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Best New Apps: Ultratext

Best New Apps: Ultratext

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There are texts, and then there are Ultratexts

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Ultratext is a dead-simple iOS app for creating GIFs and sending them via MMS and iMessage. It creates flashing neon messages, with the words you type blown up in all caps, accessorized with emoji and selfies and other photos from your camera roll. Every time you hit the space bar, Ultratext gives you a new box to type into, chaining your words into a looping animation. At any point you can add a picture using either the front or rear camera. The result is a message that looks more like a billboard than a message bubble, and it’s incredibly fun. "It’s like you literally discovered fire and gave it to me," one friend told me, after I tweeted a link to the app.

"It’s like you literally discovered fire and gave it to me."

On one hand, Ultratext is a novelty app. But it’s also a livelier and more expressive way of getting your message across. Even mundane little notes look amazing in Ultratext, because they’ve been transformed into tiny movies meant only for the recipient. Best of all, the app is free, so there aren’t many reasons to avoid checking it out. There are texts, and then there are Ultratexts, and increasingly these days I’m sending more of the latter.

Download Ultratext for free.

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