Clunkiness with iMessages replies

By Luke, 2 June, 2021

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Is it just me or is the new replies feature of iMessages a clunky experience with VoiceOver? The tab order seems to get all confused, as single finger flicking left and right to read through messages seems to be somewhat erratic. Also, a friend sent me a web link in a reply thread. I wanted to exit the replies view so tapped near the top of the screen where VoiceOver reads "Dismiss replies (button)" and double tapped to activate, but it actually followed the link and opened Safari. I tried again, making sure I was scrolled to the top of the replies view and that I was indeed clicking the dismiss replies button, not the link, but same behavior. Beyond this, just seems like an overall less smooth and reliable experience in iMessages nowadays.

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Comments

By Luke on Friday, June 25, 2021 - 05:19

Hard to imagine it's just me experiencing this. Is no one else having a tough time with iMessages/replies? If it matters, I'm using an iPhone SE 2nd generation with the latest version of iOS.

By Holger Fiallo on Friday, June 25, 2021 - 05:19

When I respond using dictation, and I send it, iMessage freezes for several seconds before it goes. Also If I am using dictation to respond, screen tends to close and I have to open the app to do it all over again.

By Jo Billard on Friday, June 25, 2021 - 05:19

If you skip the reply function and keep scrolling, you'll find where you can type in your message. Another way to find it is to feel along the bottom of the screen until you hear edit. I can find it by feel now and that's even quicker. Nothing clunky about that.

I know but I like to use dictation. The point is that should not even happen for a phone that I pay $1000. Using 12 pro and iOS 14.6.

By Jo Billard on Friday, June 25, 2021 - 05:19

Doesn't the two-finger double tap still work for dictation? When I used to use it, it was very nonclunky.

By PinkCupcake5 on Friday, June 25, 2021 - 05:19

I have also noticed that when I double tab on dismiss replies, it doesn't always work. ANnoying but doesn't happen consistently for me so it's hard to pinpoint the problem.

By Dalia on Friday, June 25, 2021 - 05:19

Agree with the OP that the user experience could be better. Without any visual cues it can be confusing at times to know what's going on, particularly after posting a reply in my opinion.

By Jo Billard on Friday, June 25, 2021 - 05:19

Where is this reply then? I don't see it on mmy screen anywhere, , and I just go to the bottom of the conversation and the space to reply is right there.

Agree that dismiss replies doesn't always work, but haven't experienced any other bugs. I like the feature because somehow I always end up discussing multiple topics at once with one person and it could get very confusing without replies.

By Luke on Saturday, September 25, 2021 - 05:19

Hi folks. First, sorry I haven’t replied in so long. Apparently you are not automatically subscribed to updates on posts you create so I had no idea this accumulated so many replies. Anyway, to be clear I also love the idea of the replies feature because it helps organize conversations in a much better way. I’m also capable of dismissing the replies view buy two finger scrubbing even when the dismiss replies button does not work. Finally, reading and replying to threads in iMessages is fully accessible so that’s not the issue. I guess it’s hard to fully articulate what I’m trying to explain because it does seem erratic, as others have mentioned. Basically it seems like the order of messages gets jumbled when you start replying or opening up replies you’ve received from others. Really hard to explain. All I know is that even Facebook does a better job of managing this functionality than iMessages does. Compare the two experiences and you will see what I mean