With the news of the new iPhones coming out came the timely announcement of the iOS 15, which means, novel upgrades notwithstanding, a new set of emojis is upon our fingertips.
According to Emojipedia, 217 new emojis which are part of the Emoji 14.0 have been approved for the upcoming update, including a dizzy face, sighing face, a bandaged heart, a flaming heart, and bearded people, available in all six skin tones. There are also eight new couple emojis that are available in 25 different variations.
Apart from these additions, tons more are still pending approval. Other emojis that social media users are eager to use include the melting face, shocked face with a peeking eye, a crowned face, and a speechless face with a hand over its mouth. There are also random objects set to join the fray, like a slide, tire, floater, disco ball, lotus, troll, and a coral emoji.
Several medical emojis are also making their way to the new iOS, including an x-ray, crutch, and what appears to be a vaccine vial, perfectly capturing the sign of the pandemic times.
There is also a suite of new hand gestures that were nominated, including heart-shaped hands, a finger heart, a pointing finger, and 25 new variations of the handshake emoji. As a way of being more inclusive, the pregnant emoji with more gender options, including a pregnant man, will also be debuting on the new iOS.
“The new pregnancy options may be used for representation by trans men, non-binary people, or women with short hair,” said Senior Emoji Lexicographer Jane Solomon on Emojipeia’s blog post. “People of any gender can be pregnant too. Now there are emojis to represent this.”
Despite the release of Emoji 14.0 this month, smartphone users may still have to wait a while to be able to use them. Emojipedia states that some companies may start to roll them out “in late 2021” which are most likely to happen on Google platforms, while the majority of updates will drop within “the first half of 2022.”
Art Daniella Sison
