Memoji turns you into an Apple Animoji in iOS update

You're not limited to being a robot or a poop emoji anymore -- now Apple lets you make your own Animoji, calling it "Memoji." 

At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, on Monday, Apple announced new features coming to Animoji, its hit augmented reality feature that let you put a digital mask over your face in iMessage.

When Apple first introduced Animoji alongside the iPhone X, the only device it's available for because of its front-facing True Depth camera, there weren't many character options. People were limited to Animoji like cats, dogs, and a poop. 

Apple has expanded the feature in iOS 12, with new Animoji likes ghosts, tigers and koalas. But the possibilities are almost endless with Memoji, which lets you customize your own digital masks to whatever you would like. 

"We wanted to take Animoji even further," Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, said on stage at WWDC. "You can now create your very own, personalized Animoji."

Watch this: Apple unveils Memoji for iOS 12

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The face-tracking feature follows your movements, so when you smile or raise your eyebrows, so will the Animoji. Apple also showed off a new tongue-tracking feature and extended Animoji to FaceTme chats. 

"We're all going to be sticking out our tongues to our phones in the near future," Federighi said.  

Apple's update for iOS 12 joins the race in customized emoji, a popular feature that companies like Samsung and Snap are both chasing. Samsung launched AR Emoji last March for the Galaxy S9, which uses your front facing camera to automatically create a 3D emoji. 

In 2016, Snap bought Bitmoji, another custom emoji company, for $64 million.

Here are the biggest iOS 12 features Apple announced at WWDC 2018

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Originally published at 11:04 a.m. PT. 
Update, 11:12 a.m. PT: To include more details about Animoji.