Although Animoji's popularity has wavered with the advent of Memoji, this does not mean that Apple has abandoned the idea
Together with the new characters, the total numberThe animated Emoji will be 24. But it's not just in quantity, but also in quality: it looks like Apple is becoming more creative with the animations themselves. Although all animals open their mouths with you and change their facial expressions, the giraffe also uses its long neck, which curves when the head turns. The shark, unlike other characters, is visible entirely: moving your head, you control all her body at once.
Not all animations work smoothly in the beta version of iOS 12.2, but before their release, Apple is likely to release a couple more beta builds and polish Animoji.