Hey {{first_name|there}}!
It’s been brutally cold here in Virginia for the last couple of weeks. If you’re dealing with it too, I hope you’re keeping as warm as possible. If you’re in a warmer climate, well, we’re all jealous.
Here’s what I have for you today:
Polls in Messages can save so much back-and-forth
Managing the app drawer in Messages (and a shortcut when sharing photos)
ICYMI: Apple Creator Studio
A new episode of Basic AF
And as always, my hand-selected news roundup
Let’s jump into it!
💬 This Messages feature saves so much back-and-forth
Last summer, I went on a cruise with my wife’s side of the family to the Bahamas. There were 25 people in total in our large group.
Coordinating lunch and evening plans meant a lot of back-and-forth in Messages.
Sure would’ve been handy to have Apple’s new Poll feature back then — something that arrived later in the fall with the latest OS updates.
Here’s how it works.
Requirements to start, see, or vote in a poll
iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, visionOS 26, watchOS 26.
If someone is running an older OS or using a different platform (like Android), they’ll see a message that a poll was sent — they won’t be able to vote.
Tap + and then Polls to add a poll.
Creating and sending a poll is very simple
Open Messages and locate the conversation you want to send the poll in, or start a new conversation and add your recipients.
Tap the + button and then tap Polls.
Add your poll choices, up to 12 total.
Tap the Send arrow to send the poll.
After you send the poll, anyone in the chat can add other choices as long as you haven’t maxed out at 12 already.
Adding a choice doesn’t add a vote for it; you’ll need to tap it to add a vote.
Add up to 12 choices and then tap the send arrow.
Voting and Results
Voting is as easy as tapping on the options you want.
Tap again to remove a vote.
To see the votes, tap and hold on the poll, then tap Poll Details.
People in the chat simply tap on their preferred options to vote. You can vote for multiple options.
Voting results are shown in real-time.
If you spend any time coordinating plans in group chats, polls are definitely worth using.
Bonus Tip: Rearrange apps in the Messages app drawer
Apps in the app drawer can be rearranged or disabled
On iOS and iPadOS, you may have noticed that when you tapped the + button, a bunch of apps appeared in the app drawer. Apple provides over a dozen, including some you’ll likely never use, and third-party apps are available, too.
That can get messy. Here’s how to arrange the list so your most-used apps are right at your fingertips.
Go to a conversation in Messages, or start a new one.
Tap the + button to show the app drawer.
Tap and hold an item in the list until it shrinks a bit (you’ll also get haptic feedback).
Drag the item up or down to arrange the list as you’d like.
To keep your list tidy, you can disable third-party apps you don’t use.
Go to Settings > Apps
Tap on Messages and then iMessage Apps
Slide the toggle for any apps you want to remove from the drawer
This is one of those features Apple hides just well enough that people miss it.
Bonus Tip #2: Quick Access to Photos
Here’s another one that’s hidden. If you want to quickly send a photo in a Messages chat in iOS and iPadOS, tap and hold on the + symbol to go directly to the photo picker.
Poll: Siri’s future
Just about a year ago, I asked you if Apple would crush it with the new Siri and the features it showed at WWDC in 2024. Turns out, that didn't happen because the new Siri was delayed until this year.
Recently, there’s been some better news. Apple and Google announced a partnership where Google’s Gemini models would power the new Siri.
So let’s revisit the question.
Is this year Siri’s coming out party?
👋 If you missed it in my last email…
Image: Apple
Apple has launched Apple Creator Studio, a new subscription that bundles its pro creative apps into one package for $12.99/month or $129/year.
College students and educators get a significant discount at $2.99/month or $29.99/year.
The Apple Creator Studio bundle includes:
Final Cut Pro
Logic Pro
Pixelmator Pro
Compressor
Main Stage
Pages
Numbers
Keynote
Freeform
Pixelmator Pro is coming to the iPad for the first time, which is excellent. Having more pro apps on the iPad is a good thing.
Here is the link for more: https://www.tomfanderson.com/p/this-is-apple-s-most-important-ai-decision-yet
🎙️ On the Latest Basic AF
Listen to and follow the show in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all the other podcast apps, as well as on YouTube and YouTube Music.
📣 News to Know About
Here’s a quick rundown of noteworthy things that I’ve hand-selected just for you:
