Apple juices up Memoji with virtual accessories and make-up so you can be the most extra avatar

Great news for iPhone sticker and emoji enthusiasts — with iOS, you get even more Memoji, as well as your own custom sticker pack.

Now you can torment group chats and tedious family discussions with customised stickers of yourself, complete with makeup, headwear, and accessories, including AirPods. Memoji will be available on any device with an A9 chip or later (basically, at least an iPhone 6S — you don’t need a TrueDepth camera).

After you craft a custom Memoji, Apple will turn it into a customised sticker pack for you, to be used like regular sticker packs. You’ll even be able to use them in other apps like Mail and WeChat, as Memoji can now be accessed via the phone keyboard.

During Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC, or “dub dub” if you’re nasty), head of software engineering and silver fox Craig Federighi introduced a special video demonstration by makeup influencers Desi Perkins and Patrick Starrr (yes, that’s three Rs).

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x7_w9Oz8lQ[/embed]

Perkins and Starrr brought a much needed-bit of life to the show, as WWDC is a painfully rehearsed and scripted show that takes tons of polished preparation. The pair showed off hairstyles, hats, piercings, along with grills and custom teeth gaps.

While this may not be the most profound Apple announcement — even Federighi threw in a little neg, joking that the audience surely “got a lot out of” the video — it’s one step further into personalising modes of virtual expression on arguably one of our most popular methods of communication.

alexisong@asiaone.com