How To Send iPhone Messages With Bubble & Screen Effects: Make Your iMessages Pop!

If you want your iPhone messages to stand out, try sending them with screen effects. Here’s how…

One of people’s favorite features of the iPhone is the Messages app. Apple Messages, or iMessage as it is sometimes known, is one of the most popular messaging apps on the planet. People like those blue bubbles.

In recent versions of the iPhone’s operating system – including iOS 14, iOS 15 and iOS 16 – Apple has added new features to the Messages app. Features such as the ability to delete sent messages, edit sent messages and add responses to messages.

But there are also additional little-used features of Messages, which can make sending messages more enjoyable. These features are bubble effects and screen effects.

Pin What Are iPhone Messages Bubble Effects?

The first set of effects built into Messages are bubble effects. Bubble effects are effects – i.e. animations – that affect the chat bubble (also known as chat bubble or word bubble) itself – hence the blue bubble text message you sent.

Bubble effects work on text messages, emojis, and picture attachments—whatever fits into a blue iMessage text word balloon. Bubble effects come in four varieties:

Slam: This effect slams your message onto the text message thread. It’s an eye-catching animation that gives your message a tone of authority or hilarity (depending on what the message says, of course). Loud: This bubble effect temporarily enlarges the text message and shakes it before shrinking back to normal size. As the name suggests, this animation represents you shouting the message. Soft: this bubble effect temporarily enlarges the chat bubble, but the text inside is small. Eventually the text grows to normal size. This animation represents a whisper. Invisible Ink: This bubble effect is perhaps the coolest. When you send a text message or photo with this effect, the text or photo is blurred. The recipient must swipe their finger over the blurred content to reveal it.

As of iOS 16, these are the only four bubble effects so far.

What are iPhone Messages Screen Effects?

The next set of effects built into Messages are screen effects. Where bubble effects only affect the appearance and animation of an individual chat bubble, Screen Effects affect the entire screen that displays the messages in the chat thread.

Screen effects only last a few seconds. There are several types of screen effects:

Echo: this causes the most recently sent sext to repeat itself across the screen. Spotlight: this effect will cause a spotlight effect to appear on the text message. Balloons: this effect shows balloons floating on the screen behind the text messages. This is a great effect when sending happy birthday wishes. Confetti: this effect causes confetti to fall across the screen. It’s good for texts congratulating someone. Love: this effect will show a helium heart-shaped balloon on the screen blowing up and floating away. Lasers: this effect will make it look like multi-colored lasers are sticking out. Point behind the text bubble. Fireworks: this effect will cause fireworks to appear on the screen. Celebration: this effect will cause golden sparks to shower across the screen.

As of iOS 16, the above screen effects are all the app currently offers.

How to Send an iPhone Messages Bubble Effect

Sending an iPhone Messages Bubble Effect is easy:

In the Message app, write your message in the text field. Now, instead of tapping the blue send button, tap and hold it. The effect screen will appear. Make sure the Bubble tab is active by tapping on it. Now tap the dot next to any of the four bubble effects to preview them. Tap the Send button next to the selected bubble effect you want to use.

And this is how you send bubble effects in Messages on iPhone!

How to Send an iPhone Messages Screen Effect

Sending an iPhone Messages Screen Effect is easy:

In the Message app, write your message in the text field. Now, instead of tapping the blue send button, tap and hold it. The effect screen will appear. Make sure the Screen tab is active by tapping on it. Now swipe right to swipe through the different screen effects to preview them. Tap the Send button on the selected screen effect you want to use.

And that’s how you send screen effects in Messages on iPhone!

Michael Grothaus Apple expert and novelist Michael Grothaus has been covering technology on KnowYourMobile for the better part of 10 years. Before that he worked at Apple. And before that he was a film journalist. Michael is a published author; his book Epiphany Jones was named one of the best novels about Hollywood by Entertainment Weekly. Michael is also a writer at other publications, including VICE and Fast Company.