New iPhone features are always fun. Things like Stolen Device Protection and Apple Music collaborative playlists make it exciting to update iOS to the latest version. But let’s be serious: The best part of any software update is the new emojis, and Apple’s upcoming update has some cool ones.
As part of iOS 17.4, Apple is adding 118 new emojis to the mix. These new icons are pulled from Unicode’s Emoji 15.1 recommendations, which dropped back in September. It usually takes time for companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung to design their own versions of the Unicode emojis, which is why it has taken four months to see Apple’s interpretations here.
What new emojis are coming to iPhone?
While there are a lot of total variations here, there are really only six new “emoji concepts”:
- Head Shaking Horizontally
- Head Shaking Vertically
- Phoenix
- Lime
- Brown Mushroom
- Broken Chain
Credit: Emojipedia
However, there are plenty of other emoji to check out. There are four new non-gender-specifying family emojis, including Adult, Adult, Child; Adult, Child Child; Adult, Child; and Adult, Adult, Child, Child.
There are also six new people emoji characters, including Person Walking Facing Right; Person Running Facing Right; Person Kneeling Facing Right; Person with White Cane Facing Right; Person in Manual Wheelchair Facing Right; and Person in Motorized Wheelchair Facing Right. Because these each support three different gender options and five different skin tone choices, it brings the total new emoji choices to 118.
iOS 17.4 is mostly made up of changes Apple is bringing to the EU only, such as third-party app marketplaces and true third-party web browsers—things the EU ordered Apple to implement. Those of us outside of Europe can enjoy our new emojis, at least. (And, in the U.S., our air conditioning and free refills, of course.)
How to try out iOS’ new emojis right now
Apple will include all of these new emojis in iOS 17.4, which as of this article doesn’t have a release date. As such, you will need to wait an unspecified amount of time before Apple will make the update available on your iPhone.
If you don’t want to wait, you can try out the iOS 17.4 beta to access these emojis today. I don’t recommend it, however: Beta software is, by definition, in testing, which means you may encounter bugs and other software issues after installing it. That said, if you understand the risks to your iPhone’s overall stability, you can install the beta right now, so long as your iPhone is compatible with iOS 17.
To install the iOS 17.4 beta, head to Settings > General > Software Update. Here, tap Beta Updates, then choose iOS 17 Developer Beta. Go back on page, then tap Update Now underneath the iOS 17.4 beta card.
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