# SF Symbols 7: An In-Depth Look at Apple’s Latest Icon Toolkit
Apple has just introduced the beta version of SF Symbols 7, a major upgrade to its system icon toolkit, which aligns with the launch of new design materials and resources for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26. This update brings hundreds of new icons, improved animation tools, and enhanced transitions, representing a crucial development in the design environment for Apple platforms.
## Key Highlights of SF Symbols 7
### Draw On and Draw Off
SF Symbols 7 features two new animation presets that enable symbols to animate into and out of visibility. These animations utilize the layered composition of symbols, allowing developers to orchestrate movement across various icon components. There are three available playback styles: animating the full symbol at once, offsetting layers for a more dynamic appearance, or displaying layers in sequence.
### Draw Animations
To support the new animations, Apple has introduced a tool that allows developers to position guide points and manage stroke order and direction. Options such as bidirectional movement, adaptive end caps, and draw attachments offer additional control over the animation process, suitable for all weights and sizes from Ultralight to Black.
### Variable Draw
Expanding on the idea of Variable Color, Variable Draw provides more dynamic visual feedback, perfect for illustrating strength or progress. When symbols are annotated correctly, layers can animate smoothly in a data-driven fashion, giving designers better control over visual communication.
### Improved Magic Replace
The Magic Replace tool, which assists with transitions between related symbols, has been upgraded. This improvement enables smoother transitions when two icons share an enclosure shape, resulting in more cohesive and visually appealing symbol transitions, especially in interfaces where rapid visual feedback is crucial.
### Gradient Rendering
SF Symbols 7 now offers automatic linear gradient generation from a single source color, whether it is system-defined or custom. These gradients function across all rendering modes, introducing a subtle lighting effect that adds depth and refinement while ensuring legibility.
### Localized and Platform-Ready
The update encompasses hundreds of new symbols and improvements to existing ones, conforming to Apple’s new universal design language. It now caters to a wider variety of localized variants across numerous scripts, including Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Devanagari, and additional Indic systems. These enhancements are accessible across iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26.
## Conclusion
SF Symbols 7 is a comprehensive library of over 6,900 symbols crafted to integrate perfectly with Apple’s San Francisco font, making it an essential asset for designers and developers aiming to produce consistent, native-looking applications on Apple platforms. The beta version requires macOS Ventura or later, and developers are encouraged to delve into the new features through the WWDC25 session titled “What’s new in SF Symbols 7.”
