A look at some of the 70+ new emoji coming to iOS 12.1, including new characters who are bald, have red hair, curly hair, and more
including pre-ordering iPhone XR Jen Carlson / Gothamist : Can New Yorkers Get A Better Bagel Emoji Over Here? Shara Tibken / CNET : Apple's iOS 12.1 will fix iPhone XS, XS Max charging issue Timi Cantisano / Neowin : A permanent fix is coming to remedy the charging issue found on Apple's new iPhones Mark Wycislik-Wilson / BetaNews : iOS 12.1 beta 2 fixes iPhone charging problem and adds scores of new emoji Stan Schroeder / Mashable : Apple's iOS 12.1 to bring over 70 new emoji, iPhone XS charging fix Jack Purcher / Patently Apple : Apple launches 70 new Emoji, adds support for Contactless Student ID Cards & Samsung's Smartphone … Avery Hartmans / Business Insider : There are too many emoji and it's time for Apple to take a stand Adam Mills / Gotta Be Mobile : 4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 12.1 Beta & 6 Reasons You Should Tweets: Annie Gowen / @anniegowen : Great news for India-Finally a mango emoji! pic.twitter.com/16XGUWH6S8 Kate Clark / @kateclarktweets : I'm sorry @apple but the plural of emoji is emojis not emoji, I'm making an executive decision. http://www.apple.com/... Kendall / @jinciipse : who asked for a mosquito emoji http://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
This is one installment in a now-familiar Apple ritual: a point release that bundles a batch of new emoji with functional fixes. The same playbook ran through the iOS 9.1 emoji drop in 2015 and the iOS 11.1 animal-and-accessory set revealed in 2017, and it continued later with 100+ new emoji in iOS 14.2.
What distinguishes this round is its focus on hair types — bald, red, curly — extending the representation push Apple and Google previewed at World Emoji Day 2019, where around 60 designs centered on disability. The headline-grabbing emoji ride along with a more consequential fix: iOS 12.1 remedies the charging issue found on the iPhone XS and XS Max.
First-order effects
- iPhone XS and XS Max owners get a permanent fix for the charging problem that shipped with their devices, removing the most practical reason to delay updating.
- Users gain 70+ new characters whose hair-type additions let people pick avatars closer to their own appearance.
Second-order effects
- Google, which co-announced the 2019 representation-focused emoji set with Apple, faces pressure to match hair-diversity characters in Android's own releases to keep parity across platforms.
- Emoji coverage becomes a checklist item in iOS reviews and upgrade decisions, giving point releases like 12.1 a marketing hook beyond bug fixes.
Third-order effects
- If the cadence holds — 9.1, 11.1, 12.1, then 100+ in 14.2 and 217 in iOS 14.5 — emoji batches grow larger and more identity-focused each cycle, turning Unicode adoption into an annual inclusivity benchmark that platforms are measured against.
- Representation in default keyboards shifts from novelty to expectation, with Apple and Google effectively setting the standard other platforms must follow to avoid looking out of step.
The trend: Apple is institutionalizing emoji as a twice-a-year vehicle for representation and platform goodwill, with each point release raising the bar for how fully keyboards mirror their users.