<s>
Messages	O
is	O
an	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
software	B-Application
application	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
for	O
its	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
watchOS	B-Device
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mobile	B-Operating_System
version	I-Operating_System
of	O
Messages	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
used	O
on	O
iPhone	B-Device
and	O
iPad	B-Device
also	O
supports	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
MMS	O
due	O
to	O
replacing	O
the	O
older	O
text	O
messaging	O
Text	O
app	O
since	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
tell	O
the	O
difference	O
between	O
a	O
message	O
sent	O
via	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
one	O
sent	O
over	O
iMessage	O
as	O
the	O
bubbles	O
will	O
appear	O
either	O
green	O
(	O
SMS	B-Device
)	O
or	O
blue	O
(	O
iMessage	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
desktop	B-Device
Messages	O
application	O
replaced	O
iChat	B-Protocol
as	O
the	O
native	O
OS	O
X	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
client	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
Mountain	I-Operating_System
Lion	I-Operating_System
in	O
July	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
it	O
inherits	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
iChat	B-Protocol
's	O
features	O
,	O
Messages	O
also	O
brings	O
support	O
for	O
iMessage	O
,	O
Apple	O
's	O
messaging	O
service	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
integration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
released	O
Messages	O
for	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Device
as	O
a	O
built-in	O
application	O
with	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3.0	I-Operating_System
on	O
June	O
17	O
,	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
replaced	O
the	O
Text	O
application	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
the	O
native	O
messaging	O
application	O
since	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Device
's	O
inception	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
change	O
in	O
name	O
was	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Device
gaining	O
native	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
MMS	O
protocol	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
previously	O
available	O
SMS	B-Device
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
iPhone	B-Device
did	O
not	O
receive	O
support	O
for	O
MMS	O
,	O
citing	O
hardware	O
challenges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	O
received	O
minor	O
upgrades	O
with	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
new	O
features	O
was	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
search	O
within	O
text	O
messages	O
,	O
much	O
like	O
the	O
search	O
feature	O
in	O
Mail	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
displaying	O
a	O
character	O
count	O
to	O
notify	O
when	O
one	O
had	O
gone	O
over	O
the	O
standard	O
SMS	B-Device
character	O
limit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
iOS	B-Operating_System
4.0	I-Operating_System
also	O
included	O
support	O
for	O
a	O
red	O
exclamation	O
mark	O
to	O
appear	O
on	O
the	O
app	O
's	O
icon	O
to	O
warn	O
failure	O
to	O
send	O
a	O
message	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
were	O
provided	O
with	O
a	O
new	O
API	B-General_Concept
that	O
allowed	O
them	O
to	O
add	O
embedded	O
messaging	O
functionality	O
to	O
their	O
apps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
iMessage	O
support	O
was	O
added	O
with	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
5	I-Operating_System
on	O
October	O
12	O
,	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPhone	B-Device
supported	O
SMS	B-Device
,	O
MMS	O
and	O
iMessage	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
and	O
iPod	O
touch	O
only	O
supported	O
iMessage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
iMessage	O
,	O
users	O
could	O
send	O
text	O
,	O
picture	O
messages	O
and	O
contacts	O
over	O
WiFi	O
or	O
3G	B-Architecture
to	O
other	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
5	I-Operating_System
devices	O
without	O
using	O
their	O
carrier	O
quota	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	O
also	O
introduced	O
typing	O
indication	O
,	O
delivery	O
and	O
read	B-Operating_System
receipts	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
Notification	B-Operating_System
Center	I-Operating_System
,	O
new	O
SMS	B-Device
,	O
MMS	O
or	O
iMessages	O
could	O
be	O
seen	O
on	O
the	O
lock	O
screen	O
or	O
by	O
pulling	O
down	O
