Apple Reveals 163 New Emojis for iOS 26.4: First Look at Orca and Bigfoot

Apple has officially pulled back the curtain on its latest batch of emojis with the release of iOS 26.4 beta 4 this morning.

This update gives us the first look at several highly anticipated designs from the Unicode 2025 list, including a distorted face, an orca, and a classic treasure chest.

The new collection features a total of 163 designs, explains Emojipedia. While many of these are skin tone variations for existing favourites like the wrestling and bunny ear emojis, there are 13 entirely new concepts making their debut. Highlighting the list is a cartoonish “fight cloud” straight out of a comic book, a trombone, and even a “hairy creature” inspired by legends like Big Foot.

Users will soon be able to send an emoji for a landslide or a ballet dancer. The addition of the orca (killer whale), has been a frequent request from nature enthusiasts looking to expand their marine life options.

The completely new emoji concepts are as follows:

• Distorted Face (this looks hilarious)
• Fight Cloud (from cartoons and comics)
• Ballet Dancer (with full skin tone support)
• Orca (killer whale)
• Hairy Creature (Big Foot)
• Trombone
• Landslide
• Treasure Chest

These designs are based on the Emoji 17.0 recommendations approved in September 2025. While the search functionality for these characters appeared in earlier beta versions, today’s update is the first time the actual artwork has been visible on the Apple keyboard.

iPhone users can expect these new emojis to arrive on their devices in late March or early April when iOS 26.4 is released to the general public. As with any beta software, Apple may still tweak the final look of these icons before the official launch.