The second wave of Apple Intelligence features have arrived withthe release of iOS 18.2 this month, expanding on the text-based AI tools introduced in October's iOS 18.1 update.
While six weeks of developer betas haven't left us with too many surprises for the public iOS 18.2 release, the good news is that Apple's new suite of AI image generation tools and ChatGPT integration are now here for everyone to enjoy — everyone with a compatible iPhone, that is. December's iOS release also adds Visual Intelligence for all four iPhone 16 models and expands Apple Intelligence to more English languages.
However, the new features that are by far the most fun are Image Playground and Genmoji, which offer you new ways to express yourself by using Apple Intelligence to generate whimsical images and custom emoji. Best of all, these images are generated solely by Apple Intelligence, which means it's private and secure. Apple Intelligence does as much as it can on-device, and when it needs to reach out to the cloud for help, those requests go to Apple's Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, which is designed from the ground up to retain no data and audited and hardened against attacks.
Note that, like other Apple Intelligence features, Image Playground and Genmoji are only available on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and all iPhone 16 models. We'll be focusing on the iPhone in this guide, but these features work very similarly on Apple's other devices where they're available, which includes all iPads equipped with an M-series of A17 Pro chip in iPadOS 18.2 and Apple silicon Macs (those with an M1 or later chip). Note that only Image Playground is available in macOS Sequoia 15.2; Genmoji creation is coming in a future update.
How to create a basic image using Image Playground
You may have heard that the iOS 18.2 betas locked the new image creation features behind a wait list, but the good news is that policy has ended up with the public release. While Apple still considers most of its Apple Intelligence features in beta, you won't have to wait to access them once you've installed iOS 18.2 — you can start creating fun images using Apple Intelligence right away.
Here's how to create a basic, generic image using just a text description.
Step 1: Open Image Playground.
Step 2: Select the Describe an image box at the bottom, type something you'd like Image Playground to create, and select Done or tap the send button to the right of the text field.
Step 3: Image Playground will return to the main screen with your description shown near a glowing bubble as it generates the requested image.
Step 4: Note that not all descriptions will result in viable images, so you may see a banner at the top that says Image Playground is unable to use your description. In that case. you'll need to remove it and try again by either selecting Undo or choosing the (-) minus sign by the text block.
Step 5: Image Playground will generate four images based on your selections. You can swipe left and right to view them. Additional variations will be generated as you continue to swipe to the right.
Step 6: Once the initial images have been generated, you can change the style by selecting the (+) plus button in the bottom-right corner and selecting Animation (the default) or Illustration. A third "Sketch" style that Apple promised didn't make the cut for iOS 18.2, but Apple confirmed in its iOS 18.2 announcement that it hasn't been entirely scrapped, just delayed, and "will be available in the months to come."
Step 7: To further customize your image, select Describe an image and enter more text.
Note that descriptions used here should be as simple as possible; for example, instead of typing "wearing a sweater," you only need to type "sweater." Apple Intelligence can figure out where the sweater is supposed to go.
Step 8: Instead of typing, you can use any of the suggestions that appear near the bottom. Swiping to the right will show categories of themes, costumes, accessories, and places to choose from.
Note that any of these elements can also be described by typing; the suggestions are merely shortcuts to provide some ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
Step 9: If you change your mind, you can remove a descriptive element by tapping on the photo to return to the generation screen and then selecting the (-) minus sign beside the description you want to take out.
Step 10: When you're satisfied with the result, you can save it to the Image Playground library by selecting Done in the top-right corner. You can also copy it, share it, or save it directly to your iPhone photo library by long-pressing on the image and choosing the appropriate option from the pop-up menu.
How to create an avatar of a person using Image Playground
What makes Image Playground even more whimsical is that you can select any face from your photo library to use as a basis for a new image, effectively creating AI avatars of all your friends and family.
Note that Apple has wisely put a few guardrails here. Images will have a cartoony, Pixar-like appearance and you can only do headshots, so there's no ability to create realistic-looking images of people or do strange things with their bodies. However, you can still have a lot of fun putting yourself or other people you know in a variety of different settings and outfits. Here's how to get started.
Step 1: Open the Image Playground app.
Step 2: If you've already saved one or more images from a prior session, choose the (+) plus button at the bottom to create a new image.
Step 3: Select the person icon to the right of the "Describe an image" box. This will open a list of people from your photo library, complete with their names if you've entered them in the Photos app.
Step 4: Choose the person you'd like to base your new image on. Note that you can only choose one person here; Image Playground doesn't support group shots yet.
Step 5: The first time you select a new person, you'll be asked to choose a starting point. You'll be shown several renderings based on different photos of the person that you have stored in your library.
Swipe left or right to choose the one you like best and then select Done in the top-right corner. This will be used for all future images generated using this person, but don't worry, you can return to this screen to choose a new look if you change your mind by selecting the Edit button underneath the person's image in the "Choose a Person" view.
Step 6: Once you've selected a person, you can then continue customizing your image as described in the previous section by adding suggested themes, costumes, accessories, or places, or using the "Describe an image" box to type in anything else you want to add or change.
You also don't need to start with a person. You can begin by creating your image and then select a person at the end, which will swap the main subject for the chosen individual.
