Your Brain Is the Limit with iPhone Emoji You Can Think of in iOS 18: How It Works

Though it won’t arrive on supported iPhones until an iOS 18 update later this fall, Apple Intelligence brings a lot to the table. In a way that only Apple can, the AI ​​approach feels both smart and thoughtful in the way it’s implemented. Some features promise to improve your productivity, while others just seem like fun. One new feature that falls into the latter category is Genmoji: an AI-powered way to create unique emoji without the limitations of the typical icons we use today.

Genmoji didn’t get much screen time during the recent iPhone 16 reveal, but from what we did, it’s easy to get lost experimenting with them. Below, we’ll break down what we know about Genmoji, how we think they’ll work, and when you’ll be able to play with them yourself.

For more, don’t miss our iOS 18 review and the best iPhone 16 pre-order deals.

What is Genmoji?

Genmoji may sound like the Emoji Kitchen that Android users have had for a few years now, but it isn’t. While Emoji Kitchen lets you combine existing emojis, Genmoji uses Apple Intelligence to let you generate your own unique emoji by typing or selecting an image from your Photos app.

How does Genmoji work?

Here’s how we imagine Genmoji will work: You can open Genmoji right from your keyboard, and simply type a description and Apple Intelligence will go to work, generating multiple custom emojis for you to choose from based on your prompt. It could be a dinosaur in a tutu on a surfboard, a bagel and lox, a relaxing smiley face with cucumbers over its eyes, or a squirrel DJ.

You can also create a Genmoji from a photo of a person in your Photos app, Apple said.

Genmoji can be used as stickers, tap reactions, and inline messages, just like regular emojis.

We’re not sure yet how Genmoji will work on non-Apple devices with RCS support. We’re looking forward to testing whether they’ll be available on Android phones as well.

Which iPhones support Genmoji?

Whether your iPhone gets Genmoji support depends on whether it gets Apple Intelligence, and that list is pretty short. Outside of the new iPhone 16 lineup, the only other phones to get Apple Intelligence are the iPhone 15 Pro duo.

But iPhones won’t be the only devices getting Apple Intelligence. Macs and iPads with the M1 processor and later are also getting Apple Intelligence, so we’ll most likely see Genmoji appear on those devices as well.

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 arrive later next year.

To learn more about iOS 18, learn how to install the beta and what hidden iOS 18 features you should know about.