Apple users can expect some fresh emojis to their friends, including a pregnant man and biting their lips.
According to MacRumors, these new products will be rolled out to iPhone users with the release of iOS 15.4, which is currently in beta. The designs were originally chosen in September 2021 by the Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit organization that oversees cross-device emoji standards.
Emoji reference site Emojipedia shared Apple's new illustration design this week after it was released in the iOS 15.4 beta.
The release includes 37 new emojis, including a design for melted faces, saluting hands and biting lips.
Two of the most talked about designs are the Prestige Man and the Prestige Person.
As Emojipedia explains, they can be "used to represent transgender men, people of non-binary gender, or women with short hair."
While the aim is to provide a more inclusive design for different smartphone users, the pregnant woman emoji has sparked controversy online.
"How can you make an emoji with something that doesn't exist?" One Twitter user asked, and another replied with an emoji depicting a unicorn.
Many of the posts criticizing the pregnant emoji have political overtones, with some users attacking the newly designed "leftists."
"If you don't like the maternity emoji, maybe don't use it?" Political journalist Tom Harwood said.
Other users pointed out that emojis were not always used for their original intended purpose, similar to how eggplant emojis evolved from merely representing fruit. The original pregnancy emoji was also used to indicate that someone was full.
After release, Apple's emojis may look different from what Google and other companies show, as phone makers often tweak the design to match their own style.
Apple has yet to reveal an release date for iOS 15.4, but MacWorld expects it to be available to iPhone users around April.