Want to text someone a colorful reminder that they should bring home some limes for gin and tonics? Or mushrooms for stroganoff? Or maybe to encourage them they can rise from the ashes, like a phoenix? Then this next batch of 118 emoji is for you. The new, colorful little icons are now available on the iPhone, but only as part of the iOS 17.4 beta. Those not using the beta version will have to wait for the final public release of iOS 17.4, expected in March or April.
Some of the emoji — like the phoenix, brown mushroom, lime and a broken chain — are new. Others are variations of emoji that already exist, with different skin tones or simply turned in a different direction. Those adjusted emoji include people walking, running, kneeling, using wheelchairs and using white canes. There are also four new gender-neutral family group emoji.
You won’t be able to find these new emoji on your keyboard just yet, though. While version 15.1.0 of the Unicode was approved on Sept. 12 (you can read all of it here), there’s always a lag between the approval and its release. Emojipedia had estimated that the new emoji would be available in early 2024.
It’s also likely that each emoji’s appearance will be slightly different depending on whether you use an Apple or Android smartphone.
The emoji update before this one included a long-awaited pink heart, a shaking-head smiley and a donkey, moose and goose.
Here are tips on how to decipher certain emoji, plus five emoji keyboards that make texting more fun. And those emoji won’t be worth much without a phone, so here’s CNET’s guide to the best Apple phone for 2024, plus the best Samsung Galaxy phone, and the best overall Android phone. If option paralysis has set in, here’s how to pick the best smartphone for your needs.
Read also: Apple Will Allow Installation of Rival App Stores on iPhones… but Only in Europe