Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 13.2 update, and the beta adds new emoji characters that are part of the Unicode 12 emoji release.
Apple previewed its new emoji earlier this year, and now the new options are set to roll out when iOS 13.2 becomes available. Unicode 12 adds 59 new emoji characters, 75 when gender variations are counted, and 230 when gender variations and skin tones are counted.
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Orangutan, sloth, otter, skunk, and flamingo are the new animals included in the update, while new food items include garlic, onion, waffle, falafel, butter, oyster, beverage box, maté, and ice cube.
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New faces, gestures, and poses include yawning face, pinching hand, person kneeling, person standing, and new people holding hands options that are both gender and skin tone inclusive.
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Several new accessibility-related emojis are included, such as ear with hearing aid, deaf person, mechanical arm/leg, person with cane, person in wheelchair, guide dog, wheelchair (manual and motorized), and probing cane.
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Other miscellaneous emoji include Hindu Temple, auto rickshaw, parachute, ringed planet, diving mask, yo-yo, kite, safety vest, sari, one-piece swimsuit, briefs, shorts, ballet shoes, banjo, diya lamp, axe, drop of blood, bandage, stethoscope, chair, razor, white heart, and circles and squares in various new colors.
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A full list of emoji that are included in the update can be found on the Emojipedia site. It's not entirely clear yet when iOS 13.2 will come out because we're only at the second beta, but it could see a late October or early November release.
Top Rated Comments
Q: Why is Apple adding more emoji?
A: Because emoji are a driving factor in getting people to install updates. That's critical especially for updates that also contain security patches.
Q: No seriously, why?
A: Because a new version of Unicode has more available. While Apple is also part of the process deciding which future emoji make it into the standard, they have to agree with the results, just like everyone else. Otherwise, you end up in a situation where Android or Samsung or Windows have emoji that don't render on Apple's OSes, which people will rightfully blame Apple for (and possibly consider it an argument to move to a different OS).
Q: Their software quality has been going downhill.
A: That's not a question.
Q: OK. Shouldn't they invest resources into improving software rather than adding emoji?
A: It's not an either-or proposition. Adding emoji is largely graphics designer work; most of the software engineering (such as a picker for different skin tones) has already been done years ago. So, adding emoji doesn't take up many software engineering resources, and even if it did, Apple has thousands of other software engineers spread around numerous teams. Make the argument that Apple should focus less on features and more on quality, not the argument that in order to do so, they should stop adding emoji.
Q: But emoji are stupid!
A: Also not a question, but a valid opinion. Millions upon millions of people love them, though, and if you don't, they're really not particularly in your way. Not everything Apple does is about you.
Simple is better than complicated.
Fixing the most important stuff. Props to the emoji team. Hope the team get assigned even more resources.