Apple News+ Introduces Daily Emoji Game

Last updated: July 17, 2025 3:01 PM

5 Min Read

Apple News+, the subscription service known for offering access to a broad range of news and magazines, just added a new layer of fun to its platform. Enter the Emoji Game—a daily puzzle designed to give users a playful, slightly quirky way to interact with content beyond headlines and articles. For now, it’s only available to subscribers in the U.S. and English-speaking users in Canada.

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Key Takeaways
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Key Takeaways

Apple News+ now features a daily Emoji Game for subscribers.
Players use emojis, including Apple’s AI-generated Genmoji, to complete short phrases.
Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac running iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 or later.
Supports Game Center leaderboards and will link up with the upcoming Apple Games app.
Joins other Apple News+ puzzles like Crossword, Crossword Mini, Sudoku, and Quartiles.

At its core, the Emoji Game is all about wordplay. Each day, players are given three phrases, each missing a key part. The challenge? Fill in the blanks using a selection of emojis—sometimes literal, other times symbolic or phonetically clever. Apple’s Genmoji, generated using its AI technology (Apple Intelligence), also make an appearance, adding an extra twist to the guessing game.

If you’re scratching your head wondering how this works, think of it like this: a puzzle might ask you to drop in a pear emoji to form the word “appear,” or pair an apple and eye emoji to complete “apple of my eye.” There’s a clue available for each phrase, but using it adds to your move count, so it’s a bit of a risk-reward situation. And honestly, that adds a nice touch of strategy.

A fresh batch of puzzles drops every day, so there’s always something new to try. To keep things engaging (and maybe a bit competitive), Game Center integration lets players track their scores and streaks on leaderboards. You can also share your results with friends or family via Messages, Mail, or your social platform of choice. The game lives in the “Puzzles” tab inside the Apple News app for now, but later this year, it’ll also become part of the new Apple Games app, which aims to gather all of Apple’s game experiences under one roof.

This launch adds to an already solid puzzle lineup in Apple News+, which includes Crossword, Crossword Mini, Quartiles, and Sudoku. So clearly, Apple sees value in expanding interactive content, something other news platforms have leaned into as well—especially when it comes to keeping subscribers engaged on a daily basis.

You’ll need to be on the latest OS versions—iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, or macOS 15.4 or later—to play. Interestingly, Apple timed the release to coincide with World Emoji Day, which feels like a subtle nod to how deeply embedded emojis have become in our digital language. Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News, noted that this game is a fun addition to the News+ puzzle library, turning familiar symbols into a bit of a brain teaser.

Apple News+ runs at $12.99 per month in the U.S. It’s also part of the Apple One Premier bundle, which goes for $37.95 monthly and includes access for up to five family members. Beyond games and puzzles, the subscription offers content from more than 400 premium publications, audio articles, local news, a sports section, and—just recently—a new food section stocked with tens of thousands of recipes.