summary
- Apple has introduced a new feature in iOS 18 called “Genmoji” that uses AI to create emojis.
- The company also released “Image Playground,” a photo generation AI tool available as a separate app.
- Apple Intelligence, along with these features, is available for free on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.
AI is a big topic in the mobile industry, and Apple isn't planning on being left behind. WWDC 2024 saw Apple Intelligence being heavily promoted, unveiling features for all your artificial intelligence needs straight from its operating system. Two super fun features the company hopes users will enjoy are Genmoji and Image Playground.
Genmoji allows you to use AI in the Messages app to create emojis right from your keyboard. When you launch the feature, you can type in a description of the Genmoji you want Apple Intelligence to create for you. It then loads a bit to create multiple options. Apple Intelligence also knows who is in your photo gallery, so you can pick someone and it will create a Genmoji for them. Isn't that pretty fun?
Now, let's move on to Image Playground, which is similar to Apple's competition against AI image generation tools like Dall-E and Mid Journey. However, from what I saw in the preview, the images seem to be much more cartoonish. It lets you create images, but takes a different approach that helps you avoid prompts. You can choose from a variety of concepts, including theme, outfit, location, and accessories. Based on these choices, it generates a preview of what the image will look like and gives you multiple options. Of course, you can also use prompts if you want something more specific. It can even suggest concepts and people based on the context.
Image Playground will have its own app, but will also be integrated into other Apple apps, and Apple has also released the Image Playground API so developers can incorporate the image generation tool into their own apps.
Both Genmoji and Image Playground will be rolled out as part of the company's Apple Intelligence platform. Apple Intelligence features will be available for free on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. The first wave of devices will include iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and M1-powered iPads and Macs, available from the fall onwards.
While these features are technically available on Android, Google's operating system is not yet seamlessly integrated into them. You may need to dig deeper or find a workaround to get these features. For example, here is a guide to creating custom emojis on Android. And if you want to generate custom images, you'll need to use an app like Gemini, or a third-party image generation service available as an app. However, none of them are tightly integrated with other apps or image galleries. Google has some catching up to do here.
