Xcode 26.3 not rendering Unicode/Emoji in Simulator or Canvas

I also have this issue in the Simulator with iOS26.2+iOS26.3.1, on what looks like all devices. It might happen for my phone as well if it was on iOS26.3.1, but I'm hesitant to upgrade it from iOS26.3 and have it break emoji entirely for who knows how long.

Opening the emoji picker keyboard in the simulator now looks like this:

Removing and re-adding the emoji picker from the list of keyboards does not appear to help. Nor does disabling Stickers, as someone recommended in another forum.

I'm not sure what could be different about my setup (and those of the folks above) that makes the emoji break, when they aren't broken for most people. I'm located in the US, not Australia, so it's probably not that.

having same issue

I am facing the same issue 😠, and come on Apple Develop Team, this is so silly and shouldn't happen.

The only workaround I have found is downloading the 26.1 runtime and using that instead.

+1, confirming, found out hard right after updating to Xcode 26.3 & getting the Simulator update.

The Emoji wallpapers look exceptionally wonderfur affected by this issue… 🫠 Right after our broken Markdown snapshot tests.

Same here. Works normally in Physical device. Need to fallback to iOS 26.1 in Simulator. Do we have any fix/updates so far?

FB22206123

https://github.com/feedback-assistant/reports/issues/772

Same here, located in Greece. At first I thought it was a caches thing, then I thought I might have somehow messed up the system fonts, then I hoped that I didn't have to format my mac.

At least I now know I'm not alone in this. Awaiting for a fix...

Same here

Thanks so much for this post and thanks for your patience on my replay.

When Unicode characters and emojis render perfectly on a physical device but appear as blank spaces or empty boxes in the Simulator and SwiftUI Canvas, in my opinion it means the Color Emoji font is missing and this is corrupted, or failing to load inside the Simulator Runtime.

Because the SwiftUI Canvas uses the exact same underlying simulator infrastructure as the standalone Simulator app, both break at the same time.

We identified this a bug and I would encourage you to use the physical device or to download the latest beta simulators iOS 24.4 RC https://developer.apple.com/download/os/ and let me know it the issue has been fixed.

Here are the most effective ways to resolve this issue:

• Open Xcode and go to Xcode > Settings (or Preferences) > Platforms.
• Find the iOS Simulator runtime you are currently using (e.g., iOS 26.3).
• Right-click (or Control-click) it and select Delete.
• Once deleted, click the "+" button at the bottom left to re-download and reinstall a fresh copy of the runtime.
• Restart Xcode and the Simulator.

Since it renders fine on a physical device, you can safely continue development knowing your app will work in production.

Albert Pascual
  Worldwide Developer Relations.

same here!!! Very frustrating

@eabnelson If my workaround mention above does not work, please do file a bug so the team can fix it for you.

Once you open the bug report, please post the FB number here for my reference.

If you have any questions about filing a bug report, take a look at Bug Reporting: How and Why?

Thanks,

Albert Pascual
  Worldwide Developer Relations.

Thank you to Albert for his post above.

With regard to the post, for me following the instructions to reinstall the iOS 26.3 and simulator did not work as it reinstalled the same simulator with the same issue.

However I am pleased to report that I tested the Xcode 26.4 RC with the accompanying simulator and it does resolve this issue. I see that a final iOS 26.4 has been released, so the matching final Xcode is due very shortly to put this behind us.

Cheers.

This no longer happens in the iOS 26.4 simulator.

Xcode 26.4 final is available and has resolved this issue. The iOS 26.4 simulator does correctly display emoji/unicode. Install Xcode 26.4 from the Mac App Store or similar to resolve this issue.