What Are Animoji? (aka 3D emoji)

Animoji are animated emoji that have been created by Apple for use in messaging. 3D emoji are similar moving emoji. 

Everyone loves emoji. What fun would text messages be without being able to flirt with a winky face, invite people to dinner with tacos, or explain just how bad your day was with the pile of poop? But standard emoji aren't very personal. 

What Are Animoji? 

Animoji are a feature introduced by Apple in 2017 that transforms some of the classic emoji icons into short, customized animations.

These are also called 3D emoji by other companies using similar technologies.

What's particularly cool about these moving emoji is that they're not just animations. They actually scan your facial expressions and map them onto the icon, so that an Animoji acts out your behavior. Frown and your Animoji frowns. Shake your head, laugh, and close your eyes and the Animoji does the same.

Even better, you can record short voice messages with Animoji and, thanks to the facial scan and expression mimicking, the Animoji will appear to be realistically and naturally speaking your words. The voices used by the Animoji match the character chosen. So, choose the alien character and your message will sound like it's being spoken by an alien.

Can You Use Any Emoji With Animoji?

No. It would be awesome if every emoji could be animated but, in the beginning, there were 12 emojis that can be used as Animoji. The first 12 released by Apple were:

New animoji are typically released with iOS updates from Apple. Other companies produce 3D emoji with new phone releases.

What Do You Need to Create Animoji?

The requirements for creating animoji are pretty simple.

You need:

• iPhone X—Apple's flagship iPhone X model has the Face ID facial recognition system built into the front-facing camera. This system is used to unlock the phone and authorize Apple Pay transactions. The same sensors map your face and capture your expressions to animate the Animoji.
• iOS 11 with the Animoji iMessage app installed—Animoji only work on iOS 11 and up. They're not built into the OS or iMessage. Rather, they're an iMessage app that's pre-installed with iOS 11 on the iPhone X.
• iMessage account—Animoji can only be sent via iMessage, not other text-messaging apps.

Can Anyone Receive Animoji?

No. Animoji only work on devices running iOS 11 and higher. Any device capable of running iOS 11 or higher can display Animoji, not just the iPhone X. Samsung phones are expected to provide animoji in 2018.

Do Animoji Replace Regular Emoji?

No. All of the traditional emoji that we know and love are still available on the iPhone and all other devices running iOS 11 and iMessage. Animojis are strictly a bonus.

How Do You Make Animoji?

If you've got an iPhone X, making Animojis is pretty simple. Just follow these steps:

1. Open the Messages app.
2. Open the Animoji iMessage app.
3. Select a character for your message.

1. Tap the record button and speak your message. Both your voice and your facial expressions while you speak will be captured and mapped onto the Animoji.
2. Send the message like any other message.