You Probably Won't Be Able to Text 'I Could Be the Next Obama' From Your iPhone -- Just Try It

An apparent glitch in Apple iPhones seems to be preventing people from sending text messages with the phrase "I could be the next Obama."

If you want to try it for yourself, write the phrase with no quotation marks, no period at the end of the sentence and a space after the last "a" in "Obama" (the space is very important), like this:

iPhone users report being able to write the phrase, but after sending it only see "I could be the next [blank space]," and not the word "Obama."

TheBlaze's Erica Ritz, Liz Klimas and Jon Seidl all tested it out, and none could get the message to go through:

Social media and tech forums indicate the phrase, "The best prize is a surprise" produces a similar result, with the word "surprise" disappearing.

One YouTube user actually uploaded a video of the process from start to finish, from typing in the phrases to seeing them send and disappear:

Strangely, users can copy the sent phrase, paste it back into the text field, and the missing word will show up once more.

Additionally, the vanishing word will still appear in the preview of your most recent messages, so it hasn't completely disappeared:

The Verge seems to have been one of the first to break the story back in April, after rumors of the glitch began circulating on social media.  The issue is now going viral once more, particularly on Twitter.

So what's the deal?

Naked Security notes that "I could be the next Bush" and "I could be the next Clinton" both work, and others have pointed out that words changing just one letter of Obama's name also works.

"I could be the next Osama," for instance, still goes through, despite being an almost identical phrase and the same number of characters.

According to Naked Security, the most likely explanation has to do with pixels:

The most credible explanation I've seen is that is that the code that presents the message reckons that it will just fit on one line, and prepares a one-line bubble for the purpose.

But the code that actually formats the message reckons that it won't quite fit on one line, and thus renders it with the last word on a second line.

In short, the word Obama is there; you just can't see it.

Therefore, the glitch seems to be based on pixel length versus number of characters. The phrase "I could be the next Odama" will encounter the same issue, since it's the same length.

Curious, though, that the issue hasn't been resolved roughly four months after being raised on social media and tech forums.  Perhaps now that it is gaining attention again, Apple will move to resolve it?

Apple did not immediately respond to inquires from TheBlaze about whether it has been able to identify the source of the glitch and whether it has taken any steps to correct it. We also asked whether the company has been made aware of any other statements where the same problem occurs.

Until then, we can't help but think about the individual who first uncovered the issue, sincerely writing "I could be the next Obama" in their moment of inspiration, only to find the word blanked out like a scene from a comedy show.

Were you able to send the text message without any issues?

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