The selected person also acts like any other descriptive element, so you can remove them in the same way — by tapping on the image and then selecting the (-) minus sign beside the person bubble.
How to create an AI image of a photo using Image Playground
Image Playground can also create an image based on a photo, The description suggests it's limited to pets, nature, and food right now, but your mileage may vary. We've successfully generated images from pictures of clothing, footwear, TV remotes, coffee mugs, and other household objects. As with using people, you can only select a single photo; choosing a new one will replace whatever you've previously selected. You also can't combine a person with another photo.
Step 1: Open the Image Playground app. If you've already saved one or more images from a prior session, choose the (+) plus button at the bottom to create a new image.
Step 2: Tap the (+) plus button in the bottom-right corner.
Step 3: Choose Animation or Illustration for your preferred style.
Step 4: Select Choose photo to choose an existing image from your photo library, or Take photo to capture a new photo with your camera.
Step 5: After a few seconds, four AI-generated renders of the selected image will appear. Swipe to choose your preferred version or generate additional renders, and then customize it further as described in the previous sections by typing in descriptions or adding new elements from the suggestions. When finished, tap Done to save it to your Image Playground library.
How to use Image Playground images in other apps
While Image Playground seems like a great way to generate new images for things like contact profile photos and Apple Music playlists, Apple has yet to build an Image Playground shortcut into those apps. So far, you can use Image Playground directly in Messages, Freeform, and Apple's Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Image Playground is also available to third-party developers, but it's up to them to integrate this feature into their apps.
However, it's not hard to get an picture from Image Playground into another app. By default, images created in Image Playground are saved into a dedicated library in the Playground app. These are saved along with the elements that were used to create them, letting you reopen them and edit them at any time. While most apps don't yet offer any way to access the Image Playground library directly, the good news is that you can save anything from there into your photo library or share it directly into other apps.
Step 1: Open Image Playground. If you've saved at least one photo from a previous session, you'll see a library of your images.
Step 2: Select an image that you'd like to save to your photo library or share to another app. It will open in a full-screen view.
Step 3: Select the Share button in the bottom-left corner. The standard iOS Share Sheet will appear.
Step 4: Select Save image to save to your photo library or choose one of the other sharing options to share it via Messages, Mail, or any other app of your choice. Images are saved to photos as 1024 x 1024 HEIF files. Sharing in other apps will use a resolution and format appropriate for that app.
Step 5: Once the image is in your photo library, you can use it like any other image, including setting it as a contact photo or contact poster, setting it as artwork for your favorite Apple Music playlists, using it as an avatar on social media, and more.
How to make a Genmoji in Apple Messages
The other exciting part of the new image-creation tools in Apple Intelligence is Genmoji, which lets you create a custom emoji using any description you can think of. The process for this is very similar to Image Playground, as it lets you describe a photo and even add a person to your Genmoji. The primary difference is you can't mix and match several elements — you get one description and one person.
There's no dedicated app for Genmojis. Instead, they're created from the same place you'd add a normal emoji in the Messages app.
Step 1: Open Messages and start a new conversation or select an existing one.
Step 2: Open the emoji picker by tapping the emoji symbol on the on-screen keyboard.
Step 3: Select the Describe an emoji text entry box and type a description of the Genmoji you would like to create.
Step 4: As usual, the list of emojis will filter to match your description. If nothing is found, you'll see an option to Create new emoji. However, even if this doesn't appear, you can select the smiling emoji with a (=) plus button to the right of the text entry field at any time to open the New Genmoji screen.
Step 5: Four previews of your described Genmojis will appear. You can use the text box to further refine the image.
Step 6: To base your Genmoji on a person, type their name anywhere in the text box. Use the name you've assigned to the person in the Photos app, and select it from the suggestion bar if necessary. If you're having trouble getting the right person, you can tap on the name below the Genmoji preview to select a different person.
Step 7: Swipe left or right to choose the Genmoji version you'd like. As with Image Playground, continuing to swipe to the right will generate new versions.
Step 8: When you find the Genmoji you like, select Add to insert it into the current conversation.
iPhones, iPads, and Macs running the latest updates will see any Genmoji you send inline with text like a standard emoji. Devices running older software releases will see them rendered as stickers.
The Genmoji will also be saved to your personal emoji/sticker library so you can reuse it again later, and it can be used anywhere a sticker can, including as tapbacks in your conversation thread. Further, while the Mac doesn't (yet) support the ability to create new Genmoji, those you've already made on your iPhone or iPad can be used from the Mac by selecting them from the sticker library.
How to use Genmoji in other apps
The normal emoji characters we use everyday are part of a broader standard, so Genmoji won't work quite like normal emoji. Apple's Messages app renders them like normal emoji, but other apps won't see them that way. They're more like the iMessage stickers that Apple introduced in iOS 17. When using other messaging apps, they'll simply be sent as individual graphics, the same way stickers and Memoji have always worked.
The good news is that they're still available in most messaging apps, but not all. As a rule, if an app lets you use stickers and Memoji, you'll be able to create and use Genmoji there also. If not, you'll be limited to the standard emoji. For example, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Slack are all cool with Genmoji (although, as we said, they're sent as stickers), whereas Microsoft Teams is confined to the emoji spec.
