With the release of iOS 18 sometime after the fall, Apple is finally doing away with the need for workarounds and bringing scheduled texts directly to the Messages app. In the past, you could use Shortcuts to schedule iOS messages, but the new “Send Later” process is much simpler. You can test it out now by installing the iOS 18 developer beta and following the steps below.
Scheduling Messages in iOS 18
Once you have iOS 18 installed on your iPhone, open the Messages app and navigate to the conversation you want to schedule a message for. You can also use Send Later with a new message, which you can access by tapping the new Messages icon in the top-right corner of the app.
In the conversation, type the message you want to schedule, but don't press Send yet.
Instead, press the + icon to the left of the text box.