Apple rolled out its iOS 18.4 update yesterday, and mixed in with new notification tweaks, an expansion of Apple Intelligence features, and some changes to Photos, theres a hidden gem thats destined to become an enduring symbol of 2025.
IOS 18.4 comes with eight new emoji, including a radish, fingerprint, purple paint splatter, harp, and, weirdly, the flag of Sarkan island off the coast of France which has a population of just over 500 (according to the blog Emojipedia, this last can be chalked up to a legal workaround.) But one of the new emoji stands out from the pack: Face With Bags Under Eyes, an expressive new smiley face. It’s about to be unavoidable on X, TikTok, and in group chats everywhere.
Face With Bags Under Eyes is a beleaguered little guy with drooping lids, dark circles, lowered eyebrows, and a mouth represented by a single straight line. It has the kind of resigned expression of someone whos well past their limit, but is still soldiering on. Its an elementary school teacher whos not mad, just disappointed. Its a corporate worker whos opened his Outlook inbox to 47 unread emails. Its a parent returning home to find a sink full of dishes. Its all of us.
And in an era when scrolling through X, buying eggs, or checking Zillow for local home prices can foster enough existential dread that smashing your laptop and fleeing the country feels like the only option left, Face With Bags Under Eyes is not just an emojihes also a sign of the times.
Under a tweet revealing iOS 18.4s new emoji, one commenter predicted, I bet this is the most used emoji of the year. 3 months into 2025 and everyone is already tired. Another user added, Never thought theyd approve an emoji of me in Unicode. And a third managed to sum up how we all feel about the update: “God this is me rn.” The new emojis, included this extremely usable haggard one, are available now.
