Here are the new emoji likely coming to iPhone with iOS 27

Chance Miller | Jan 9 2026 - 5:11 am PT

Apple generally adds new emojis to the iPhone with iOS updates in spring. As spotted by the folks at Emojipedia this week, the Unicode Consortium recently published the full list of draft emojis that could debut next year.

Among the list of new additions are a smiley face with squinting eyes, a pickle, an eraser, and more.

Here’s the full list of new emoji included in the draft list for Unicode 18:

A smiley face with squinting eyes
A leftward thumb sign gesture
A rightward thumb sign gesture
A monarch butterfly
A pickle
A lighthouse
A meteor
An eraser
A net with a handle

The emojis shown above are the draft designs as shared by the consortium.

Once these proposed emojis are approved, companies like Apple and Google will create their own versions based on the Unicode Consortium’s descriptions and draft designs.

As the catalog of emojis has expanded, iPhone users seem to care less and less about the additions each year. Apple also added a new Genmoji feature as part of Apple Intelligence in iOS 18. This allows people to create their own emoji designs based on text descriptions or blending existing emoji together.

Apple has yet to adopt the Unicode 17 characters, which were officially revealed in July 2025. Unicode 17 emojis are set to come to iPhone with a future update to iOS 26, likely iOS 26.4 in March or April. Based on this timeline, the new Unicode 18 emojis mentioned above will likely come as part of iOS 27.4 in March or April of 2027.

Apple last added new emojis to the iPhone with iOS 18.4 in March 2025, based on the Unicode 16 release.

What do you think of the new emojis? Are there any emojis you’re still waiting on the Unicode Consortium to approve? Let us know down in the comments.

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