Apple might be planning to make Genmoji much more useful in iOS 27. The feature, which currently lets users create custom emoji, could soon suggest AI-generated emoji based on your personal photo library and the phrases you type most often.
That would solve one of the biggest problems with Genmoji: Most iPhone users forget it exists. Despite being genuinely fun and useful, Genmoji remains one of the most overlooked Apple Intelligence features.
But Apple might change that with iOS 27.
Genmoji struggles to catch on
Emoji work great for quick responses or lightening the mood. But sometimes, you just can’t find the exact right emoji for the occasion. Apple created Genmoji to solve that problem — but most users don’t take advantage of the Ai feature.
Introduced two years ago in iOS 18.2, Genmoji enables users to make custom emojis on the spot. However, the process involves switching to the emoji keyboard and typing a prompt to generate the Genmoji.
That process creates a lot of friction, leading most users to skip it.
Apple tried to fix it with iOS 26 by allowing users to combine two existing emoji to make a new one, and even added Genmoji support for Tapback reactions in Messages.
Unfortunately, those changes weren’t enough to make Genmoji popular.
With Suggested Genmoji, a feature reportedly coming in iOS 27, Apple might fix the problem by making the feature come to you instead of the other way around.
How Suggested Genmoji might work
The news comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reportedly spotted a new optional toggle named “Suggested Genmoji.”
The toggle’s description says that the feature works by offering suggestions from your photos and your most commonly used phrases.
That means your iPhone might soon be able to analyze your Photos library and keyboard history to generate personalized emojis.
These custom emoji would then show up right alongside predictive text suggestions in your iPhone’s top keyboard bar.
The feature seems to be optional. The report says users can turn off Suggested Genmoji by simply flipping off the toggle if they feel uncomfortable sharing the contents of their Photos library.
However, Gurman did not say if the feature will run entirely on users’ devices. This matters a lot, as the Photos library and typing history are things no one wants to share.
There’s no mention of a new image model, so Suggested Genmoji will most likely continue to generate emoji locally on your iPhone or iPad, as Genmoji does today.
We should see the full picture during the WWDC26 keynote on June 8, when Apple will officially unveil iOS 27 ahead of a fall release.
Anurag Chawake is a tech-focused writer specializing in smartphones, apps and consumer technology. His interest in computers began during the Windows 98 era, eventually leading him to explore everything from operating systems to mobile devices and PC hardware. Anurag previously contributed to The Indian Express, covering Apple, Android, gaming and the broader technology landscape.
