Apple's iOS 17.4 brings an exciting update with 118 fresh emojis, featuring standout additions like a mythical phoenix, a zesty lime, innovative gender-neutral family configurations, and a variety of emojis depicting people facing different directions.
- six brand new emoji concepts,
- four new non-gender-specifying family emojis,
- 108 new direction-specifying variations of six different previous-available people emojis
There are two new additoins to the Smileys category (Head Shaking Horizontally & Head Shaking Vertically)
There are also two new additions to the Food & Drink category (Lime & Brown Mushroom):
The last of the new concepts are a Broken Chain and Phoenix
For Apple users who haven't yet upgraded to iOS 17.4, the latest emojis will still be recognizable in an alternate format. Rather than showing as unknown symbols, they'll appear as sequences of existing emojis. For example, the Phoenix emoji will be displayed as a bird emoji 🐦 next to a fire emoji 🔥, and the lime emoji will be shown as a lemon emoji 🍋 followed by a green square 🟩.
This update from Apple also brings 108 new designs for people emojis, expanding options for gender and skin tone variations, especially for emojis that specify direction, enhancing the diversity of previously introduced emoji concepts.
With the iOS 17.4 update, Apple has refreshed its family emoji lineup. Rather than the previous colorful, specific-gender depictions, the emojis now feature gender-ambiguous silhouettes in white, set against a grey square background. This change is aimed at offering a more inclusive representation of family units.
The primary role of the Emoji Subcommittee is to evaluate and recommend new emojis. However, on rare occasions, it may also suggest alterations to existing emoji designs.
Here is an image taken from Unicode L2/19-078 document, "Using Gender Inclusive Designs".
iOS 17.4 is available now as a free software update for the following Apple devices:
- iPhone 15 / iPhone 15 Plus / iPhone 15 Pro / iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14 / iPhone 14 Plus / iPhone 14 Pro / iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13 / iPhone 13 mini / iPhone 13 Pro / iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12 / iPhone 12 mini / iPhone 12 Pro / iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11 / iPhone 11 Pro / iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS / iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
The same 118 new emojis are also included as part of iPadOS 17.4 and are expected to be included in the release of tvOS 17.4, watchOS 10.4, and macOS 14.4.
Conclusion
Apple's iOS 17.4 update significantly enriches the emoji landscape with 118 new symbols, fostering greater inclusivity, diversity, and expressiveness in digital communication. From mythical creatures to everyday objects and gender-neutral family representations, this update enhances user engagement across diverse communities, ensuring everyone can find emojis that resonate with their experiences and identities.
