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# This Messages feature saves so much back-and-forth
- URL: https://tomfanderson.com/this-messages-feature-saves-so-much-back-and-forth/
- Published: 2026-02-05T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-05T23:03:03.000Z
- Author: Tom Anderson

Last summer, I went on a cruise with my wife's side of the family to the Bahamas. There were 25 people in total in our large group.

Coordinating lunch and evening plans meant a lot of back-and-forth in Messages.

Sure would've been handy to have Apple's new Poll feature back then — something that arrived later in the fall with the latest OS updates.

Here's how it works.

#### Requirements to start, see, or vote in a poll

- iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, visionOS 26, watchOS 26.
- If someone is running an older OS or using a different platform (like Android), they'll see a message that a poll was sent — they won't be able to vote.

![](https://tomfanderson.com/content/images/2026/09/poll_animated.gif)

Tap + and then Polls to add a poll.

#### Creating and sending a poll is very simple

- Open Messages and locate the conversation you want to send the poll in, or start a new conversation and add your recipients.
- Tap the + button and then tap Polls.
- Add your poll choices, up to 12 total.
- Tap the Send arrow to send the poll.
- After you send the poll, anyone in the chat can add other choices as long as you haven't maxed out at 12 already.
- Adding a choice doesn't add a vote for it; you'll need to tap it to add a vote.

![](https://tomfanderson.com/content/images/2026/09/poll0.png)

Add up to 12 choices and then tap the send arrow.

#### Voting and Results

- Voting is as easy as tapping on the options you want.
- Tap again to remove a vote.
- To see the votes, tap and hold on the poll, then tap Poll Details.

![](https://tomfanderson.com/content/images/2026/09/poll1.png)

People in the chat simply tap on their preferred options to vote. You can vote for multiple options.

![](https://tomfanderson.com/content/images/2026/09/poll2.png)

Voting results are shown in real-time.

If you spend any time coordinating plans in group chats, polls are definitely worth using.

#### Bonus Tip: Rearrange apps in the Messages app drawer

![](https://tomfanderson.com/content/images/2026/09/appdrawer.png)

Apps in the app drawer can be rearranged or disabled

On iOS and iPadOS, you may have noticed that when you tapped the + button, a bunch of apps appeared in the app drawer. Apple provides over a dozen, including some you'll likely never use, and third-party apps are available, too.

That can get messy. Here's how to arrange the list so your most-used apps are right at your fingertips.

- Go to a conversation in Messages, or start a new one.
- Tap the + button to show the app drawer.
- Tap and hold an item in the list until it shrinks a bit (you'll also get haptic feedback).
- Drag the item up or down to arrange the list as you'd like.

To keep your list tidy, you can disable third-party apps you don't use.

- Go to Settings > Apps
- Tap on Messages and then iMessage Apps
- Slide the toggle for any apps you want to remove from the drawer

This is one of those features Apple hides just well enough that people miss it.

#### Bonus Tip #2: Quick Access to Photos

Here's another one that's hidden. If you want to quickly send a photo in a Messages chat in iOS and iPadOS, tap and hold on the + symbol to go directly to the photo picker.