macOS Sequoia 15.3 beta brings Genmoji to Mac, allowing you to serve up custom emojis that really represent you

Apple brings custom AI-generated Genmoji to Mac in Sequoia 15.3 beta

News By Kristina Terech published 17 December 2024

• Apple’s macOS Sequoia 15.3 beta introduces Genmoji, letting Mac users create custom emojis
• Genmoji works offline, requires Apple silicon Macs, and expands emoji use with personalized designs from prompts or photos
• Available to developers now, Genmoji will roll out to public beta and future macOS updates soon

Apple has released its first beta for the upcoming macOS Sequoia 15.3 update for developers, and it reportedly brings a feature powered by Apple Intelligence that the company has been hyping up for some time now: Genmoji. This developer beta follows swiftly on the heels of the release of macOS Sequoia 15.2, which came out about a week ago.

Genmoji will allow Mac users to generate their own unique emojis based on a prompt and this is also the first time we’ll see it on a desktop (the feature was already available on iOS 18.2 for iPhones and iPadOS 18.2 for iPads and now Mac users get to join in on the party), as reported by MacRumors.

To access this developer beta version (and future developer beta releases), you have to register with Apple as a developer (which comes with a subscription fee).

Genmoji is meant to expand the way people can express themselves via custom emojis. On the support page for the feature on iPhone, Apple claims that you can give Genmoji a simple description of what you want your custom Genmoji to look like or create one based on a photo of a person, such as a friend or family member.

Once you generate a custom emoji, you’ll be able to use it like other emojis that are included in Apple software by default. These emojis will then work across devices running iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later. For those using older versions or an Android device, custom-generated emojis will still show up, but as an image rather than an emoji (which are distinct as far as Apple OSs are concerned).

How to use Genmoji on your Mac

You can create a Genmoji and use it via the emoji palette on Mac. Here are some ways you can access Genmoji on Mac:

Use a keyboard shortcut: Press Control + Command + Space in any app that supports text input, like Notes or Messages

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