iOS 17.4 Beta Adds New Emoji: Shaking Head, Lime, Phoenix, Brown Mushroom and More

The iOS 17.4 beta that was released today introduces new emoji characters, which include lime, an edible brown mushroom, a phoenix, a broken chain, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), and shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake).

emojipedia 15 1 emoji

Mockup of new emoji via Emojipedia

These characters are part of the Unicode 15.1 update that was approved in September 2023.

There are also four new family emoji combinations, along with updates to six people emoji that now have direction specifications such as facing right or facing left. The direction options can be used with person walking, person running, person kneeling, person with white cane, person in manual wheelchair, and person in motorized wheelchair.

This is a smaller update than we typically get, with fewer emoji characters, but that is because it is a .1 Unicode Consortium update rather than a major point update.

iOS 17.4 is limited to developers at the current time, but it should soon be coming to public beta testers. It will see an official launch sometime in March.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

iPhone 17 Release Date, Pre-Orders, and What to Expect

Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
iPhone 17 Pro Iridescent Feature 2

iPhone 17 Pro Clear Case Leak Reveals Three Key Changes

Sunday August 31, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series on Tuesday, September 9, and last-minute rumors about the devices continue to surface. The latest info comes from a leaker known as Majin Bu, who has shared alleged images of Apple's Clear Case for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, or at least replicas. Image Credit: @MajinBuOfficial The images show three alleged changes compared to Apple's iP...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

iPhone 17 Pro: 5 Reasons Not to Upgrade This Year

Monday September 1, 2025 4:35 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series this month, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming to...
xiaomi apple ad india

Apple and Samsung Push Back Against Xiaomi's Bold India Ads

Friday August 29, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple and Samsung have reportedly issued cease-and-desist notices to Xiaomi in India for an ad campaign that directly compares the rivals' devices to Xiaomi's products. The two companies have threatened the Chinese vendor with legal action, calling the ads "disparaging." Ads have appeared in local print media and on social media that take pot shots at the competitors' premium offerings. One...
iOS 18 on iPhone Arrow Down

Apple Preparing iOS 18.7 for iPhones as iOS 26 Release Date Nears

Sunday August 31, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 18.7 for compatible iPhone models, according to evidence of the update in the MacRumors visitor logs. We expect iOS 18.7 to be released in September, alongside iOS 26. The update will likely include fixes for security vulnerabilities, but little else. iOS 18.7 will be one of the final updates ever released for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR,...

Top Rated Comments

nattK Avatar
21 months ago

Where will it end? Why can this childish crap not be optional? 1 million emojis, who needs this?

Invest your energy into features that actually have some benefit for your users, apple!
The Unicode Consortium, not Apple, decides when to introduce new emojis. Apple is just keeping up with the Unicode update to avoid those new emojis appearing as boxes when texting someone else on a platform that has been updated to support the new Unicode standard.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ignatius345 Avatar
21 months ago

Invest your energy into features that actually have some benefit for your users, apple!
I'm not 100% sure about this, but it could be that they have different people who design new Macs and iPhones, maintain iCloud services and so forth.

Or maybe you're right and it's just one huge pool of workers doing tasks totally at random.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spercharged69 Avatar
21 months ago
You can always tell who doesn't have any human interaction with anyone outside of their bubble by the people who don't understand why they keep adding emoji. To normal, non-tech oriented folks, "getting the new emoji" is a serious driver of installing an iOS update instead of constantly dismissing the prompt.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iGeneo Avatar
21 months ago

Where will it end? Why can this childish crap not be optional? 1 million emojis, who needs this?

Invest your energy into features that actually have some benefit for your users, apple!
This is the "get off my lawn" of iOS updates argument ;)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
21 months ago
Shaking head looks more like spinning head. SMH
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mrkevinfinnerty Avatar
21 months ago
Will EU users be able to sideload their own emoji?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)