We’re calling it: animated emoji are officially a “thing.” Now that Apple’s iPhone X[1] has Animoji, Samsung’s Galaxy S9[2] has AR Emoji, and ASUS’s ZenFone 5 has ZeniMoji, the way to show off your status as a fancyphone owner is by sending all your friends cartoons made with your face[3].
Not about to spring on the iPhone X or Samsung 9? Don't get left behind. Download one of these dupes instead. These apps aren't a substitute for the sophisticated face-tracking tech[4] that lets iPhone X users animate the pile of poop, but they're guaranteed to annoy your friends less than those Animoji videos.
My Talking Pet
So, your friend with the iPhone X can make the puppy emoji move with her face. But can she animate her own dog's face? Use this app to turn a photo of Baxter into an animated video. First, use the given points to map the dog's chin, eyes, mouth, and ears in the app. Then, record something with your voice, like, “I love tennis balls” and watch Baxter come to life like you’ve never seen before. It’s a talking dog! With expressive eyebrows and everything! You can even change the pitch of the voice to match your pup's personality. Can Animoji do that? $2.99, iOS[5] and Android[6].
HAHAmoji
Instead of using your face to animate emoji, HAHAmoji uses emoji to animate your face. Open the app and capture or upload your image. Then scroll through a list of emojis—there’s the cool sunglasses emoji, the happy-and-blushing face, and the laugh-crying emoji, and, of course, the poop emoji. Choose the happy-and-blushing face and watch your lips curl...