A pregnant MAN features among the 37 new emoji coming to iPhones in Apple's iOS 15.4 update

 From a pregnant man to a biting lip, the 37 new emojis coming to iPhones have finally been revealed. 

Apple's own designs for the new emojis are already available in a beta test of iOS 15.4 software update released on Thursday, prior to its full release in the spring.  

The pregnant man and pregnant person recognise that 'pregnancy is possible for some transgender men and non-binary people', says Emojipedia, which is part of the California-based Unicode Consortium, the central bank of all approved emoji.  

But the two new pregnant emoji could also potentially be used as 'a tongue-in-cheek way to display a food baby', a very full stomach caused by eating a large meal.   

iOS 15.4 also includes seven brand new smiley emojis, including Melting Face, Dotted Line Face, Face Holding Back Tears and Face with Diagonal Mouth. 

Other additions include a motorcycle tyre, a slide, a disco ball, a troll with a club, coral, kidney beans and a low battery. 

Companies including Apple, Google and Microsoft apply stylised versions of the consortium's designs to their own operating systems. This is Apple's own emoji versions for Person with Crown, Pregnant Person and Pregnant Man, to be available in the iOS 15.4 update, set for a full release this spring

New emojis have arrived on iOS as part of the first iOS 15.4 beta. These include a melting face, pregnant man, mirror disco ball, and multi-racial handshake emojis

The Unicode Consortium officially signed off candidates for the next emoji release, version 14.0, last September. 

But companies including Apple, Google and Microsoft apply stylised versions of the consortium's designs to their own operating systems. 

Apple's were revealed by Emojipedia in a blog post published on Thursday, the same day iOS 15.4 arrived in beta. 

Beta testing involves letting a small group of people use a product in a to uncover any bugs or issues before a general release. 

'Since 2019, vendors have been making considerable efforts to offer all people emojis with three different gender variants – one "Man", one "Woman", and a non-gender-specifying "Person",' said Keith Broni at Emojipedia. 

'This latest Apple beta update continues this trend by adding two new gender neutral people emojis in the form of Person with Crown and Pregnant person, as well as adding a new Pregnant Man emoji.' 

Following some controversy in September when version 14.0 emoji candidates were officially signed off, Jane Solomon, Emojipedia's 'senior emoji lexicographer', authored a blog post entitled 'Why is there a pregnant man emoji?' 

This is Emojipedia's own versions of the emoji that make up 'version 14.0', revealed in July 2021 and officially approved in September.  Note the original versions of Pregnant Man (centre, wearing red) and Pregnant Man, which Apple has changed for its own operating system

'The new pregnancy options may be used for representation by trans men, non-binary people, or women with short hair – though, of course, use of these emojis is not limited to these groups,' she said. 

'Men can be pregnant. This applies to the real world (e.g., trans men) and to fictional universes (e.g., Arnold Schwarzenegger in [1994 film] "Junior".  

'People of any gender can be pregnant too. Now there are emojis to represent this.' 

Guidelines to use the term 'pregnant person' instead of 'pregnant woman' – as issued by the British Medical Association in 2017, in an attempt to recognise trans and non-binary people – were at the time called 'an insult to women'.  

Emojipedia argues that men get pregnant in both real life and in fiction, citing the film as as example

From left, Danny Devito, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Emma Thompson appear in the 1994 film 'Junior'

The new emoji update also includes seven brand new hand gestures emojis, each of which support skin tone modifiers. 

These are refereed to as Rightwards Hand, Leftwards Hand, Palm Down Hand, Palm Up Hand, Hand with Index Finger and Thumb Crossed, Index Pointing at the Viewer and Heart Hands.  

Also in version 14.0 are seven brand new smiley emojis – the largest number since 2017's iOS 11.1 update. 

These are Melting Face, Face with Open Eyes and Hand Over Mouth, Face with Peeking Eye, Saluting Face, Dotted Line Face, Face with Diagonal Mouth and Face Holding Back Tears. 

Top row: Rightwards Hand, Leftwards Hand, Palm Down Hand, Palm Up Hand. Bottom row: Hand with Index Finger and Thumb Crossed, Index Pointing at the Viewer, Heart Hands

From left, Saluting Face, Melting Face, Face with Open Eyes and Hand Over Mouth, Face with Peeking Eye, Dotted Line Face, Face with Diagonal Mouth and Face Holding Back Tears

Apple is yet to reveal a date for the full release of the iOS 15.4, but it's likely to be in March or April following at least a month of beta testing throughout February. 

Other updates coming with iOS 15.4 are the option to unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask, vaccination records in the Health App and an Apple Card widget in the Today view. 

As for people who have Android phones, these new emoji are available with Android 12L, scheduled for a release in March.

Android, which is developed by a consortium of developers called the Open Handset Alliance and commercially sponsored by Google, already has its own versions of the new emoji listed on Emojipedia's website.