Adjusting Genmoji Facial Expressions in iOS 18

Apple’s iOS 18 introduces Genmoji, an Apple Intelligence feature that lets users generate custom emoji on demand, including personalized avatars modeled after people in their Photos library. Unlike the legacy Memoji system that relies on static manual sliders, Genmoji expression adjustments are powered by generative artificial intelligence and natural language prompts. This article details the specific facial expressions you can customize when creating personalized Genmoji and explains how to prompt the system for the best results.

How Genmoji Expression Customization Works

When generating a personalized Genmoji, the system references a selected person's likeness from the Photos app and renders it in standard emoji form. Facial expressions are not chosen from a fixed checklist of toggles; instead, they are generated dynamically through descriptive text prompts. By changing adjectives and emotional descriptors, you can alter the character's eyes, mouth, eyebrows, and overall demeanor.

Core Facial Expressions You Can Adjust

Because the engine interprets natural language, you can adjust a personalized character across a wide spectrum of facial states:

  • Joy and Laughter: You can request subtle closed-mouth smiles, broad toothy grins, hearty laughing expressions, or hysterical laughing-crying faces.
  • Sadness and Vulnerability: Expressions range from slight downward pouts and subtle frowns to overt weeping, streams of tears, or melancholic looks.
  • Surprise and Shock: Characters can be rendered with wide eyes, raised brows, dropped jaws, or hands placed against cheeks in disbelief.
  • Anger and Frustration: You can prompt scowls, furrowed brows, red-faced fuming expressions, or cartoonish steam coming from the nose.
  • Skepticism and Contemplation: The character can feature a single raised eyebrow, side-eye glances, pursed lips, or the classic "thinking face" with a hand on the chin.
  • Playful and Cheeky: Prompts easily support winking eyes, sticking the tongue out, playful smirks, or goofy crossed eyes.
  • Fatigue and Relaxation: Prompts allow sleepy eyes, yawning mouths, snoring bubbles, or serene, closed-eye peaceful expressions.

Classic Emoji Expression Overlays

Beyond realistic human expressions, personalized Genmoji can incorporate iconic emoji-style facial features onto a person’s likeness:

  • Heart Eyes: Replaces the standard eyes with glowing or pulsing hearts to indicate adoration.
  • Star Eyes: Renders stars over the eyes to reflect excitement or being starstruck.
  • Mind Blown: Renders a shocked expression paired with an exploding head effect.
  • Sunglasses: Adds dark shades combined with a confident smirk for the classic "cool" expression.
  • Halo / Angelic: Features closed or innocent smiling eyes topped with a floating halo.

Refining Expressions with Descriptive Prompts

To adjust the intensity of an expression, use precise modifiers in the Genmoji creation bar within the keyboard. For example, instead of typing a generic term like "sad," specifying "subtle pout," "holding back tears," or "dramatic crying" yields distinct nuances in eyebrow positioning, mouth curvature, and tear placement while preserving the person's recognized features.