Apple released the iOS 17.4 beta, and it’s a big deal for folks in the European Union because of the new framework for distributing iOS apps from alternative app marketplace. But for those of us outside of the EU, what’s the big deal with iOS 17.4? New emojis!
The new emojis are part of the Emoji version 15.1 release that was announced in September 2023. The images include Broken Chain, Brown Mushroom, Head Shaking Horizontally, Head Shaking Vertically, Lime, and Phoenix. There are also four new non-gender-specifying family emoji.
Also included are six different alternative-direction emoji with a total of 108 combinations. These right-facing emoji will be shown in iOS 17.4 next to the left-facing version Apple already uses. But Emojipedia notes that the iOS 17.4 beta has a bug where the left-facing version appears when you select the new right-facing emoji. This should be fixed by the official release.
The new alternative-direction emoji are: Person Walking, Person Running, Person Kneeling, Person with White Cane, Person in Manual Wheelchair, and Person in Motorized Wheelchair.
The iOS 17.4 beta has a bug where the new right-facing emoji switch to the old left-facing ones.
Emojipedia/Apple
Apple creates its own emoji designs, so the iOS versions may look different from the preview images provided by Emojipedia. iOS 17.4 is expected to release in late February.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.