If you’re tired of opening the Messages app just to send a quick reply to an incoming text message, you’ll be thrilled to discover the new Interactive Notifications feature brought to iOS with version 8. This means you can respond to a Message without stopping what you’re currently doing and without leaving the currently active app, just send a reply directly from the notification banner instead.
How do interactive notifications work with the Messages app? It’s remarkably simple, here’s what you’ll want to do when you get a new message and see it pop up at the top of the iOS device screen:
- Pull down on the Notification banner to reveal a text box to type a quick reply with (bonus points for using the QuickType feature of iOS)
- Send the message from the notification banner and continue about your app usage as usual
That’s it, your reply is sent and you didn’t even have to enter into the Messages app if you don’t want to. The banner will automatically dismiss once the response is on it’s way too.
Of course, if you tap on the Messages notification it will launch into the app as it did before, so the swipe-down gesture is essential to remember if you want to access the quick reply feature. And just as before, if you swipe up instead, it will dismiss the notification instead.
This feature is particularly handy for iPhone users who are always on the go, but it’s available on the iPad and iPod touch too, and alleviates many of the hassles that go along with switching between apps or otherwise being interrupted from your iOS workflow. Obviously you’ll need iOS 8 to use this.
Interactive notifications go far beyond the Messages app, and you’ll find them available with Calendars, Mail, Reminders, and third party apps that support the feature.
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