Apple’s New Bagel Emoji in iOS 12.1 Sparks Backlash from New Yorkers

New Yorkers aren’t happy about the new bagel emoji coming to iOS devices later this fall.

A good, old-fashioned bagel has long been one of the most conspicuous absences from Apple’s emoji repertoire. That’s going to change in Apple’s upcoming iOS 12.1 update, which finally adds a bagel emoji to the operating system.

“I’m legit about to riot over this Apple bagel emoji,” @HelpMeHekuta tweeted on Wednesday. “It’s like they’ve never seen a real bagel on the west coast…”

Another Twitter user, Downtown Josh Brown, echoed the protest sentiment, stating that they were “organizing a march in New York City against Apple’s just-reveal bagel emoji.”

“It looks like something you get from a cardboard box in the freezer section at Walmart,” Brown wrote.

Yet another unhappy East Coaster wrote that the bagel emoji simply looks sad, and added that “the rift between west coast and east coast grows ever larger.”

Others on social media questioned why the bagel has nothing on it, with some saying that it’s clear evidence of the differences between a true East Coast bagel, and what’s available on the West Coast.

New Yorkers, undoubtedly, love their bagels. And they’re likely the foremost experts on what a good bagel looks like — something that people in Silicon Valley can’t really lay claim to. To be fair, the bagel does look a bit artificial. So we’ll take their word for it.

The bagel emoji is just one of 70 new characters coming to iOS 12.1 when it launches. Other new emoji include options for bald and redheaded characters, as well as new animal, object and expression emoji.

Each yearly emoji released is based on standards published by the Unicode Consortium. But every tech company puts their own twist on the Consortium’s characters.

Sometimes those unique twists result in unhappy consumers, as this isn’t the first that an emoji has spawned controversy on social media.

Around a year ago, Google’s cheeseburger emoji sparked heated debate over its topping placement.

In the wake of the online backlash, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the Mountain View firm would “drop everything” to address the issue. (A month later, Google made good on that promise.)