Anyone with access to the iOS 18.4 public beta will have first dibs on using the new emoji that accompanies the latest version for Apple’s iPhone software. Everyone else, though, will probably have to wait for the official iOS 18.4 release sometime in April.
In total, the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate adds eight new emoji that were first introduced with the Unicode 16 Standard back in September 2024. These include a single smiley emoji (a face with bags under eyes), the flag of Sark, and more. Compared to past releases, this one has fewer new additions — especially when you look back at the 21 emojis that came with iOS 16.4 two years ago.
Here’s a full list of the emojis that are appearing in iOS 18.4:
- Face with bags under eyes
- Fingerprint
- Flag of Sark
- Harp
- Leafless tree
- Root vegetable
- Shovel
- Splatter
I’ve been trying them out and my favorite one that perfectly captures my state of waking up on Monday is the face with bags under eyes emoji, which complements the yawning face emoji I frequently use already. Aside from this, the only other new emoji I’ve been using of late is the harp emoji to signify my love of Guinness.
Meanwhile, the root vegetable reminds me of the days when I used to play Super Mario Brother 2 on the NES and would toss the turnips I’d pull up from the ground to hit my enemies.
Besides new emojis, the iOS 18.4 beta includes several new features such as the ability to customize your notification priorities, access to Apple Intelligence through Control Center, configuring Visual Intelligence to work with the Action Button so that iPhone 15 Pro owners can access the feature, and more. There are also other treats, including an upgrade to CarPlay that adds a third row to larger displays. For those who own an electric car and run CarPlay, you can use Apple Maps to find EV charging stations when setting trips.
Again, you don’t have to wait until the official release to try any of these features out because they’re part of the iOS 18.4 public beta that’s available right now for beta program participants to download.