One of the many new features that Apple announced earlier this week under the broad umbrella of Apple Intelligence is something it calls Genmoji, which will be available in iOS 18.
As the name suggests, Genmoji are emojis created by generative AI. You can type a description of what you want the emoji to show, then Apple Intelligence will generate different options. You can send them as images or use them as stickers or tapbacks. You can even get more personal by using photos of friends and family to create Genmoji that look like them.
These aren’t entirely new ideas. Bitmoji have already popularized the concept of creating emojis that look like you, and there are messaging platforms like WhatsApp that already allow you to use generative AI to create your own custom stickers by typing a description. But by bringing these features into the Messages app, Apple is taking a big step toward mainstreaming fully customizable images in chats.
I’m not ready to fully abandon the familiar, tried-and-true emojis, though. There’s something fun about the limitations of a preset group of images, and they also create a common language — if we send smiley or winking emojis, we can be pretty confident that we’re going to be understood. That creativity and that shared language can be lost if you throw open the doors and say anything is possible.
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