Reply To Texts From Anywhere On iPhone Without Opening Messages App
GO SMS for iOS shed its beta tag just a few days ago, and I have been using it as the default messaging client on my iPhone ever since. While the app is still full of bugs, the interactive pop-up notifications it offers are extremely handy. So, won’t it be great if notifications like that came without the added baggage of a buggy and rather slow app? That’s what ImmediateSend is all about. This new Cydia tweak for iPhone works with the stock Messages app without messing with any of its existing functionalities. It displays a pop-up whenever you hit a banner notification for a received text message, or tap a message alert from the Notification Center or lock screen. In short, every button or notification that will normally route you to the Messages app brings up the quick reply text box. You will still have to go to the app to create a new message or read old conversations, but replying becomes a breeze.
The tweak keeps things simple. It does not come with any configurable options. You will find just an enable/disable toggle for the tweak in the stock Settings app.
To see ImmediateSend at work, send a test SMS to yourself or wait for one to arrive. If you are on the lock screen, slide the message icon across the notification and the pop-up will appear. The same box can be accessed by tapping the message in the Notification Center, or hitting the banner notification that appears temporarily at the top of the screen.
There are some other areas of the OS that are influenced by the tweak. The “Send Message” button in the Contacts app, for instance, will bring up the quick reply box, too.
That’s not all; ImmediateSend can differentiate between SMS and iMessages. If the recipient has iMessage enabled, you will get the option to send the text as an iMessage rather than SMS. If you don’t want to send a reply straight away, and would like to view the entire thread, hit the “Go to MobileSMS” button to make your way to the stock Messages app.
While this tweak lacks the bells and whistles that come with apps like BiteSMS and GO SMS, you aren’t likely to regret making the $0.99 purchase, since ImmediateSend works like it’s a part of the OS, won’t slow down your phone and really does make texting super fast. ImmediateSend is available in Cydia’s BigBoss repo.
BiteSMS offers the same functionality plus far more, while also allowing you to create new messages and read old ones from the quick-reply shortcut. Anyone interested in this should use BiteSMS instead.