Emoji Keyboard size is large after updating to iOS 18.1

What the **** is wrong with Apple now adays, change it back!!!!

It’s horrible, nobody wants it, but Apple still implements it.

I specifically opened an Apple community account specifically for this issue of emoji!

The Apple quick accessibility tab is already horrible enough after 1.18, and now this?!

Georgieee713 wrote:

What the **** is wrong with Apple now adays, change it back!!!!

It’s horrible, nobody wants it, but Apple still implements it.

I specifically opened an Apple community account specifically for this issue of emoji!

The Apple quick accessibility tab is already horrible enough after 1.18, and now this?!

You can speak for yourself, but I'm somebody and I actually like the larger emojis. I'm quite sure there are many others who want and appreciate the larger emoji's since people have complained about them being too small for years.

Mikayla_s wrote:

The emoji size needs to go back to normal! This is awful! I’m ready to stop doing updates!

You clearly didn't read past the first post. Had you, you'd already know this is a user to user only forum. And there's a feedback link, which has been posted multiple times you can use if you want to to Apple what they need to do. Look just above your post.

Apple’s decision to increase the size of the emoji keyboard is a puzzling move that feels like a step backward in usability and design. The iPhone is celebrated for its sleek, user-friendly interface, but enlarging the emoji keyboard disrupts this balance. By allocating more screen real estate to emojis, Apple is prioritizing frivolity over functionality, which compromises the overall typing experience. For users who rely on precision and speed, this bloated layout makes it harder to navigate between text and emojis seamlessly. It’s an unnecessary shift that feels more like a gimmick than an enhancement, catering to a niche demand rather than addressing real user needs.

What’s even more frustrating is the trade-off between screen efficiency and functionality. iPhones have limited screen space, and every pixel counts. By making the emoji keyboard larger, Apple effectively reduces the visibility of other crucial elements, such as text input fields or the autocorrect bar. This change disproportionately affects users with smaller iPhone models, where screen real estate is already at a premium. Instead of empowering users with more control over their typing experience, Apple has forced everyone to accept a bloated design that most didn’t ask for and likely won’t benefit from.

Ultimately, this feels like another instance of Apple prioritizing form over substance. While emojis are undeniably popular, they don’t need to dominate the keyboard to this extent. Apple’s reputation is built on its ability to strike the perfect balance between aesthetics and utility, and changes like this undermine that trust. Instead of pushing unnecessary updates that disrupt the workflow of millions of users, Apple should focus on meaningful improvements that enhance productivity and usability. If the company continues down this path, it risks alienating a significant portion of its user base—especially those who value functionality over fleeting trends.

I'm not sure what's puzzling about a feature, which people have asked for, for years. Apple does listen, when enough people ask for something and over the years, many many many people, including me asked for the emoji's to be larger. So Apple listened and made them bigger.

What I find puzzling is how many people get upset over change. They're larger. That's all they are. They're easier to see now. They didn't take any emoji's away. They didn't change how emoji's work. They simply made them larger, which for me is a really great things.

Feel free to do what I did long ago, when I asked for larger emoji's and what I have done recently, when I THANKED Apple for making them larger - FINALLY and provide feedback to Apple here, where it will be read by Apple --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Omg Apple please please PLEASE for the love of God change the emoji keyboard back to it’s original small size.

The current big one is SO FRUSTRATING TO USE! It’s such an annoyance to use emoji nowadays. The experience is terrible.

We need the small emoji back please Apple. Please please PLEASE! 🙏🏻

I can’t use these stupid enormous emojis anymore. Why in the world would they think anyone would want to send an emoji the size of Mt Everest ? All of my family and friends are also very frustrated. So many issues with the new update besides the ridiculously huge dumb emojis.

Surely they could give an option to switch back to the old way, not everyone was asking for larger emojis. I know I wasn’t. Why do they only cater to one part of the community and not the other? This is very frustrating!!

Wow. I should hope everyone gets on and asks Apple for the option to change it, in everyone’s best interest. Having one or the other just makes one half of their users upset. I can see how it would be useful but it’s unusable for me. I hope they add the option to change it back soon. Very hypocritical to only listen to some of their users and not the rest.

I mean, I didn’t mean literally one half of their users. Just never personally seen anyone ask for larger emojis. Crossing my fingers that Apple adds the option at the very least! Hopefully I’ll get used to the new size in the meantime lol.

newton251 wrote:

I mean, I didn’t mean literally one half of their users. Just never personally seen anyone ask for larger emojis. Crossing my fingers that Apple adds the option at the very least! Hopefully I’ll get used to the new size in the meantime lol.

I'm sure unlike me, you haven't been on this forum for like the last 15 years every day. Since the dawn of Emoji's people have complained they were too small.

I'm sure you'll adjust. One thing in life we can count on is change and most of us manage to not only adjust to change, but eventually even appreciate change.

I also find it interesting how many people are oblivious to change. Just about everyone in my office is an iPhone user. As an experiment, I asked everyone what they thought of the larger size Emoji's on their iPhone. Most hadn't even realized they were larger. And not one them was bothered either way. A few commented they really like it because with them being smaller, they were often tapping the wrong Emoji.

Take care and Happy Holidays!

Monkey-Trousers wrote:

I hate it! It’s the most annoying thing Apple have ever done.

Even more annoying than getting rid of floppy and optical drives? More annoying than moving the Control Center in watchOS 10? More annoying than getting rid of 32-bit architecture? More annoying that Mac OSX?More annoying than the changes in Photos with iOS 18/Sequoia? Wow!

Monkey-Trousers wrote:

It is wrong because users should be given a choice, however, instead of complaining about it I’ll just switch to Android then everyone will be happy

Can you even begin to fathom the disaster the iPhone would be if every feature "gave the user a choice?"

Monkey-Trousers wrote:

It is wrong because users should be given a choice, however, instead of complaining about it I’ll just switch to Android then everyone will be happy

You are free to use any device you wish and I recommend to use the one the best meets your needs. Nobody here cares what you choose.

Monkey-Trousers wrote:

It is wrong because users should be given a choice, however, instead of complaining about it I’ll just switch to Android then everyone will be happy

It doesn't matter to me or for that matter, anyone else on this user to user only forum if you think Android would be better for you. You might want to check the Android forums before you spend your money, though. If you think Android doesn't make changes to things every year, just like Apple does and Google does, you'd be fooling yourself. Enjoy that Android when you buy it.