iOS 18.2 Lets You Create Emoji, Rolling Out in Beta Over 'Coming Weeks'

[MacRumors]

Apple on Friday announced it will be rolling out access to its new Genmoji, Image Playground, and Image Wand features to users who are on the iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 developer betas "over the coming weeks."

The full text of Apple's news article, shared on the Feedback Assistant website:

With the iOS & iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 betas, you can join the waitlist for early access to Image Playground, Genmoji, and Image Wand in order to test and help improve these features.

You can request access within any one of these experiences:

- Image Playground app
- Image Playground integration in Messages or Freeform
- Genmoji integration in the emoji keyboard, or
- Image Wand within the Apple Pencil tool palette in Notes

We will roll out access to Image Playground, Genmoji, and Image Wand over the coming weeks. When the features are ready for you to test, you will be notified. After you receive access, you can tap the thumbs up or thumbs down that appear with each result in Image Playground, Genmoji, and Image Wand in order to provide feedback.

As mentioned by Apple, the features have a waitlist. Some users received access to the features within minutes of Apple releasing the betas, but others are still waiting, so Apple's announcement provides clarity to those who are still waiting.

Genmoji, Image Playground, and Image Wand are some of the new Apple Intelligence features introduced in the iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 developer betas, with others including ChatGPT integration for Siri, Visual Intelligence on all iPhone 16 models, and the ability to describe custom tones for text in Writing Tools.

Genmoji can generate custom emoji based on your description, Image Playground can generate cartoon-like images based on your description, and Image Wand can transform a rough sketch into a proper image in the Notes app.

The first Apple Intelligence features are launching to the public with iOS 18.1 next week, in U.S. English only. Those features include Writing Tools, notification summaries, suggested replies in the Messages and Mail apps, a "Clean Up" tool in the Photos app for quickly removing objects from the background of photos, and more. iOS 18.2 should be released to the public in December with Genmoji, Image Playground, and the additional features.

iOS 18.2 and the other betas also expand Apple Intelligence to localized English spoken in the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, with additional languages like German, Italian, and Korean to follow next year.

Apple Intelligence on iOS requires an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 model.

Article Link: iOS 18.2 Lets You Create Emoji, Rolling Out in Beta Over 'Coming Weeks'

 

[abatabia]

If everyone in the beta can’t test the beta there shouldn’t be 18.2. Apple AI has been an absolute disaster of a rollout for subpar features I can already enjoy on my pixel.

 

[addamas]

Revolutionary feature…
Middle finger to Apple for restricting 18.2 to only 15pro and 16lineup

Edit: to downvoting - there are 5 bugs still present there which I could not check for being fixed or not because of that. I don’t care about AI stuff at all. Just want to test as I did since iOS 18 B1… to make life better for others and myself.

 

[abatabia]

Revolutionary feature…
Middle finger to Apple for restricting 18.2 to only 15pro and 16lineup

This. I’m supposed to “reward” apple by buying a new Mac this week built for an ai that won’t be fully realized until next year? I’ll hold off until it’s out and all the kinks are worked out.

 

[Killerbob]

I upgraded to iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2, and yet the Image Playground app was not installed on any of my iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro M4, or Mac Studio M1... WTF?

I donøt even have the opportunity to sign up for it...

Photos "Clean Up" works on all of these devices, though.

 

[coffeemilktea]

I think the Internet will soon be flooded with artistically expressive sausage and eggplant emojis in the near future. 🫢

 

[armandxp]

I upgraded to iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2, and yet the Image Playground app was not installed on any of my iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro M4, or Mac Studio M1... WTF?

I donøt even have the opportunity to sign up for it...

Photos "Clean Up" works on all of these devices, though.

Image playground is in the App Store now. Some people who deleted their app were able to redownload it this way.

At least in the US.

‎Image Playground

‎Create Delightful Images Combine different concepts like people from your photo library, characters, text descriptions and photos to create new images within seconds. Get started quickly by choosing from a range of fine-tuned concepts to add them to your playground. Pick from categories like...

apps.apple.com

 

[GregJohn]

Seems like they did give access to media/influencers and then the rest of us just get it sometime later

 

[klasma]

@Dan Barbera (or anyone): Can these be used inline in text, or are they more like stickers?

 

[flybass]

Gen Z features.

 

[kagharaht]

I feel so old. I don't understand the amount of effort Apple puts into Emoji. It seems like every software engineer is tasked at the job and forgot about actually producing quality OS. LOL

 

[goobot]

Genmoji won’t be one of those things where only devices with ai will be able to see right?

 

[bmark]

Another worthless feature they roll out!

 

[@Brett]

If everyone in the beta can’t test the beta there shouldn’t be 18.2. Apple AI has been an absolute disaster of a rollout for subpar features I can already enjoy on my pixel.

It has not been a disaster. And the Google offering has been plagued by issues

 

[nerdAFK]

WOW!
This is absolutely a game changer!
I've not been excited about new iOS features for a long time until THIS!

 

[trajen]

Been a few days and I’m still waiting for access. Photos Cleanup works great on my iPhone, but keeps freezing up and crashing my MacBook Air (15.1 beta).

 

[zach-coleman]

@Dan Barbera (or anyone): Can these be used inline in text, or are they more like stickers?

Image Playground Images: Work just like any other picture
Genmoji: Can be used as stickers or in-line. I'm not sure if they work in any apps but Messages at the moment. (Definitely do not work for album titles in Photos.) If you text one to an android (or an iPhone running iOS 17 or below) in any context, it sends as a low resolution photo along with your text.

 

[ForkHandles]

Still not able to access this feature despite having 18.2 installed since release day.

V odd

 

[Velin]

More massive waste of time and resources. Would have been much better to patent some battery tech from your partnership with BYD. But no, instead let’s work on personal emoji for the childish.


Apple:

BYD:

 

[victorvictoria]

Of all the features in iOS 18.xxx, this is the one I find the least interesting.

 

[NightFox]

If everyone in the beta can’t test the beta there shouldn’t be 18.2. Apple AI has been an absolute disaster of a rollout for subpar features I can already enjoy on my pixel.

Beta 18.2 contains more than just the framework for the Imagine Playground/Genmoji functionality.

 

[now i see it]

Emoji always gets top billing because they’re what children love. Get a child addicted to iPhone and you’ve got a customer for life.
It’s all about tot addiction.

 

[MaxLeopold]

When will Apple allow the Auto Creation of MeMoji ?

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Just imagine how powerful this would be if they included it on iPhoneOS so you could create emojis on your phone!

 

[MrGimper]

Seems like they did give access to media/influencers and then the rest of us just get it sometime later

You mean shills who will claim it's all "super awesome" and swish their hair (looking at you iJustine)