World Emoji Day took place on Wednesday, complete with Apple and Google unveiling a slew of new emoji based on the approved characters in Unicode 12 that will be arriving in iOS 13 and Android Q later this year.
The theme for this year seems to be inclusion, meaning users of any race, gender, sexual orientation, or disability will find something with which to express themselves. For example, the Holding Hands emoji has been expanded to include more than 70 combinations and sex, gender, and race, allowing you to express your relationship to others.
Android phones will see gender-ambiguous emoji for symbols such as construction worker, police office, genie, and vampire. Other new diversity-themed emoji will include symbols for people who are blind, deaf, or paralyzed, as well as guide dogs, prosthetic limbs, and hearing aids. Users will also see new emoji for animals, food and objects, including a yo-yo, felafel plate, skunk, garlic, flamingo, and yawning face.
All said, there will be 59 new emoji on iPhones and 65 on Android phones, not including the various skin tones and gender options.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via PCWorld