Skip to main content

Turn your selfie into an emoji via Google's new machine-learning app

best songs about friendship
Gpointstudio/123RF
If you spend (too much) time contemplating the rise of the emoji, you might discover that the phenomenon may represent a regression in terms of human communication. Because really, did we spend the last couple millennia developing alphabets and the written word just to return to hieroglyphs? But fret not — we are in fact getting more advanced. After all, could our ancestors have turned photos of ourselves into new emojis? Because now we can.

Thanks to a new tool from Google, you can apply the magic of machine learning to your face, generating a custom emoji sticker from a selfie. The feature can be found within Allo, Google’s machine learning-based app. And starting today, you’ll see a new option when you access the sticker collection — “Turn a selfie into stickers.”

It does exactly what it suggests. First, you take a photo of yourself and then let Google’s intelligent algorithms parse your face. Co. Design explains that this maps “each of your features to those in a kit illustrated by Lamar Abrams, a storyboard artist, writer, and designer for the critically acclaimed Cartoon Network series Steven Universe.

You’ll never create the same face from your face twice, as Google notes that there are somewhere around 563 quadrillion combinations of eye, nose, and face shapes that could ultimately be pulled together to form your unique emoji.

Once the initial emoji has been created, you can make adjustments as you see fit, like changing your hair color or donning a different pair of glasses. Once that’s complete, Google’s new feature creates 22 custom stickers of the “you” derived from your selfie.

Really, it’s an exercise in self-identity, Jason Cornwell, Google’s communication projects UX lead told Co.Design. “How do you make something that doesn’t just convey what you look like but how you want to project yourself?” he asked. “That’s an interesting problem. It gets to ML and computer vision but also human expression.”

Ultimately, Cornwell said, “The goal isn’t accuracy. It’s to let someone create something that feels like themselves, to themselves.”

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
I record interviews for work. These are my favorite free recorder apps
The iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 Pro's voice recording apps running together.

The Voice Recorder app on a phone (left) and the Voice Memos on another phone Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Before you head to the app store on your phone to buy a voice-recording app, take a moment to consider the apps that may already be installed on your phone. Why? In my experience, they're likely all you really need. I’ve recorded interviews and voice-overs for work for years, and I’ve found the two best examples come preinstalled on your phone already, so they’re entirely free to use.

Read more
The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases: 10 best ones so far
Two Galaxy Z Fold 5 phones next to each other -- one is open and one is closed.

Samsung’s next-generation foldable is here with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. This iteration has some notable improvements, including a new hinge design that eliminates the gap from previous generations when the device was folded. You also get a 6.2-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the outside while having a 6.7-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the inside, with both screens having a 120Hz refresh rate. In other words, they're about as nice as you could ask for.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is made with premium materials, and the triple-lens camera system packs in a 50MP main shooter, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. There’s a 10MP selfie camera on the front cover, and a 4MP camera on the inner display. You also get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip inside for the best performance and power efficiency.

Read more
Google Pixel Tablet just got its first big discount and it’s worth a look
Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

Tablets are a dime-a-dozen these days, with offerings from all the great brands including Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, and more. So, if you really want to stand out in a sea of similar tech, you need to do things a little differently. That's what Google's Pixel Tablet offers. How? It comes with a unique speaker dock that can be used to both charge the device and offer room-filling sound -- almost like a smart speaker add-on. Better yet, when your Pixel Tablet is docked it benefits from the Hub Mode, turning the device into a smart display, with digital photo frame support, smart home controls, and hands-free Google functionality. Of course, it could set you back at full price, normally $499 unless you find it included in a roundup of the best Google Pixel deals. Well, guess what? Thanks to a Best Buy Google Pixel Tablet deal, you can get it today for $439 and save $60. Hurry, though, it's part of Best Buy's recent 48-hour sale so it won't stick around for long.

Why you should buy the Google Pixel Tablet
Okay, okay, so in our Google Pixel Tablet review, Joe Maring did give it less than stellar remarks, but he called out its reliable fingerprint sensor, comfortability during use and excellent speaker dock. Honestly, how many tablets come with a matching speaker dock that transforms the entire experience? This tablet also marks a "lot of firsts" for Google, as it's the first tablet from the company in nearly five years, the first Android tablet in eight years, and can be converted into a smart home display with the speaker dock. All of which are notable milestones.

Read more