Tag Archives: Bitmoji

How To, home, Tech Trends/Lifestyle, App Collections

Top Emoji Keyboards for Android and iOS

By Tracey Dowdy 

If you’ve ever scrolled through your emoji and wished for a little more variety, you’re in luck. There’s no need to be stuck in a rut – there are scores of emoji keyboards users can download for both operating systems with everything from animated emoji to gifs to stickers to themes. 

Here are a few emoji keyboards for iPhone and Android users to check out and change up their text messaging. Enjoy! 

Bitmoji will be familiar to Snapchat users but is compatible with other apps as well. Users can create a cartoon avatar that looks just like you and adds another personalization level as your Bitmoji is incorporated into most stickers. For Android, you have the option to install it manually or through the Bitmoji app. Once you sign up within the app, tap the Globe icon to open the Keyboard tab and follow the prompts to enable the keyboard. To manually set it up, install the app and go to Settings. From there, tap Languages and input > Virtual (or On-screen keyboard) > Manage Keyboards > toggle on Bitmoji Keyboard. Free for iOS and Android.

Kika’s keyboard offers a jillion – okay, maybe just thousands – of emoji, fonts, gifs, stickers, and custom keyboard themes. It even has Kika predictive emoji and an emoji dictionary. The gifs work on social media platforms, and users can upload photos as the background to your keyboard. For Android, go to Settings > Languages and input > Virtual (or On-screen keyboard) > Manage Keyboards. For iOS, download the app, then choose Settings > General > Keyboard > Turn on Kika. You’ll also need to allow full access to use all the keyboard’s features. Free for iOS and Android.

Gboard (free for Android and iOS) lets you search for specific emoji, track your most-used emoji, add stickers to your texts, and use gifs and old-fashioned emoticons. To use Gboard, download it from the App Store or Google Play. Go into your Settings and tap Enable (Android) or Get Started (iOS). Note, Apple is notoriously proprietary about third-party apps, so you’ll need to manually enable permissions to use most of the features. 

The most intuitive keyboard on this list, Microsoft’s SwiftKey learns your writing style, including slang, nicknames, and favorite emoji. It’s also the most customizable. Users can add themes, features emoji prediction (that can be turned on and off in Settings), and “type with swipe” capability and seamlessly type in up to five languages without switching settings. Choose from 400+ supported languages. On Android, go to Settings > Language & input > SwiftKey. For iOS, tap General > Keyboard > Add New Keyboard. You’ll see all the keyboards you have installed on your device; choose SwiftKey to enable. If you want it to be your default keyboard, click Edit, then drag it to the top of the list.

Tracey Dowdy is a freelance writer based just outside Washington DC. After years working for non-profits and charities, she now freelances, edits, and researches on subjects ranging from family and education to history and trends in technology. Follow Tracey on Twitter.

App Collections, home

Create and Customize Your iPhone’s Memoji

2 Comments

By Tracey Dowdy

Back in June, Apple introduced Memoji stickers you can use in your messages, comparable to those available from Snapchat’s Bitmoji. The stickers work in iMessage, as well as other services, like WeChat and work with any device with an A9 chip or later.

With the iOS 13 update – available now for iOS – user’s Memoji’s get even more diverse skin colors – including green – piercings, makeup, and you can customize your teeth with gaps, braces, or even missing teeth. You’ll also notice more accessories options, like hats, glasses, earrings, braces piercings, and AirPods.

Memojis are another attempt by Apple to personalize your device in an attempt to make it stand out among the competition.  While Samsung phones also have AR Emoji avatars users can create, the 3D renderings were off-putting to some users, and Samsung downplayed the feature when it launched its Galaxy S10 phones. Google has yet to come out with its own competitor for Memojis, though many customers use third-party apps like Bitmoji. Memoji avatars are embedded into the new iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Max Pro, and with the update, you can use your Memoji in iMessage, FaceTime, Notes, and Mail, and many other of your favorite apps.

To personalize your Memoji, in your Messages app, tap the Memoji icon, select the three-dots and then tap New Memoji. If you already have a Memoji, you can edit, duplicate or delete it. Plus, users now have the option that instead of using an emoji when messaging friends, you can use personalized Memoji stickers. Once you design your Memoji, your iPhone automatically creates a sticker pack for you.

You can find your Memoji stickers in the Messages app, Mail app or if you’re using another app, tap the emoji icon and your Memoji stickers will show up on the left.

To create your Memoji:

  • Open Messages and tap the textbox to start a new message, or go to an existing conversation.
  • Tap, then swipe right and tap New Memoji
  • Customize the features of your memoji — like skin tone, hairstyle, eyes, and more
  • Tap Done

For more complete instructions on how to create your Memoji, click here or here.

Tracey Dowdy is a freelance writer based just outside Washington DC. After years working for non-profits and charities, she now freelances, edits and researches on subjects ranging from family and education to history and trends in technology. Follow Tracey on Twitter.