How to make and use personalized Memoji on iPhone X in iOS 12

Posted:
in iOS edited December 2019
In iOS 12, iPhone X users will be able create their own customized Memoji character right in the Messages app. Choose from hundreds of different design combinations to create any number of different characters to use in iMessage conversations, or even FaceTime calls.





Animoji first debuted with the iPhone X, using the Face ID camera to map your facial expressions to playful animated characters. Since then Apple has added additional characters. iOS 12 builds upon this further by introducing Memoji. This is a customized version of Animoji that you can create and personalize down to the number of freckles on its face.

A prerequisite to Memoji, you must have an iPhone X running iOS 12, which is currently in beta. In the Messages app, there will be new options inside of the Animoji iMessage app. To the far left of the list, resides a new + symbol that you can use to craft your character.

Memoji Animoji


Once you tap on it, a wealth of options are at your disposal. Your character is up top, reacting in real-time to the changes you make. There are several different categories to tweak which include skin, hairstyle, head shape, eyes, brows, nose and lips, ears, facial hair, eyewear, and headwear. Inside each of these categories are subcategories. As an example, under "head shape", there are options for age and chin. It is impressive at the lengths Apple has gone through to help everyone make their perfect character. Things like skin tones have minute levels of detail, you first can choose the color, then tint that color one way or another.

Once you create your own Memoji, it is saved right next to all the ones designed by Apple. If you tap on the ... below the character, you can edit, duplicate, or remove it after the fact.

  • Memoji Animoji
  • Memoji Animoji
  • Memoji Animoji
  • Memoji Animoji


New Memojis can be used the same way as all the other Animoji. You can record a short video clip with it mimicking your motions, drag it as a sticker, or use it with the new camera effects. Camera effects can be opened by launching the camera inside Messages will show a lens icon in the lower left corner.

There are many other options like filters and stickers to apply, but Memoji and Animoji are particularly cool. They will map themselves onto your head and follow your motions. These effects can be used in a Group FaceTmime call too, allowing you to carry on a whole conversation as a Memoji.

Alongside Memoji, Apple introduced a few other enhancements to Animoji. They are also now capable of "tongue detection" and winks.

iOS 12 will be available this fall for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. watchOS 5, macOS Mojave, and tvOS 12 will be released at the same time.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    Just wondering that I’m not the only one who think is “Mememoji” at first.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    iPhone 8 users ruled out. Humbug. 
  • Reply 3 of 17
    iPhone 8 users ruled out. Humbug. 
    You think?  I don’t...
  • Reply 4 of 17
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,362member
    I'm curious about how people are using this feature (and Animoji) outside of demos. It obviously took a lot of developer time to build and integrate this software with the device sensors and processing capabilities. What is its purpose other than to demonstrate the underlying technology? 
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 5 of 17
    bushman4bushman4 Posts: 858member
    step in the right direction
  • Reply 6 of 17
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    iPhone 8 users ruled out. Humbug. 
    You think?  I don’t...
    iPhone 8 will be able to receive memoji, but how would they create them?  The iPhone X is the only iPhone able to create animoji because it is the only iPhone with the depth mapping front facing camera.
    claire1asdasd
  • Reply 7 of 17
    bestkeptsecretbestkeptsecret Posts: 4,265member



    • Memoji Animoji


    • Memoji Animoji


    Great job! That does look a lot like you!
  • Reply 8 of 17
    claire1claire1 Posts: 510unconfirmed, member
    What a pain. Why can't the advanced cameras create a Memmoji that looks like us and then allow us to tweak?
    Nintendo had this capability with low-resolution crappy one-dimensional cameras in 2012.
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 9 of 17
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Maybe I'm too geeky but, who above the age of 12 plans on using this?   I can't imagine Tim or Steve spending time on it and frankly, I don't get why Apple is spending so much time on this...   It seems like just a glitzy gimmick and Apple doesn't do glitzy gimmicks...
  • Reply 10 of 17
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    claire1 said:
    What a pain. Why can't the advanced cameras create a Memmoji that looks like us and then allow us to tweak?
    Nintendo had this capability with low-resolution crappy one-dimensional cameras in 2012.
    It would need to be 3D, so I’m guessing there might be practical concerns, for data storage, security, processing …

    Update

    Nope. I’m wrong. Samsung already does what you’re asking for, though I can’t comment on the security. 

