Apple’s new Messages feature lets you pin 9 people to the top of the screen – and it’s an iOS update that makes texting fun again, which could finally help me become a better texter

• Apple released its iOS 14 software update in September, and with it came a new Messages feature that lets you pin up to nine people to the top of your screen in the app. 
• The feature lets you display the photos of those you pin in large bubbles, shows you if someone is typing, and displays notifications atop icons when a message comes in.
• The new design makes texting fun again and could help me reply to messages on time, which could help me keep the app uncluttered.
• It also feels more humanizing — I feel more like I’m talking to my loved ones when I click on their faces displayed in large icons to type a message, a notion that carries even more weight in the physically distanced COVID-19 pandemic.
• It makes me excited to use my iPhone, but the redesign could also be part of a strategy to help differentiate Apple from its competitors, which could help keep customers locked into the company’s ecosystem.
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I can’t be the only smartphone user who is terrible at texting back.

Using my Messages app on my iPhone always feels like a chore, cluttered with too many group chats, store promotion alerts, and doctor’s appointment reminders. The app feels bland, the countless blue dots indicating unread messages wrack my nervous system, and I routinely leave replying to messages for after the workday, when I should be de-stressed and, in theory, have the mental bandwidth. Spoiler alert: I never feel like I do – its a common pain point among my friends that it takes me 3-5 business days to reply to a text.

But I can say that a new messaging feature that rolled out as part of Apple’s iOS 14 update in September has changed my attitude towards the matter: message pins. (My colleague Lisa Eadicicco also rounded up the 14 most useful features in iOS 14.)

Something about the updated display, with its large icons, humanizing interface, and facelift to the Messages app’s existing features, makes texting more fun – and makes me want to actually respond to texts on time.

Here’s a bit about how message pins work: After downloading iOS 14, you can click “Edit” in the top lefthand corner of the Messages app, and then select “Edit Pins.” Yellow pin icons appear to the right of each conversation, and you can choose up to nine to display in larger icons at the top of the screen.

The new feature allows you to view messages in notification bubbles as they appear, and a typing icon appears on the photos or Memojis of those who are in the process of writing a message. The message notifications also point to the member of the group chat that sent it, which I found pretty neat.

The style lends itself to more of a humanizing touch. You've been able to assign photos to contacts for a while, but the new feature displays the icons even larger. I feel more like I'm actually somewhat connecting with whoever I'm texting when I click their face to type my message, especially in the physically distanced age of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The update inspired me to spruce the entire app up and add photos to all of the contacts I chose to pin. You can also set a photo for group chats, which, in my case, are usually couples - so I can choose a single photo of them both instead of two different photo icons in the same bubble.

However, Apple could have an ulterior motive with its revamped Messages app. As Lisa Eadicicco reported in August, Apple has been among the tech giants that have taken a page out of WeChat's rulebook in the mobile messaging arena. The massively popular texting app provides many in China a one-stop-shop for messaging people, hailing taxis, and making payments. So anything that sets Apple's messaging feature apart from its competitors bolsters its strategy of keeping customers locked into the Apple ecosystem. 

This year has not been smooth sailing for Apple or its tech peers - CEO Tim Cook appeared before Congress in late July with his fellow executives to face questioning on alleged anticompetitive business practices. The future of the tech world at large is murky as lawmakers get closer to possibly establishing regulation in an industry that has largely enjoyed growth without government oversight.

Read more: Apple's search deal with Google is in direct conflict with what it values most: privacy

Apple is also dealing with legal issues regarding some former business practices, paying millions over intentionally slowing down older iPhone models.

But the company's troubles aside, Apple's latest software update and new features got me excited about using my iPhone for the first time in a while. And that's what Apple's products are theoretically supposed to be about, right?