the	O
Notification	B-Operating_System
Center	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
iOS	B-Operating_System
6	I-Operating_System
helped	O
improve	O
syncing	O
between	O
multiple	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
iPod	O
touch	O
and	O
iPad	B-Device
users	O
could	O
now	O
use	O
their	O
iPhone	B-Device
phone	O
numbers	O
to	O
send	O
or	O
receive	O
iMessages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earlier	O
,	O
iPhone	B-Device
users	O
could	O
not	O
receive	O
iMessages	O
sent	O
to	O
their	O
phone	O
number	O
on	O
iPad	B-Device
or	O
iPod	O
touch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
iOS	B-Operating_System
6	I-Operating_System
also	O
added	O
a	O
Share	O
button	O
on	O
apps	O
like	O
Safari	B-Application
and	O
Photos	O
,	O
which	O
enabled	O
users	O
to	O
share	O
links	O
and	O
photos	O
using	O
SMS/MMS	O
or	O
iMessage	O
without	O
leaving	O
the	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	O
received	O
a	O
new	O
user	O
interface	O
in	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
7	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
8	I-Operating_System
,	O
users	O
can	O
send	O
audio	O
and	O
video	O
messages	O
by	O
holding	O
down	O
the	O
record	O
button	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
continuity	O
feature	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
now	O
use	O
their	O
iPhones	B-Device
as	O
a	O
relay	O
to	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
MMS	O
messages	O
on	O
Macs	O
and	O
iPads	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
9	I-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
app	O
received	O
a	O
redesigned	O
overlay	O
when	O
sending	O
an	O
audio	O
clip	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
seeing	O
contact	O
photos	O
in	O
list	O
view	O
on	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
6	I-Operating_System
or	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
app	O
has	O
its	O
own	O
App	O
Store	O
allowing	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
download	O
third-party	O
apps	O
that	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
send	O
stickers	O
and	O
play	O
games	O
within	O
the	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	O
has	O
been	O
included	O
in	O
every	O
version	O
of	O
watchOS	B-Device
on	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Watch	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	B-Device
Watches	I-Device
can	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
MMS	O
messages	O
through	O
a	O
paired	O
iPhone	B-Device
,	O
while	O
iMessages	O
can	O
be	O
sent	O
and	O
received	O
over	O
Wi-Fi	O
without	O
a	O
paired	O
iPhone	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Watch	I-Device
has	O
no	O
keyboard	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
respond	O
to	O
messages	O
using	O
preset	O
replies	O
or	O
text	O
transcribed	O
by	O
Siri	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	B-Device
Watch	I-Device
can	O
also	O
send	O
emojis	B-Application
,	O
audio	O
recordings	O
,	O
and	O
hand-drawn	O
"	O
scribbles	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	O
was	O
announced	O
for	O
OS	O
X	O
as	O
a	O
beta	O
application	O
on	O
February	O
16	O
,	O
2012	O
for	O
Macs	O
running	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
10.7	I-Application
"	I-Application
Lion	I-Application
"	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
stable	O
release	O
of	O
Messages	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
July	O
25	O
,	O
2012	O
with	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
Mountain	I-Operating_System
Lion	I-Operating_System
,	O
replacing	O
iChat	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
supporting	O
Apple	O
's	O
new	O
iMessage	O
protocol	O
,	O
Messages	O
retained	O
its	O
support	O
for	O
AIM	B-Protocol
,	O
Yahoo	B-Application
Messenger	I-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
Talk	I-Application
and	O
Jabber	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	O
unitizes	O
the	O
newly	O
added	O
Notification	B-Operating_System
Center	I-Operating_System
to	O
notify	O
of	O
incoming	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
Share	O
button	O
in	O
applications	O
like	O
Safari	B-Application
,	O
Finder	B-Application
and	O
Preview	B-Language
gave	O
users	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
share	O
links	O
to	O
webpages	O
,	O
photos	O
,	O
and	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
supports	O
video	O
calling	O
through	O
Apple	O
's	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
and	O
the	O
third-party	O
IM	O
services	O
it	O
