Wild Animoji Are Taking The Internet By Storm

No longer do you have to wait for a Friday night on the town to hear that one friend’s Nicki Minaj impression. Now, with Apple’s new Face ID technology, she can send it to you anytime, accompanied by an animated animal face synced to the sound of her voice.

Aww, cute.

In true innovator fashion, Apple is relieving consumer pain points we didn’t even know we had. Animoji karaoke has become the latest social media craze.

So, what is it?

Animoji are animated emoji that use the iPhone X’s Face ID sensors to mimic user’s facial expressions. They are available through the iMessage app on the iPhone X, which was released on Friday, Nov. 3. Animoji are powered by the new screen recording tool available via iOS 11.

The iPhone X’s revolutionary new security feature, Face ID, may have a way to go toward actually being secure, with siblings reporting that they were able to unlock each other’s phones, and individuals reporting they were unable to gain access to their own devices.

That’s not to say Face ID will never deliver the simple, smooth and secure experience consumers want. But, like Touch ID before it, the verification method’s first iteration leaves a bit to be desired, according to many early reviewers of the iPhone X.

Many critics were skeptical that Face ID could deliver the experience and security it promised — and, it now seems, rightly so. The unsurprised haters are basking in the satisfaction of everyone else’s disappointment. Luckily, for the rest of us, there’s animoji karaoke to soften the sting.

Apple Insider explains how to make your own animoji karaoke if you were lucky enough to get the iPhone X handset upfront and want to try it.

Other than softening the blow (or, rather, the whimper) of Face ID’s debut, did the world really need animoji?

According to one former hater, yes: It depersonalizes the video chat experience, trimming out extraneous information like a messy room, bed hair, a big red zit, et cetera, leaving only the voice and exaggerated facial expression. The Verge went out on a limb and called it “magic.”

The phone maps more than 50 facial muscles in real time, so there is certainly an element of wonder to seeing such a sophisticated rendering of a friend or family member’s face — and the instant goofiness of it all is likely to put a smile on the recipient’s face, as well.

Karaoke was never the intended use for animoji — but then, watching stupid cat videos was never the intended use for the internet, yet here we are. Someone thought of it, did it and shared it, and now YouTube is blowing up with animoji karaoke.

Fans are saying it’s the best thing about the iPhone X and justifies the $999 price tag. We know a picture’s worth a thousand words, but a thousand dollars? What do our readers think? Sound off in the comments and feel free to make your case with animoji if you’re so inclined.