iPhone 16 now features Genmoji and Image Playground AI tools in iOS 18.2: How to get started | Mint

If you own an iPhone 16 series phone or an iPhone 15 Pro model, you may or may not have discovered the brand new Apple Intelligence features: Genmoji and Image Playground, which were released alongside iOS 18.2. In particular, Genmoji is a useful feature that allows you to create custom emojis for situations where no existing emoji exists, such as a dog wearing a pilot uniform, or anything else you can think of. Image Playground, on the other hand, lets you submit text-based prompts to generate AI-generated images, including your own. If you still don't know how to use these features, let us tell you how to get started.

How to use Genmoji

Before you can start using Genmoji or Image Playground, make sure that Apple Intelligence is enabled on your iPhone 16 series or iPhone 15 Pro. To do this, you need to set your language to English (US) or English (UK), then go to Settings, select Apple Intelligence and enable it. It may take some time for the phone to wake up as your phone downloads additional data in the background.

Step 1: Open the iMessage app on your iPhone 16 or iPhone 15 Pro and then open a chat.

Step 2: Open the emoji drawer. In the top right corner you will see a glowing emoji icon. Tap it to start using the Genmoji feature.

Step 3: You will then be asked to describe the emoji. Enter a text-based prompt based on your imagination (it could be anything like a spider wearing sunglasses, or a sun emoji with a cape), whatever your imagination comes up with.

Step 4: After entering the prompt, tap “Done.” Then you can add the generated Genmoji by tapping the Add button at the top right corner. It will appear in your chat and you can easily send it.

You can always access the Genmoji you created by navigating to the sticker page on the standard iOS keyboard.

How to use Image Playground

After you update iOS 18.2, you will notice that there is a new app called Playground pre-installed on your iPhone.

Once you open the app, your iPhone may download some data in the background before you can actually use it. Once the download is complete, you can enter a text-based prompt describing an image. For example: “A cat dancing on Mars.”

After you enter the prompt, Apple Intelligence will turn on and take a moment to generate an image. The Image Playground app generates several variations, and depending on which one you like, you can tap the three-dot menu at the top of the image to save it. You can also share the generated image directly from there.

You'll see that it also suggests turning your own images into animated images. Simply tap your image and it will generate an AI-based character for you. It's also worth noting that you can choose from different styles, including animation and illustration, and you can choose different photos for reference.