Skip to Content
Tacos

We Won: Apple’s New Taco Emoji is an Authentic Taco

iOS 10.2 is close to a release, and it will include a bunch of new emojis, including an avocado which looks like this:

screen-shot-2016-11-01-at-9-46-39-pm

Notice that the look is a bit more detailed and 3D than the current emoji? That's because Apple has redesigned all of their emojis to make them higher quality images with more details, colors, and shading. Part of this includes a total refresh of the taco emoji. Remember our unsuccessful campaign to get Apple and others to make an authentic taco emoji? We're pleased to show you the new taco emoji below...

<cwqoabyvyaaxayy

As you can see, it's a real soft corn tortilla, along with cilantro, onion, and (probably) carne asada. It looks delicious, and authentic. Nice work, Apple! Android will hopefully step up to the plate soon and deliver their own improved emoji. We know this is all pretty silly in the scheme of things, but it is still cool that the most famous Mexican food item now has a proper emoji that we can all feel proud of and send to our friends without conflicted feelings. It also means that the taco lifestyle won, and Taco Bell lost.

The burrito also got a much-needed facelift. It no longer is some sort of hideous wrap, and is now pretty clearly modeled on the Mission burritos in Apple's backyard, rice, beans, foil and all.

screen-shot-2016-11-01-at-4-54-27-pm

We take back every bad thing we said about Emoji designers, obviously the transition from hard-shell Taco Bell fast-food taco to gorgeously rendered authentic taco wasn't easy to do from an artistic standpoint, but the designers in Cupertino nailed it. For all your Emoji needs, check out Emojipedia. You can see just how far the other companies have to go to reach Apple's new standard.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

The Best Signs That Turned Tired Legs into Smiles at the 41st L.A. Marathon

Despite those who found street closures a nuisance, the overall consensus was that this city shows up for its people. In a time when community is most needed, supporters showed up with a level of commitment L.A. could use more of these days.

March 9, 2026

Iranian National Dies in Mississippi, Marking 17th ICE-Related Death Since December 31

Fifty-nine-year-old Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi is currently the 11th person to have died while in ICE custody this year that we know of, and the 17th ICE-related death since the killing of Keith Porter on December 31, 2025.

March 9, 2026

Trump’s ‘Deportation Judges’ Take Over Has Begun: Half of L.A. Immigrants Now Miss Court and Get Deported Sight Unseen

The Trump administration fired a quarter of the nation's immigration judges and the Pentagon authorized 600 military lawyers to replace them. They’re recruiting for "deportation judges" on social media. Fewer than 3 in 100 of the people asking for asylum get to stay.

March 9, 2026

The World Cup is Still Happening This Summer, But It May Not Look As Planned

There’s a lot of confusion about what has and hasn’t happened with the World Cup in the past month. L.A. Taco separates the fact from fiction.

March 8, 2026

Sunday Taquitos #18: No Taxation Without Refunds

Sunday Taquitos! Art by Ivan Ehlers.

March 8, 2026

Daily Memo: They Met in ICE Detention. Despite a Language Barrier, These Women’s Bond Helped Them Survive

They found a way to spend the nights talking, developing a friendship that got them both through their ordeal. Tania says she saw Masuma as a motherly, grandmotherly figure who took care of her, and Masuma says she wouldn’t have survived without Tania. 

See all posts