Apple updated its bagel emoji after backlash

Apple recently announced that with iOS 12.1, iPhone users will have 70 new emoji options to choose from.

But it’s the bagel emoji that caught people’s attention, but not in the way the tech giant intended.

The bagel doesn’t do much to get your appetite firing. For starters, it had no spread, appeared overly dry and was factory produced.

Bagel aficionados were very sad.

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But Apple heard their cries and updated the emoji depiction so that it was blanketed with cream cheese and had a shinier complexion. 

Here at 9Honey Kitchen, we were disappointed by the initial bagel mock up, but we appreciate this makeover. Perhaps our take on the Nutella avocado hybrid, provided some much needed inspiration.

It was no surprise that the emoji would elicit a negative response. The vegan salad emoji previously generated an uproar. And who can forget the time that Cynthia Nixon’s cinnamon raisin bagelNixon’s cinnamon raisin bagel raised some eyebrows.

People care about how their favourite foods are represented, and the bagel is no exception. Apple's first mock up looked like a way of communicating exactly what you don't want from your local bagel joint. 

Related: How to make your own bagels 

When the iOS emoji was unveiled, New-Yorkers were among the swarms of people who were deeply unimpressed with the design. Given the cities reputation for housing some of the best bagels in the world - this was an inevitable outcome.

Bagel enthusiasts were quick to express their disapproval on Twitter. Some of the notable reactions included:

Philadelphia chimed in by photo shopping some cream cheese on to the bagel, and calling for a petition to ‘get cream cheese added to the bagel emoji’.

We're pleased to see that some healthy outrage got the message across, and that Apple is doing the beloved bagel justice with this new design.