Apple introduced its own messaging service iMessage in 2011 and has been improving it year after year. But there are features that make WhatsApp and Telegram more attractive in some ways. A patent has now been published that shows Apple's latest efforts in this area.
An Apple patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office shows that Cupertino is working on a feature for iMessage that allows users to edit a message that has already been sent. The application was submitted for review in December 2019 and has now been approved. This suggests a launch under iOS 14. Specifically, it's about allowing users to edit a message that has already been sent without having to resend it in a corrected form. The patent description states:
iMessage with integrated translator?
There is a need for electronic devices with improved methods and interfaces for handling the messages sent. Such methods and interfaces can complement or replace traditional methods for handling messages sent. Such methods and interfaces reduce the number, amount and/or type of inputs from a user and produce a more efficient human-machine interface.
This means that users can call up an action menu by long-pressing the sent messages and subsequently edit the content. The entire text could even be changed. The recipient will then see the corrected version but will also be able to access the original content. But it won't stop there. The description also mentioned other improvements such as "private messages" and "translate texts". But the company did not go into detail about the individual functions. As already mentioned, there is a possibility that Apple has already implemented one of these improvements under iOS 14 for iMessage However, since this is a patent and not a software leak, the whole thing could remain just an idea in the end. (Photo by Denys Prykhodov / Bigstockphoto)