Apple is bringing deeper personalization to its Messages app in iOS 26 with AI-generated chat backgrounds and a new Mixmoji feature that lets users blend two emojis into a custom one.
According to findings from developer Nicolás Alvarez, the new Messages app will let users describe a background in natural language, and Apple’s Image Playground tool will turn that text into a visual. Users can pick from styles like sketch, illustration, or animation. Unlike WhatsApp and Telegram, which rely on fixed themes or preset wallpapers, this approach gives users the ability to generate something unique for every conversation. Once set, the background syncs across all participants in an iMessage thread on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, meaning everyone in the chat sees the same visual.
Apple is also introducing interactive polls to Messages, allowing users to post multiple-choice questions inside both group and one-on-one conversations. This brings Messages closer to competing platforms like WhatsApp, where polling has become a common tool for group coordination. The feature is expected to be available natively within the chat interface, making it easy to collect responses without needing a third-party app or plugin.
Another standout addition is Mixmoji. Building on features like Memoji and emoji stickers, Mixmoji lets users fuse two emoji, like a smiley face and a fire symbol, into a new, hybrid visual. These creations function like stickers and are easily accessible from the emoji keyboard. While the idea might sound playful, it adds another layer of expressive customization to Apple’s default messaging experience.
These updates are part of Apple’s broader Apple Intelligence initiative, a suite of AI-powered features coming to iOS 26. Other changes reportedly include context-aware replies, automatic translation of incoming messages in other languages, and a new version of the Shortcuts app that uses natural language to build multi-step automations. Apple is expected to highlight these features during its WWDC 2025 keynote on June 9.
Messages isn’t the only app getting visual changes. iOS 26 may introduce a wider interface redesign inspired by visionOS, with translucent elements and a layered aesthetic that brings a more modern, glass-like feel system-wide. Observers have pointed out that the stylized WWDC25 logo hints at this design direction.
The iOS 26 public beta will likely drop shortly after WWDC, with a full release this fall.
