The Unicode Consortium has published a draft list of emoji that could be on their way to smartphones and other devices in the near future. The list, shared by Emojipedia, shows 19 emoji candidates that under consideration for Emoji 18.0, which is expected to be finalized in September 2026.
The proposed additions include:
- Face With Squinting Eyes
- Leftwards Thumb Sign
- Rightwards Thumb Sign
- Pickle
- Lighthouse
- Meteor
- Eraser
- Net with a handle
- Monarch butterfly
- Rightward Thumb Gesture: Light Skin Tone
- Rightward Thumb Gesture: Medium-Light Skin Tone
- Leftward Thumb Gesture: Medium Skin Tone
- Rightward Thumb Gesture: Dark Skin Tone
- Rightward Thumb Gesture: Medium Skin Tone
- Leftward Thumb Gesture: Light Skin Tone
- Leftward Thumb Gesture: Medium-Dark Skin Tone
- Leftward Thumb Gesture: Medium-Light Skin Tone
- Leftward Thumb Gesture: Dark Skin Tone
- Rightward Thumb Gesture: Medium-Dark Skin Tone
Keep in mind that the Unicode Consortium only comes up with the underlying emoji code. Apple and Google designers will create their own version of each character in the Apple and Android style, respectively when the Unicode 17 standard is finalized.
The final designs will vary based on what major companies like Apple and Google choose, but Emojipedia has created sample illustrations of the candidate emojis. While some emoji might not make the final cut, most presented for approval are historically confirmed. The Unicode Consortium will finalize the list of new emojis in September.
Once the new emoji are confirmed, Apple will need to release new versions of watchOS, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS to support the new emojis. This is likely to occur early sometime around late 2026 or early 2027 if Apple sticks with its typical emoji release timeline.
Previously announced Unicode 17 additions are expected to land on Apple devices with the release of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS 26.4, watchOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4 in March or April of this year.
