2 min read

Apple Embraces Diversity With iOS8.3 Emojis

Apple recently pushed iOS8.3 beta2 to developers. It includes new languages for Siri and support for both wireless CarPlay and Google 2-step verification. Support for ApplePay in China will also be included. However, these have all been overshadowed by the new set of iOS8.3 emojis.

Skin-Tone-Emojis1.pngApple has added new options for characters to reflect different ethnicities. Tap and hold a human emoji to pick from a selection of 5 additional skintones. Or you can stick with the default jaundice yellow tone. Smileys faces are yellow, why not their human counterpart? From babies to Santa to thumbs up, all offer a variety of complexions. Unicode Consortium, the group that allows emojis to be displayed properly on devices, admits the update is unable to encompass the full human experience. Still, it is a large improvement.

EveEmoji-Families.pngn the family emojis have expanded. There are multiple compositions with a mixture of moms, dads, little boys, and little girls. Maybe the addition of single parents will one day be included.

 

Flag-emojis

People weren’t the only emojis with updates. New flags have also been added. Now users can pictorially demonstrate their love of 27 new countries. In accordance with Apple’s history of exclusivity, they have changed the generic-looking watch emoji to an Apple Watch. The mobile phone emoji also got a facelift. It now looks like the iPhone6 and matches the style of iOS8.

 

Confused about where to find emojis on your phone? Getemoji.com has a nice tutorial.

Can’t figure out what the emoji is supposed to mean? Just too darn small to see? What are those tiny people really doing? Take a look at Emojipedia.

 

Have an emoji you want to see on the next round of apple updates?