Apple's upcoming iOS 12.1 update will introduce more than 70 new emoji, which debuted earlier this week in the second iOS 12.1 beta.
We went hands-on with the new iOS 12.1 update to preview the new characters that you can expect to see when iOS 12.1 is released, such as cold face, face with hearts, red hair, white hair, no hair, parrot, swan, llama, mango, cupcake, and more.
Watch on YouTubeOver the course of the last few years, emoji usage has become increasingly prevalent across the world, and many iOS users now look forward to the iOS updates that include new emoji characters to include in text messages, social media ports, and more.
The 2018 emoji release includes new emoji in a range of categories, from faces and people to food, animals, and common household objects. Every new emoji coming in iOS 12.1 is depicted below, organized by category.
New faces: Face with hearts, hot face, cold face, partying face, woozy face, and pleading face.
New people: Man/woman with red hair, man/woman with white hair, man/woman with curly hair, man/woman with no hair, superhero (male and female), and supervillain (male and female).
Body parts: Leg, foot, tooth, and bone.
Clothing: Goggles, lab coat, hiking boot, and flat shoe,
Toys: Teddy bear, jigsaw, and chess pawn.
Sports: Skateboard, lacrosse, softball, and flying disc.
Animals: Raccoon, llama, hippopotamus, kangaroo, badger, swan, peacock, parrot, lobster, and mosquito.
Science: Microbe, test tube, petri dish, DNA.
Household: Lotion bottle, soap, sponge, safety pin, broom, roll of paper, thread, and yarn.
Food: Mango, leafy green, bagel, salt, moon cake, and cupcake.
Random objects: Compass, brick, luggage, firecracker, red envelope, nazar amulet (evil eye), receipt, toolbox, fire extinguisher, basket, infinity symbol, and pirate flag.
In addition to all of the new emoji in iOS 12, there are some tweaks to existing emoji. Most notably, the iPhone emoji has had a design overhaul to make it look like the iPhone XS rather than the iPhone 8 with no Home button or bezels.
Emoji being added in iOS 12.1 are from Unicode 11, which was finalized and released in June of this year. It often takes Apple and other tech companies several months to implement new emoji because artwork needs to be created for each new character.
Unicode 12, which Apple will adopt in 2019, is already in the works. Emoji candidates for Unicode 12 include flamingo, white heart, snorkel, axe, orangutan, otter, sloth, butter, onion, ice cube, chair, kite, waffle, oyster, and more.
Apple says that it is working with the Unicode Consortium to add additional disability-themed emoji to Unicode 12.
It's still early in the iOS 12.1 beta testing process, so it's not quite clear when the update, new emoji included, will be released. It's likely to come at the end of October or the beginning of November. Late October is a strong possibility given that the iPhone XR releases on October 26.
What do you think of the new emoji coming in iOS 12.1? Let us know in the comments.
