I can't believe more people don't use this Gboard feature

I can't believe more people don't use this Gboard feature By  Jon Gilbert Published 19 minutes ago Jon has been an author at Android Police since 2021. He primarily writes features and editorials covering the latest Android news, but occasionally reviews hardware and Android apps. His favorite Android device was the Pixel 2 XL, and he regards the three months when he owned an iPhone as a time of the utmost shame. Jon graduated with a History degree in 2018, but quickly realized his writing skills were better put to use writing about tech rather than essays. He started writing and editing for startups shortly after graduating, where he did everything from writing website copy to managing and editing for a group of writers. When he's not sitting at his computer, you can find him working at Warhammer World, reading sci-fi, or turning his speakers up to 11. Sign in to your Android Police account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

As I was idly complaining about the current state of Android software to a friend who was trying their best to look interested, I threw out the phrase "at least Emoji Kitchen is fun."

Expecting enthusiastic agreement, I was instead faced with a nonplussed look. This took me by surprise.

While Emoji Kitchen isn't widely discussed amongst Android enthusiasts due to its irrelevance, I believe it's one of the best Gboard features.

A brief survey of my other Android-using friends revealed a similar ignorance of Emoji Kitchen. I couldn't believe it! One ignorami I can tolerate, but I won't stand for a gaggle of them.

Therefore, inspired by a recent update to this brilliantly fun tool, I implore you to put aside broken AI features, open up Gboard, select some emojis, and have some fun.

Emoji Kitchen is a silly feature, but great fun

From smiling avocados to hmmm-ception, there are plenty of choices.

If you're anything like my now well-educated friends, you may not have any idea of what Emoji Kitchen is. Perhaps you've seen it mentioned in an update log, but never bothered to give it a go.

Emoji Kitchen is a culinary adventure where the kitchen is Gboard, the chefs are talented Google designers, the ingredients are emoji, and the meal is a quirky mashup of emoji.

Essentially, you pick two emojis, and if they're compatible, Gboard will produce a mashup of the two emojis as a sticker. See some examples below:

And that's it! It's simple, fun, and I love it. Here's why.

Emoji Kitchen is handcrafted fun

No AI here, just silly emojis

Emoji Kitchen's biggest flaw is its greatest strength.

You may notice that some emoji combinations don't work. That's because there is no AI or algorithms at work here; each Emoji Kitchen meal is a handcrafted design by a real person.

I scoff at Apple's Genmoji.

You might be able to have more combinations than you could ever theoretically try, but is there an Easter egg showing the classic blob emoji smiling at a sign? No, there isn't. AI couldn't think of something as charmingly useless as this.

But while Apple's Genmoji feature may have more combinations, Emoji Kitchen's offerings don't feel limited. As of July 2024, there were over 100,000 possible combinations. A September 2025 update added more.

If you use the Gboard app, I recommend taking a few minutes to show off to an iPhone-toting friend.

If you're unsure how to access this feature, here's how:

1. Open Gboard in any app's text field.
2. Tap the Emoji button at the bottom of the keyboard.
3. Tap the blue arrow button to the right of the emojis. Close
4. Tap Pick emoji at the bottom of your screen.
5. Select two emojis.
6. Tap send to paste the sticker into the text field. Close

The Emoji Kitchen mashups aren't emojis themselves; they're images. This means you can send them wherever an image can go and will show up the same on every device.

Challenge a friend with an iPhone to create equally good emojis using Genmoji; I guarantee you'll win.

I beg you, Google, don't ruin Emoji Kitchen

AI won't improve this feature, but that doesn't mean it's safe

When Emoji Kitchen launched in 2020, it wasn't a significant feature. The range of emojis you could mash up was severely limited, and it was generally ignored in favor of more significant updates.

However, as AI winds its slimy tentacles around every aspect of our digital lives, I look to Emoji Kitchen as a refuge against the LLM (Large Language Monster Model).

I do not hold out much hope for Emoji Kitchen's future. It's an obvious feature to be "improved" by AI. Why waste hundreds of hours crafting emojis when an AI can do it for you?

I hold out hope that the folks in charge of Gboard are dedicated to keeping the human touch, but at the rate AI is spreading, I don't think this creative spark at the heart of the Android experience will last.

That isn't to say Emoji Kitchen is perfect. There are far too many steps involved in the process of creating an Emoji Kitchen meal.

While I pretended to be shocked, I wasn't that surprised my friends hadn't stumbled across the feature yet. A dedicated Emoji Kitchen button wouldn't go amiss here.

Use Emoji Kitchen more, and celebrate its irreverent joy

Emoji Kitchen is available within Gboard, so there's no excuse for not giving it a go. If downloading the Gboard app is too much effort, search for "Emoji Kitchen" in Google Search, and you can play with the feature from within your web browser.

Revel in the joy of this AI-free creative tool, and if you aren't sure of its quality, just look up some horrifying Genmoji creations to see that the grass certainly isn't greener on the other side.

• AI & Machine Learning
• Gboard
• Google

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