Why use both Text Message Forwarding and Messages in iCloud?

It can sometimes be tricky to tease out the difference between two similar iOS or macOS features that aren’t quite identical. The option on an iPhone to enable Text Message Forwarding to other devices and the Messages in iCloud feature are a case in point. If you’re forwarding text messages, then why do you need to use iCloud at all? It has to do with notifications and availability.The Messages app in iOS and macOS keeps some sense of “presence,” or which device you’ve interacting with. When a message arrives, the Apple ecosystem tries to prompt you first at the device you’re actively using or most recently used.Without Text Message Forwarding enabled in Settings > Messages, only Apple’s iMessages (messages in blue bubbles) appear on all your devices and use presence to figure out which one to prioritize. Otherwise, text messages (in green bubbles)—whether plain text SMS or rich-media MMS—show up only on your iPhone. Text Message Forwarding honors presence awareness and happens in real time.To read this article in full, please click here