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iMessage bug may be truncating last word of specific phrases
The Verge directs our attention to an extremely curious bug in iMessage which works to erase the last word of certain sent messages. The end result is that some messages appear truncated to both the sender and the recipient. For example, two phrases which bring the issue to light include "I could be the next Obama " -- with an empty space following the 'a' -- and "The best prize is a surprise". While a thread on Apple's support forums claims that the issue only manifests when a message is sent from iMessage on a Mac to an iPhone, I was able to replicate the bug using iPhones exclusively. So just what, exactly, is going on here? Well, a user on a MacRumors forum writes that the bug rears its bizarre head when the cumulative width of the characters used in a message is at a certain length. You can test it out, and even if you change "I could be the next Odama " as the phrase it still gets deleted. The problem is that the message app, thinks the phrase will fit in a one line bubble, but it actually puts the last word on a hidden second line. It works with these two phrases because they are the exact width needed, and it is not based on character count, but character width. For example, "l" is skinner than a "w". So rest easy, folks. Apple, it would appear, does think you can be the next Obama and certainly wants you to know what the best prize is.
