When Apple announced iOS 9 and its ability to offer actionable notifications, it showed off some of the things that would make possible. One of those was the ability to quickly reply to messages without having to open the app that sent the notification. That meant that, in theory, people could receive instant messages and then reply to them right from the comfort of the Notification Center, banner or the Lock Screen in the same way they could with iMessage.
The problem is that it’s taken until the release of iOS 9.1 for many app developers to get their updates out, and some we’re still waiting for. We’re big fans of the feature itself, and not having to open an app just to type a quick reply can be a real lifesaver. Here, we have a list of popular apps that support iOS 9’s Quick Reply feature, and hopefully, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
WhatsApp Messenger (requires iOS 9.1): WhatsApp is massive just about everywhere except the United States, so being able to quickly reply to instant messages without opening the app is huge for those that use it.
Facebook Messenger: Facebook Messenger is growing into quite the capable messaging app, and while some still don’t like that it was broken out from the Facebook app itself, in many ways, it makes plenty of sense. Especially now that Facebook Messenger supports quick replies and the Facebook app does not.
Telegram: Encrypted and self-destructing messages that can be quickly replied to? Sign us up!
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Twitter: The official Twitter app can be behind the times in many ways, but it’s one of the few apps that actually support quick replies. Well done, Twitter!
Tweetbot 4: If the official Twitter app isn’t to your liking, then Tweetbot 4 likely will be. Our Twitter app of choice, and the support of quick replies for tweets just seals the deal.
Swarm: You can now comment on your friend’s checkins without having to open the Swarm app.
Skype: More than a VoIP app, many forget that Skype is also a fairly capable instant messaging app, and even more so now with support for quick replies.
BBM: Who can forget BBM? More than just the messaging app for those using BlackBerry devices, BBM now also supports quick replies on iOS, even before many more established alternatives do. Who would have guessed that?
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Let us know if we’ve missed any big apps that you use day in, day out – we’d love to know about them!
(images credit: Twitter [1], [2])
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