Affiliate Disclosure
If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Read our ethics policy.

Bald person, new smileys top list of most discussed iOS 12.1 emoji

Source: Emojipedia

Bald characters, emotive smiley faces and a foot were among the most talked about emoji to arrive in Apple's most recent iOS 12.1 software update, according to a report on Thursday.

An informal study conducted by emoji resource Emojipedia revealed "Woman/Man: Bald" was the most discussed character included in iOS 12.1, which saw release on Oct. 30. The latest software update brings more than 70 new emoji to communications apps like Messages.

Second and third place went to "Woozy Face" and "Smiling Face With 3 Hearts," respectively, while a foot came in fourth. Notably, four of six new smileys ranked in the top ten, as did three hairstyles, a leg and a Mango. Cupcake followed Mango as the most discussed food item, while Llama led the animal category.

Bringing up the rear were everyday objects including a magnet, safety pin, broom, and in dead last, a basket.

Emojipedia assembled the list of based on comments, likes and retweets in a Twitter thread dedicated to the new characters. The polling period lasted from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7. Though other operating systems rolled out support for the emoji prior to Apple, iOS typically drives widespread use of new characters thanks to its fast uptake by end users, Emojipedia said.

As noted in a corresponding blog post, the bald face and other top emoji are likely seeing more play on Twitter thanks to their — unintentional — relation to existing memes. Bald Man and Bald Woman, for example, go well with "wig snatched," a term used when someone is blindsided by the airing of sensitive information.

Apple's emoji are commonly viewed as the best artistic renderings of approved Unicode characters, with the latest glyphs covering version 11.0 of the standard. Looking ahead, the company said it is working with the Unicode Consortium to include more disability-themed emoji in next year's release.