iOS 16’s editable iMessages may not play nice with older iPhones

One of the most prominent features of iOS 16 that was unveiled earlier this month was the ability to edit and unsend messages, but the capability might not operate properly if you’re contacting someone who isn’t using the most recent version of Apple’s software. According to sources, the most recent iOS developer beta 16 includes a cumbersome workaround that enables iPhones without iOS 16 to receive freshly editable iMessages. Anyone in an iMessage group discussion using an outdated iPhone or Android might find it bothersome.

If someone using iOS 16’s second beta attempts to modify an iMessage sent to a device running a previous version of the software, the recipient will get the modification as a second text, followed by the words “Updated to,” rather than just seeing the edited version of the message. When attempting to change a message that had already been sent to a device running an earlier development beta of iOS 16, nothing would ever be delivered. However, the recipient, who would see many communications, will think the new strategy is quite disorganised. According to 9to5Mac, when an amended message is delivered, Apple’s software is unable to instantly erase the original message.

Given that iOS 16 will be accessible for devices dating back to the 2017 iPhone 8, in addition to the fact that Apple releases new versions of its software relatively quickly, the issue is unlikely to affect the majority of iPhone customers for an extended period of time. However, it can still be inconvenient for anyone still using an iPhone from before 2017 or for Android users in iMessage group conversations. Having said that, there could be benefits to being able to see an unaltered message. Emoji responses, sometimes known as “tapbacks,” have typically been handled poorly when communicated between iOS and Android. However, a workaround has gradually surfaced, with Apple proposing an update to iOS 16 and Google modifying its messaging programme to accurately process tapbacks received from iOS. We can only hope that an equivalent solution will soon be found for editable iMessages.