Apple’s big changes to Messages in iOS 10 seem mostly cosmetic (go.macworld.com/messages changes): Giant emoji, full-screen fireworks, handwritten scrawls across photos and videos, and stickers galore. These are features lifted straight from Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Line, and all the other messaging apps that are resonating with teenagers and, even if they won’t admit it, their parents. But the biggest change to Messages is more behind the scenes. Facebook Messenger and WeChat are taking over the world, but Apple’s decision to open up iMessage to developers makes it clear that the company isn’t yielding to the dominant messaging apps—in fact, it has an advantage.
Apple’s iOS 10 demo at the recent Worldwide Developers Conference keynote was full of brand-new features, but Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, devoted…
