Caitlin McGarry, writing for Macworld, digs into iOS 10’s new iMessage app. An all around interesting read, but this stuck out:
Federighi used a funny image creation app called JibJab to demonstrate the features in his WWDC demo. JibJab lets you create and share e-cards with people, and the iMessage extension allows you to select from a gallery of faces in your Camera Roll and drop a friend’s face on a JibJab GIF. When you share that image with someone, it will appear in the same iMessage conversation with a button beneath the image to install JibJab. Whereas Facebook Messenger would kick you to the App Store to finish downloading the app, in iMessage, you’ll remain inside your conversation. JibJab will appear in the new iMessage app drawer, which you can open without ever leaving Messages.
This is a subtle change, but a huge win for developers, an OS level viral mechanism developers can use to help spread the word about their app. This sort of discovery mechanism can help a developer build awareness, all without having to take out an ad or pay for PR.
I’d like to also have a way to view the content without installing the app. Perhaps an “Open in Safari” button.
AIUI you do see the image without the app. I think it just gives you an easy link to also grab the app if you want to. (I guess this will vary depending on the content being shared.)
Does it send text? Yup.
Does it receive text? Yup.
Does it send media files and hyperlinks? Yup.
Does it let you use ApplePay to send money to others? Nope.
Work on that, please. The rest is just nonsense.
This is how I understand it, too.
I wish I could be sure. I was watching the iMessage WWDC video, but late at night and it seemed very short so I think I might have caught a nap. 😉
Alternatively, it’s a way to annoy me with lots of app-spam whenever anyone I know “discovers this awesome app”.
Sarcastic Yay.