The update will unveil a set of new emojis as well as more options for existing emojis with the hopes of being ever more inclusive. Some new emojis to be expected are a flaming heart, a mended heart as well as a gender neutral person with both short and long hair options.
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This will hopefully allow a greater amount of people to feel like there is a more realistic representation of what they look like in emoji-form. In the past, Apple had received criticism for only having white-passing emojis available to users before the introduction of the neutral yellow Simpson-like skin tone.
Some older emojis are getting a makeover
In terms of modifications and added options to pre-existing emojis, the 'kissing couple' as well as the 'couple with heart' will be available in more skin tone combinations.
The iOS update will also see older emojis getting a brand new look to reflect current times. For one, the syringe emoji will no longer be filled with blood but, rather, a transparent fluid that is likely due to the emergence of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The climbing emoji will see its boy and girl options both wearing helmets to ensure a safety message when practicing the potentially dangerous sport is conveyed.
A collaborative process to ensure inclusivity
It has been reported that Apple worked closely with the American Council of the Blind, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and the National Association of the Deaf to ensure accurate representation was respected.
On top of the new emojis, a convenient search function will be added so that one could look for a specific emoji by writing a key word or phrase instead of having to flicker through the entire library to find what you are looking for.
