Image Playground is Apple’s picture technology app that launched final 12 months. Most individuals might not have a whole lot of use for the cartoonish photographs that it produces in iOS 18, however you are going to need to take one other take a look at it in iOS 26 as a result of Apple has improved its algorithms.
Folks look extra pure within the photographs generated by the app, with extra life like eyes and extra variation in hair that higher matches pattern pictures.
As a fast recap, Picture Playground enables you to kind in any phrase to generate a picture in one in all three non-realistic types. You can too choose pre-determined scenes and props that Apple suggests, and generate photographs that includes your family and friends. It is these photographs the place you will note the largest distinction in iOS 26, as a result of the content material generated primarily based on photographs of individuals has modified fairly a bit.
Animation
In iOS 18, pictures generated utilizing the Animation fashion have blunt hair with little variation, a number of distinction, and unnatural wanting faces, however in iOS 26, options are softer, hair is extra various, and it has extra circulation. Garments additionally look extra pure, although Picture Playground would not usually trouble matching outfits.
iOS 18.6 picture in center, iOS 26 picture on properPicture Playground’s Animation fashion in iOS 26 appears to take extra liberty with picture backgrounds, pose, and physique form, and it is higher at small particulars like particular eyebrow form.
iOS 18.6 picture in center, iOS 26 picture on properSketch
With the Sketch fashion, Picture Playground is once more higher at matching facial features, options, and hair fashion. The picture on the fitting appears extra like MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera than the center picture.
iOS 18.6 picture in center, iOS 26 picture on properIllustration
Illustration has among the identical traits as Sketch, higher capturing colours and inventing higher backgrounds.
iOS 18.6 picture in center, iOS 26 picture on properAnimals and Landscapes
The modifications to Picture Playground can be seen in photographs of animals, meals, locations, and extra, in all three built-in types.
iOS 18.6 picture in center, iOS 26 picture on properFeelings
Picture Playground appears to be higher at reflecting emotion, too. For this picture, the modifier “sobbing” was added to the picture. It did not fairly present tears, however there’s extra emotion within the iOS 26 face on the fitting. There’s even a devoted “Expressions” menu, with choices that embody snicker, glad, mad, unhappy, shocked, considering, thumbs up, and thumbs down.
iOS 18.6 picture in center, iOS 26 picture on properChatGPT Integration
ChatGPT picture technology capabilities are included in Picture Playground in iOS 26, so there are an expanded vary of types to select from. There are a number of instructed choices, together with anime, oil portray, vector, print, and water shade types, all of which use ChatGPT reasonably than Apple’s capabilities to create the picture.
Anime, oil portray, and water shade types in Picture PlaygroundThe output is just like what you get if you happen to use ChatGPT 4o for picture technology, and you may make these cute anime-style photographs which have been floating across the web.
ChatGPT’s anime-style output in Picture PlaygroundThere’s additionally an open-ended “Any Type” choice to create photographs with ChatGPT, and that provides extra vary to what’s attainable with Picture Playground. ChatGPT can primarily mimic any fashion that you just ask it to, and it will possibly generate life like photographs, which isn’t one thing that Apple’s picture technology know-how does.
A “life like” picture of a chook on high of a cat’s head.As with commonplace Picture Playground picture technology, you may make a text-based request or add a picture to ChatGPT and ask it to make use of that as the idea for a picture. Photos that you just add and textual content requests may be mixed.
Creating photographs with ChatGPT makes use of up tokens, and when you have a free account, you most likely will not be capable of create multiple or two photographs. Making the most of ChatGPT picture creation options in Picture Playground past that requires a paid account.
Genmoji
Picture Playground in iOS 18 doesn’t assist creating Genmoji, and that is a separate characteristic positioned within the Messages app. In iOS 26, you need to use Picture Playground for Genmoji.
Genmoji is a mode which you can choose, and selecting it opens up an interface the place you may select an emoji or a number of emoji to customise. One of many new Genmoji options in iOS 26 is the choice to mix emoji to make new emoji reasonably than ranging from scratch with a personality, and this functionality is obtainable in Picture Playground along with the Messages app.
You possibly can faucet a number of emoji to create a brand new one, or select an emoji after which add text-based descriptions to make tweaks. There isn’t a possibility to make use of pictures for Genmoji. The Genmoji that you just make are added to your emoji keyboard they usually can be utilized in Messages.
Labeling
While you ship somebody a picture generated with Picture Playground in iOS 26, like over AirDrop, it’s labeled as a generated picture within the file identify.