    https://www.samsung.com/us/smartphones/galaxy-s9/augmented-reality/

    edited June 2018
  • Reply 11 of 17
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    In fact, when Samsung did it, didn’t we say it was a little bit creepy …?

    muthuk_vanalingamGeorgeBMac
  • Reply 12 of 17
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    dewme said:
    I'm curious about how people are using this feature (and Animoji) outside of demos. It obviously took a lot of developer time to build and integrate this software with the device sensors and processing capabilities. What is its purpose other than to demonstrate the underlying technology? 
    you can use it in Facetime.  plenty of people will probably use an avatar to represent themselves in the future. I don't know how opened up the API is but I can see this working pretty well with games, where your character looks like you and has your facial ticks. Maybe not in this release though. 
  • Reply 13 of 17
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    good report, by the way. 
  • Reply 14 of 17
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,362member
    Maybe I'm too geeky but, who above the age of 12 plans on using this?   I can't imagine Tim or Steve spending time on it and frankly, I don't get why Apple is spending so much time on this...   It seems like just a glitzy gimmick and Apple doesn't do glitzy gimmicks...
    The underlying technology has tremendous potential. Think about a user interaction and navigation model that allows you to move around a 2D or 3D space and make navigation decisions and drill down into contextual content and attributes using your eye focus and facial expressions, blinking, smiling, frowning, shaking your head, nodding, etc. A total hands-off way of interacting with a device and apps would be hugely beneficial for people with mobility or dexterity limitations and to surface underlying information about what your looking at. Couple this with AI and AR and the possibilities expand exponentially. A cheesy use of this technology could be used to replace Tinder swipes with smile and frown. 

    When I first saw Animoji it looked like demo and proof of concept prototype, toys rather than products. That’s why I’m asking the questions. I see massive potential here but I still wonder how people are getting value from the toys, other than for amusement and course level anonymity. Of course I’d like to see some practical applications of the technology too, but they don’t have to even come from Apple. 
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 15 of 17
    uraharaurahara Posts: 733member
    Maybe I'm too geeky but, who above the age of 12 plans on using this?   I can't imagine Tim or Steve spending time on it and frankly, I don't get why Apple is spending so much time on this...   It seems like just a glitzy gimmick and Apple doesn't do glitzy gimmicks...
    Agreed.  
    Only kids/teens will be using it. 
    Too much development effort for the limited number of people. 
  • Reply 16 of 17
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    urahara said:
    Maybe I'm too geeky but, who above the age of 12 plans on using this?   I can't imagine Tim or Steve spending time on it and frankly, I don't get why Apple is spending so much time on this...   It seems like just a glitzy gimmick and Apple doesn't do glitzy gimmicks...
    Agreed.  
    Only kids/teens will be using it. 
    Too much development effort for the limited number of people. 
    They're doing a product right now to test what's going to be used more fully in the future.
    You'd prefer they go full on techy and produce some crap that half works and nobody uses like Google or MS does to test their tech.

    And the users will be initially 0-25, you know the people you want to eventually buy your phone for everything else.
    Also, those 0-25 people have parents with money, also the main Apple product buyers.
  • Reply 17 of 17
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    dewme said:
    Maybe I'm too geeky but, who above the age of 12 plans on using this?   I can't imagine Tim or Steve spending time on it and frankly, I don't get why Apple is spending so much time on this...   It seems like just a glitzy gimmick and Apple doesn't do glitzy gimmicks...
    The underlying technology has tremendous potential. Think about a user interaction and navigation model that allows you to move around a 2D or 3D space and make navigation decisions and drill down into contextual content and attributes using your eye focus and facial expressions, blinking, smiling, frowning, shaking your head, nodding, etc. A total hands-off way of interacting with a device and apps would be hugely beneficial for people with mobility or dexterity limitations and to surface underlying information about what your looking at. Couple this with AI and AR and the possibilities expand exponentially. A cheesy use of this technology could be used to replace Tinder swipes with smile and frown. 

    When I first saw Animoji it looked like demo and proof of concept prototype, toys rather than products. That’s why I’m asking the questions. I see massive potential here but I still wonder how people are getting value from the toys, other than for amusement and course level anonymity. Of course I’d like to see some practical applications of the technology too, but they don’t have to even come from Apple. 
    Good points!   Excellent...

    On the tongue in cheek side:   It could give a whole new and very real meaning to giving somebody the "Evil Eye"!
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