How to create an AR Emoji and more on the Samsung Galaxy S9

Here’s everything you need to know about creating and using the Samsung Galaxy S9’s AR Emojis

What are AR Emojis?

Introduced with the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, AR Emojis are a new feature build into your phone’s camera app. Once set up, they allow you to create a 3D animated version of yourself and send customized emojis featuring that avatar to friends and followers via social media.

[Related: Samsung Galaxy S9+ review]

[Related: Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ - The Best Tips and Tricks]

[Related: Hands-On - Our First Impressions of the Samsung Galaxy S9]

How do you create an AR Emoji?

Creating your own AR Emoji is as simple as opening up the Galaxy S9’s camera app and swiping to the tab labelled ‘AR Emoji’. You can do this on both the device’s rear and front-facing cameras. If you’re trying to create an AR Emoji for yourself, you’ll probably want to use the latter. However, if you’re trying to show off the feature to your friends, the rear-camera might work better.

Credit: Samsung

Once the camera on the S9 detects a human face, all you have to do is smile and hit the ‘Create My Emoji’ button. A circle will appear around your face (on the screen), with an progress bar filling the outline of it. It should only take a few seconds to fill and then you’ll be shown an initial preview of your AR Emoji.

The next step is to choose your AR Emoji’s gender, then you’ll be given the ability to customize your AR Emoji’s  hair, clothes, and accessories.

Credit: Samsung

The last thing you need to do here is hit the save button, and you’re good to go.

Congratulations! You’ve just created your first AR Emoji.

How do I view saved AR Emojis?

Viewing your saved AR Emojis can be done either through the camera or the Gallery app on your Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+.  

Can I create an AR Emoji on my Samsung Galaxy S6, S7, S8 or Note 8?

No. Unfortunately, creating AR Emojis is something that is are currently only available to owners and users of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. However, that said, you could easily transfer the .gif files for the animations manually and then use them on a non-Samsung handset that way.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

How do I take videos with my AR Emoji?

Taking videos with your AR Emoji is just as easy as taking photos of it. Simply swipe to the AR Emoji tab on either the front-facing or rear camera and then tap the recording button, just as you would with the camera ordinarily.

How many AR Emojis can I create?

There’s no real limit to how many AR Emojis you can create. That said, Samsung have indicated to us that the phone’s camera can only load about 100 AR Emojis at a time.

It’s also possible that your phone might not allow you to create additional AR Emojis if you don’t have any storage space left.

How do I delete an AR Emoji?

Deleting your AR Emoji is as simple as opening the camera app on your Galaxy S9 or S9+, swiping to the AR Emoji tab. Then, all that’s left to do is tap and hold on the AR Emoji you want to delete. After a moment, a small minus (‘-’) icon will appear on each of your AR Emojis. Tap on the one you want to delete and hit yes on the confirmation pop-up box and it will be erased.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

Doing this will also delete all the relevant AR Emoji stickers and gifs but not any custom video or image content you’ve created using that AR Emoji.

What messaging apps support AR Emoji stickers?

Samsung’s AR Emoji stickers are integrated pretty well into their Samsung Keyboard plugin, which is the default keyboard on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. This means that, theoretically, any messaging app that supports sending gifs or stickers should be able to make use of the Galaxy S9’s AR Emojis.

Most, if not all, the major players support this, including Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype, Vibr, LINE, WeChat and Google Hangouts.

How many AR Emoji Stickers are there?

At present, there are eighteen animated AR Emoji stickers. This includes all the usual expressions like laughing, crying, thinking or smiling. See below for a preview of what each emoji looks like.

Credit: Samsung

It's unclear whether or not Samsung will add to this over time via future software updates for the feature.

Next Page: How To use AR Emojis in Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, Skype and more

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How do you use AR Emojis in Facebook Messenger?

Sending AR Emojis to your friends using Facebook’s Messenger and Messenger Lite apps is a pretty straightforward and intuitive process. Much like you would send a sticker to someone, simply tap the sticker icon on an active conversation and you’ll be able to select and send AR Emoji stickers.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

Since AR Emoji animations are essentially just .gif files, sending them through Messenger works must the same as sending normal stickers and gifs.

How do you use AR Emojis in WhatsApp?

Sending AR Emojis to your friends using WhatsApp is also pretty straightforward.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

Simply tap the sticker icon in an active conversation and you’ll be able to select the AR Emoji sticker you want. Once you done that, just hit the send button.

How do you use AR Emojis in WeChat?

Sending AR Emojis to your friends using WeChat is also pretty straightforward.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

Simply tap the sticker icon in an active conversation and you’ll be able to select the AR Emoji sticker you want. Once you done that, just hit the send button.

How do you use AR Emojis in Skype?

Sending AR Emojis to your friends using Skype is also pretty straightforward.

Much like you would send a sticker to someone, simply tap the sticker icon in an active conversation and you’ll be able to select and send AR Emoji stickers.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

How do you use AR Emojis in SMS Messages?

Sending AR Emojis to your friends in an SMS Message is also pretty straightforward.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

Much like you would send a sticker to someone, simply tap the sticker icon in an active conversation within the Galaxy S9’s Messages app and you’ll be able to select and send AR Emoji stickers.

Credit: Samsung

Next Page: How Do I add Mickey Mouse to my AR Emoji collection

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How do I add Mickey Mouse to my AR Emoji collection?

A big draw to Samsung's AR Emoji feature is the partnership they've made with Disney. The company say that, as part of this arrangement, a number of iconic Disney characters will be added to the Galaxy S9's collection of AR Emojis over the course of 2018.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

The first of these extra AR skins come in the form of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. However, in order to use them, you'll first have to download them via the Samsung Galaxy Store app. By default this is located in the Samsung Apps folder.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

Once you've loaded up the store, the Disney AR app will be located under the 'Live Stickers' category.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

Select it and download it. Once you've done this, the Disney AR Icon will appear in your camera app and can be used as you would a regular AR Emoji.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG