Apple may add AI-powered emoji generation and app icon customization features in iOS 18: Report

Apple is reportedly set to unveil some major new features for iPhones in its iOS 18 update. The Cupertino-based tech giant is expected to unveil the new operating system at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 scheduled for June 10. According to a new report, the company may introduce custom artificial intelligence (AI)-powered emojis that will appear depending on what users are typing in text. Users will also get app icon customization features, potentially allowing them to re-color app icons as they like.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, Apple is set to introduce several new iPhone features with iOS 18. Many of these features will likely leverage AI, while others will add more customization to the existing interface. First, regarding the AI ​​features, Gurman claims that custom emojis could be announced at WWDC 24.

iOS 18 will reportedly feature custom emojis powered by AI

AI features have been a big topic for Apple. The company was previously reported to be adding AI-powered conversational features to Siri. Now, Gurman claims that iPhone users will also see AI features when typing text in the Messages app. iOS 18 may introduce AI-powered custom emojis outside of the existing emoji library available to users.

As for how the feature would work, the report claims that custom emojis could be automatically created based on what the user types. For example, if a user types “Happy Diwali,” the AI ​​could understand the text and suggest unique emojis related to the Indian festival. The report did not mention whether there are guidelines to prevent the feature from being misused to generate obscene emojis.

iOS 18 is said to introduce app icon customization

The iPhone home screen will also reportedly get a major upgrade. Apple may do away with the standard app grid that's been around since the original iPhone and allow users to place app icons wherever they want. Additionally, users may be able to change the color of app icons.

The latter helps group similar apps together, for example, you can change all your social media apps to the same color for easy identification. Icons can be placed anywhere, allowing users to be creative and set icons according to their preferences. These and many more features are likely to arrive on iPhones on June 10, when Apple officially launches iOS 18.