How key new emoji are expected to look. Source: Emojipedia
Ahead of formal approval later in 2023, a draft list of proposed new emoji has been released, and selected ones will appear in iOS at some point.
Every year new emojis are considered by Unicode in September, and this year's possibilities range from a lime to four gender-neutral family ones. As July 17's World Emoji Day approaches, the Emojipedia blog has illustrated key emoji from the draft list.
This year there are a total of 108 new emojis being considered, including variations for skin color and gender. The list also includes what are called directional versions, including "Person Running Facing Right."
In practice, once a proposed emoji has reached the approvals process, it's rare for them to be rejected. Then once the Unicode Consortium formally approves new emoji, they will be adopted by technology firms such as Apple, and included in an update to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
They may not appear promptly, though, as typically new emojis wait until a point software update later in the cycle, likely in 2024. Apple only recently updated the emoji collection in iOS 16.4 when it released in March.
