Emojis are an integral part of digital communication. They replace entire statements, liven up texts, and help to quickly convey emotions. Accordingly, there is great interest when new emojis are announced. Currently, there is a first glimpse of possible new emojis that could appear on iPhones and other devices in the coming years.
The Unicode Consortium has published a draft for a new emoji list. This preview was made public by Emojipedia. The proposed symbols are part of the planned Emoji Standard 18.0, which is scheduled for completion in September 2026. It is still a draft; changes are possible during the review process.
These emojis could be added
The current list includes a total of 19 emoji candidates. Among the proposed emojis is a face with squinting eyes, representing a new expression somewhere between blinking and skepticism. Also new are thumbs-up and thumbs-down gestures pointing left and right, which could be used primarily to express agreement, disagreement, or directions.
In addition to gestures and facial expressions, new objects and symbols have been added. These include a cucumber, a lighthouse, a meteor, an eraser, and a net with a handle. These emojis significantly expand the selection of everyday objects and nature motifs. A monarch butterfly is also planned. This emoji is intended to be a more precise and specific alternative to the existing generic butterfly emoji.
Additional skin tone variations
In addition to the new emoji designs, the draft also proposes ten more skin tone variations. These will be combined with two existing basic emojis. Should the proposal be approved unchanged, the total number of recommended emoji characters would increase to almost 4,000. This continues the trend toward making emojis more diverse and nuanced.
From drafts to final emojis
Emojipedia has already published sample graphics for many of the proposed emojis. These are for illustrative purposes only. The final design rests with the respective platform providers. Apple designs all new emojis in its own unique style. This is another reason why there may be differences between the initial designs and the final versions on the iPhone.
As with previous emoji updates, the list is not yet final. Emojis can be removed, changed, or added during the ongoing Unicode review process.
Release on Apple devices
Should the emojis be released by Unicode, Apple will have to integrate them into its operating systems via software updates. Based on current information, it is expected that the new emojis will appear on the iPhone in late 2026 or early 2027. The introduction will coincide with iOS 27.
Apple has historically always adopted new Unicode emojis. The already announced additions from Unicode 17 are expected to be available on compatible devices with iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS 26.4, watchOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4 in March or April of this year.
Emoji standard 18.0 brings more diversity
The current draft of Emoji 18.0 shows that emojis will continue to be systematically expanded and refined. New facial expressions, additional symbols, and more skin tones provide greater expressive possibilities in everyday communication. Even though there is still time before the final release, it is already clear that emojis will continue to play a central role in digital language. (Image: Shutterstock / Tada Images)
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