It’s one that’s been a long time coming.

A better way to copy

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

To date, a common frustration with the iPhone’s Messages app has had to do with its “Copy” function.

Instead of being able to copy a single word or phrase from an iMessage that somebody has sent you, you’re only option has been to copy the entire message. And that’s annoying.

After pasting the copied text, be it in another chat or in Google Search, you’re then forced to delete the excess text that you didn’t want. It’s not quick or practical.

But good news! With iOS 26, Apple is introducing a new “Select” function that allows you to highlight and copy just the specific text you want. Hooray!

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

To do this, simply long-press on the iMessage you want to copy from and, just like before, a drop-down menu will appear. Only this time, there’s a new “Select” option.

Once selected, you can then highlight the exact word or phrase you want copied and leave out all the rest. Then just tap “Copy.”

This works across both text messages and iMessages, and promises to be a game-changer for those who wish to copy things like phone numbers, addresses, landmarks, simple words …. or really anything in the confines of a message.

When’s it coming?

iOS 26 will be released this September, coinciding with the launch of Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup.

For those wanting early access, Apple has already released the public beta of iOS 16.

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