supports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
Mountain	I-Operating_System
Lion	I-Operating_System
10.8.2	O
,	O
Messages	O
gained	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
iMessages	O
using	O
an	O
iPhone	B-Device
phone	O
number	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	O
received	O
a	O
major	O
redesign	O
in	O
OS	B-Device
X	I-Device
Yosemite	I-Device
,	O
following	O
the	O
flat	B-Application
design	I-Application
aesthetic	O
introduced	O
in	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
7	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
Continuity	O
feature	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
MMS	O
messages	O
through	O
paired	O
iPhones	B-Device
running	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
8	I-Operating_System
or	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
dropped	O
the	O
original	O
codebase	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
porting	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
version	O
using	O
Catalyst	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
done	O
to	O
retain	O
feature	O
parity	O
with	O
iOS	B-Application
since	O
before	O
the	O
Mac	B-Device
version	O
lagged	O
behind	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Big	B-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
brought	O
conversation	O
pinning	O
,	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
mention	O
individuals	O
,	O
message	O
searching	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
tools	O
to	O
send	O
messages	O
such	O
as	O
Memoji	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
headlining	O
feature	O
in	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
5	I-Operating_System
,	O
Messages	O
was	O
widely	O
reviewed	O
and	O
was	O
met	O
with	O
fairly	O
positive	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dante	O
Cesa	O
from	O
Engadget	B-Application
,	O
in	O
his	O
review	O
,	O
praised	O
the	O
"	O
brilliance	O
"	O
in	O
Apple	O
's	O
execution	O
of	O
Messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
complimented	O
the	O
way	O
Messages	O
did	O
not	O
change	O
the	O
earlier	O
SMS	B-Device
UI	O
and	O
would	O
automatically	O
convert	O
an	O
SMS/MMS	O
to	O
iMessage	O
if	O
the	O
recipient	O
was	O
registered	O
;	O
and	O
from	O
iMessage	O
to	O
SMS/MMS	O
if	O
they	O
stopped	O
using	O
the	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dan	O
Moren	O
from	O
Macworld	O
was	O
also	O
in	O
praise	O
of	O
Apple	O
execution	O
saying	O
that	O
"	O
there	O
...	O
'	O
s	O
no	O
having	O
to	O
explain	O
to	O
your	O
less	O
technically	O
savvy	O
friends	O
how	O
they	O
can	O
send	O
you	O
a	O
free	O
message	O
instead	O
of	O
an	O
SMS	B-Device
;	O
it	O
's	O
all	O
done	O
automatically.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
noted	O
that	O
doing	O
away	O
with	O
SMS	B-Device
's	O
character	O
limits	O
(	O
140	O
or	O
160	O
)	O
helped	O
eliminate	O
messages	O
being	O
sent	O
and	O
received	O
split	O
up	O
into	O
two	O
or	O
more	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
6	I-Operating_System
and	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
Mountain	I-Operating_System
Lion	I-Operating_System
(	O
10.8.2	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
inability	O
to	O
receive	O
iMessages	O
sent	O
to	O
iPhone	B-Device
phone	O
numbers	O
on	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
,	O
iPod	O
touch	O
,	O
and	O
Mac	B-Device
was	O
criticized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
feature	O
was	O
addressed	O
in	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
6	I-Operating_System
for	O
iPhones	B-Device
,	O
iPads	B-Device
and	O
iPod	O
touches	O
and	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
10.8.2	I-Operating_System
for	O
Macs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
Apple	O
's	O
VoiceOver	B-Operating_System
screen	O
reader	O
(	O
on	O
both	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
macOS	B-Application
)	O
,	O
visually	O
impaired	O
users	O
can	O
tap	O
on	O
a	O
message	O
and	O
have	O
it	O
be	O
read	O
out	O
to	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Utilizing	O
Siri	B-Application
with	O
Messages	O
enables	O
one	O
to	O
dictate	O
and	O
send	O
messages	O
with	O
just	O
a	O
few	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Siri	B-Application
is	O
also	O
able	O
to	O
read	O
out	O
new	O
incoming	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
default	O
font	O
size	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
Messages	O
is	O
editable	O
under	O
the	O
Accessibility	O
tab	O
in	O
the	O
Settings	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
