While it won’t arrive on supported iPhones until an iOS 18 update later this fall, Apple Intelligence brings a lot to the table. In an only-Apple way, the take on AI feels both smart and thoughtful in how it’s implemented. Some features promise to one-up your productivity game, while others look to be just plain fun. One new feature that will fall into the latter category is Genmoji — an AI-powered way to create unique emoji without the constraints of the typical icons we use today.
Genmoji didn’t get a ton of screen time during the recent iPhone 16 reveal, but from what we did you could easily get lost experimenting with it. Below, we’ll fill you in on what we know about Genmoji, how we think it’ll work, and when you’ll be able to play with it yourself.
For more, don’t miss our iOS 18 review and the best iPhone 16 preorder deals.
What is Genmoji?
Genmoji might sound like the Emoji Kitchen that Android users have had for a few years now, but it’s not. Whereas Emoji Kitchen gives you the ability to essentially combine existing emoji together, Genmoji uses Apple Intelligence to let you generate your own, unique emoji by typing or selecting an image in your Photos app.
How will Genmoji work?
Here’s how we think Genmoji will work: You can access Genmoji directly from your keyboard, and just by typing a description, Apple Intelligence will get to work and generate multiple customized emojis you can choose from based on your prompt. It could be a dinosaur in a tutu on a surfboard, a bagel with lox, a relaxing smiley face with cucumbers over its eyes or a squirrel DJ.
You’ll also be able create a Genmoji based on a photo of a person in your Photos app, Apple said.
Genmoji can be used as stickers, tap back reactions and inline messages, just like a regular emoji.
We’re unsure how Genmoji will work on non-Apple devices with RCS support, and we look forward to testing to see if they show up on Android phones.
Which iPhones will support Genmoji?
Whether your iPhone will receive Genmoji support will depend if it gets Apple Intelligence, and that list is pretty short. Outside of the new iPhone 16 lineup, the only other phones Apple said will receive Apple Intelligence are the iPhone 15 Pro duo.
But iPhones won’t be the only devices to receive Apple Intelligence, though. Macs and iPads with the M1 processor and later are also set to get Apple Intelligence, so we’ll more than likely see Genmoji pop up on those devices, too.
When will Apple release Genmoji?
Apple Intelligence is coming in October, Apple said. However, it’s unclear whether Genmoji will arrive in October or not, as Apple said some AI features will come over the course of the next year.
For more on iOS 18, here’s how to install the beta, and the best hidden iOS 18 features you should know about.