Galaxy S9 to copy iPhone X’s Animoji feature, report

Samsung’s flagship from S-series lineup Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are about to be unveiled in a couple of weeks and the rumors of the upcoming phones are like an evergrowing hunger which seems to be never fulfilled. Samsung was earlier accused to be stealing the top-notch design of the iPhone X, the champion of its old-time rival Apple, for its upcoming phones but not for S9. But now a Korean media outlet reports that Galaxy S9 may come with a 3D emoji feature which will be quite similar to iPhone X’s Animoji feature.

According to a recent report by ETNews, the 3D emoji feature of Galaxy S9 works by scanning your face and creating a 3D character that copies your facial movements and expressions. You could even send such 3D emojis instead of normal ones in messages.

The feature is quite similar to iPhone X’s Animoji feature, however, the report hints that Samsung’s version of 3D emoji is a step ahead of Apple’s. 3D emojis will be powered by the Galaxy S9’s facial recognition system, which is expected to remain less secure than Face ID on the iPhone X appeared in earlier reports. The 3D emojis will include various 3D characters, including animals, that mimic facial movements as earlier seen in iPhone X’s Animojis.

Samsung has already been working to improve messaging skills of its flagships. The Galaxy S8 introduced stickers you could attach to your face, Snapchat-style, to turn yourself into a carrot-chomping bunny, a kerchief-wearing cowboy and so on. The Galaxy Note 8 also turned messages and drawings you created with the S Pen stylus into a short animated GIF to attach to a message.

Samsung will possibly reveal the name of its Animoji competitor when the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress on February 25 in Barcelona.