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what are the new emojis in ios 26.4

The iOS 26.4 update adds 8 brand‑new emoji concepts plus many skin‑tone variations, with the “distorted face” already becoming the standout of the bunch.

Quick Scoop

Brand‑new emojis in iOS 26.4

These are the 8 new emoji designs Apple is rolling out with iOS 26.4 (currently seen in beta builds):

  • Ballet dancers (multiple skin tones and variations)
  • Distorted face (a wonky, melting-ish face that people are using for “2026 mood” vibes)
  • Fight cloud (cartoon brawl cloud, very Looney Tunes‑style)
  • Hairy creature / Bigfoot‑style cryptid
  • Landslide (ground/earth collapsing icon)
  • Orca (killer whale)
  • Trombone
  • Treasure chest

Under the hood, Apple is actually shipping 163 emoji designs in total , made up of:

  • 13 completely new concepts (the 8 above plus some design variants and related glyphs, depending on how outlets count them)
  • 150 new skin‑tone variations for existing wrestling and people-with-bunny-ears emojis, greatly expanding representation in multi‑person emojis.

Why they matter (beyond the hype)

  • This set comes from a Unicode batch approved in 2025 and is now landing on iPhones via iOS 26.4.
  • Because they’re part of the cross‑platform Unicode standard, these emojis will work reliably across iOS, Android, and other platforms as those systems adopt the same set.
  • The update is live in iOS 26.4 betas now, with a wider public release expected soon, though Apple hasn’t given a firm date yet.

Forum and “trending topic” angle

On blogs, YouTube, and forums, people are already treating:

  • Distorted face as the perfect “2026 is a lot” reaction.
  • Hairy creature as a fun stand‑in for Bigfoot, bad‑hair days, or “you had to be there” stories.
  • Fight cloud for sports drama, family group‑chat chaos, and general online mess.

“There has never been an iOS software update that only added new emoji and didn't do anything else. That remains the case with iOS 26.4.”

So while everyone is talking about the new emoji, iOS 26.4 also includes the usual under‑the‑hood fixes and feature tweaks, even if the emojis are stealing the spotlight.

TL;DR: If you update to iOS 26.4 (or jump on the beta), you’ll get the new distorted face, fight cloud, hairy creature/Bigfoot, ballet dancers, landslide, orca, trombone, and treasure chest emojis, plus a big wave of new skin‑tone options for multi‑person emojis.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.