Jason Snell on the upgrade coming to Messages in iOS 10:

It turns out that when you unleash smartphone technology on billions of people of all ages and cultures from all around the planet, sometimes those billions of people use that technology in ways that the people crafting tech products in California might not anticipate. The messaging-app category, from WeChat to SnapChat to Line to Facebook Messenger, is huge. People love sending videos and pictures and stickers and emoji with their smartphones.… The message to Apple is clear: Your users use this app a lot, so you might want to show it some attention. Use of other messaging apps is exploding, driven by fun add-ons that go way beyond attaching the occasional picture. Perhaps you should give the people what they want, namely a more fun messaging experience right inside your most popular app.

Of course, it helps when it’s your own app on your own platform.