Here's every new emoji we got in 2023

The Unicode Consortium approved 118 new emojis this year — but not all of them are available on devices just yet.
 By 
Chance Townsend
 on 
Emojis stylized 3d CGI abstract illustrations object
Credit: Yaroslav Kushta

There isn't much we ask for around here, but one of those things is new emojis. Thankfully, the Unicode Consortium heard our cries and blessed us with over 118 new emojis approved in 2023. However, this doesn't mean they're usable right now. In February, as part of its iOS 16.4 update, Apple added 21 emojis that were approved in 2022.

What this means is, of the hundreds of new emojis approved by Unicode for version 15.1, don't expect to see them on your Apple devices until 2024. That doesn't mean you can't get excited. In fact, several of the emojis on this list have been progressively released on Google platforms and Android devices since their approval in September. These emojis range from a suite of new directional-style people to brand new ones like a phoenix firebird and a lime.

Below, you'll see every new emoji we got in 2023 to get excited about when they finally arrive on a future iOS 17 update.


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Brand new emojis

We finally get the much-anticipated lime emoji as it is a part of six brand-new emojis approved by Unicode. The others include the Head Shaking Horizontally and Vertically, Phoenix, Brown Mushroom, and Broken Chain.

Six emoji icons. From L to R: Shaking head side to side, nodding, firebird, lime, brown mushroom, broken chain
Google's Noto Color Emoji font. Credit: Emojipedia

New family emojis

Unicode also added several non-gender-specific family emojis along with silhouette-based designs. The 15.1 version also adds a silhouette design for all the previous family emojis to match the new update.

  • Adult, Adult, Child: 🧑‍🧑‍🧒

  • Adult, Child, Child: 🧑‍🧒‍🧒

  • Adult, Child: 🧑‍🧒

  • Adult, Adult, Child, Child: 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒

Variations

The last 108 emojis added to 15.1 are all skin and gender variations of already released emojis. Additionally, these new variations face to the right, whereas their current counterparts have so far only faced to the left.

several variations of the walking, running, kneeling, cane, wheelchair, and motorized wheelchair emojis all facing to the right
Credit: Emojipedia

Topics Emoji

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Chance Townsend
Assistant Editor, General Assignments

Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.

In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].

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