3 new iMessage features we want to see in iOS 10

iMessage is easily one of Apple's most popular services.

Introduced in 2011 as one of the standout features in iOS 5, iMessage lets people send texts, photos, videos and more for free - as long as this communication is performed from one Apple device (iPhone, iPad, etc.) to another. Otherwise, it's just another way to send standard SMS/MMS messages.

According to Apple's services chief Eddy Cue, people send as many as 200,000 iMessages every second. That's a pretty insane statistic.

And yet, despite being one of Apple's most popular services, iMessage has hardly changed over the past five years. Its biggest change came in 2013, when Apple redesigned its entire mobile operating system with iOS 7, but that was mostly a visual overhaul.

Next week, Apple will introduce the next version of iOS, presumably called iOS 10. Considering the popularity of messaging apps right now, from Messenger to Snapchat to WhatsApp and more, I hope iMessage gets an upgrade. Here's what I had in mind.