iPhone all New text effects

If you’ve exhausted your streaming services, cleaned the house two times over and need something new to occupy your time, iPhone users can type “pew pew” to their iOS friends and amuse them with lasers – or just as easily annoy them. Your iPhone's Messages app isn't just for sending texts. You can also send photos, videos, and a wide variety of special effects.

While you can pick and choose from some of these effects by holding your finger down on the send button, other effects only activate when you send certain words or phrases.

Apple doesn't advertise these effects — they're hidden "Easter Eggs" on your iPhone instead. Here's a guide to the words and phrases that will cause effects in the Messages app, and hopefully delight both you and your recipient.

As previously mentioned, if you type "pew pew" into Messages, colored laser beams will shoot out of your text message on both your screen and that of your recipient when they open the message.

"Congratulations!" (and its variations) prompts a confetti party to take over your screen. "Happy Birthday" sets off a flurry of balloons up your screen. Meanwhile, "Happy New Year" and "Happy Chinese New Year" ignite fireworks and celebratory lights across your text thread.

The recent update iMessage on iOS causes certain words to trigger screen effects. Also, there is a way to long-press on the send button, and bring up an interface for adding these effects.We found the following associations between screen effects, and the messgaes that trigger them:

confetti: "congratulations", "happy birthday"
fireworks: "happy new year"
"Congratulations" or "Happy Birthday": Confetti
"Happy New Year": Fireworks
"Pew pew": Light/Laser Show
Happy Chinese New Years: Celebration