I don’t care for the Animoji because when I made them on my X using the dot projector for longer than the quick second it takes to unlock, it made my eyes feel a bit weird. I’m a bit wary of this technology’s effects on the eyes. I would still try it as an unlocking method. I had no problems with Face ID for that purpose.
What I and the kids really loved on my S8+ has been the crazy Snapchat-like filters for the camera. They work pretty well. Just like the AR stickers on the Pixel 2. The ability to liven up photos seems welcome by all ages.
In the time that I had the X, I didn’t see the same excitement and interest in the Animoji even among the 10-15 crowd that surrounds me as a carpooling mom. I noticed when the kids do use Animoji, they just like to bombard each other with a row of regular emojis. Sometimes they use stickers and gifs, but that’s pretty rare.
They talk about eating a LOT. So the food emojis rule. The poop emoji used to be really popular but I think that one has had its day. It’s been overexposed and once it was turned into a pillow and sold everywhere, that was probably the beginning of the end for Mr. Poop. The kids give zero craps for a talking poop.
I do think Samsung has an advantage debuting the S9 in the spring. I find myself drawn to the idea of having the new phone and its camera along for the start of spring and summer sports season and vacations. There is no way on Gods green earth that I am going to take the sim out of my Pixel 2 so this would just take the place of my S8+ and have to work on WiFi. I do hope they restore the stereo audio recording capabilities back to the near perfection I enjoyed on my S7 Edge. That’s the killer feature for me with Samsung phones.
I’ve spent a hefty portion of the winter feeling half dead from a pneumonia-like illness and seeing tidbits on the S9 is cheering me up. Gah, I can’t help it. I’m a phonaholic.