Sometimes all of those iPhone updates can get annoying, but there’s a good chance that you’re going to love this latest one. Emojipedia announced that there are brand spanking new emojis with the latest iPhone iOS 13.2 update. And we’re not talking 10 or 20 cute little characters to choose from, but a whopping 398 icons to take your texting to the next level.
With the release of iOS 13.2, there’s truly something for everyone. From cuddly critters to careers and culinary delights, you’ll love scrolling through your emojis to discover all the new ones available to you. Adorable otters, anyone?
But a recurring theme that you’ll find is a strong focus on ethnic diversity and inclusion. For example, in the past, you didn’t really have a choice if you wanted to pick an emoji of two people holding hands. With this update, you can mix and match the ethnicity of each character, which is a totally cool option.
You’ll also find more emojis that represent people with disabilities. To that end, there are hearing aid icons, as well as people holding a hand to their ear and listening. The iOS 13.2 update also has a blind person walking with a cane, service dogs, and people in different kinds of wheelchairs. There are even two prosthetic limb characters, too.
And the update features the inclusion of gender-neutral designs. While there are still male and female emojis, there are additional gender-neutral characters, too.
Apple has wanted to add more diversity to their emojis that encompass a wider variety of skin tones, jobs, and even gender neutrality for some time now, CNN reported. The newest emojis have been approved by the Unicode Consortium, a non-profit organization that is responsible for the regulation of these characters.
The drop of blood emoji is also a winner in this latest update. While you can use it to indicate anything from a nosebleed to a skinned knee, it’s most likely going to be popular among teen girls to help them indicate (without words) that they’re on their period without having to directly say so.
Now I don’t know about you, but a lot of my texting revolves around food. Thankfully, the updated emojis include yummy new food items, such as onions and garlic, falafel, a mate drink, and kid-friendly faves like waffles, butter, and juice boxes. There’s even an ice cube if you want a cold drink.
Tired of the same old dog and cat emojis? Well, there are also a slew of wild new animals to choose from, including a sloth, an otter, an orangutan, a skunk — even a flamingo and an orangutan. Other objects include a razor, an axe, a chair, stethoscope, ballerina slippers, a kite, and a yoyo.
I think one of the most popular emojis will be the yawning face. I mean, pretty much every momma out there is tired, so this one will probably wind up on your Frequently Used section.
In addition to all the new emojis, the iOS 13.2 update also includes Dark Mode (which turns the background black and your text white), and a private way to sign into apps and websites just with a tap. Since the update is optimized, it can also make facial recognition with Face ID faster, too.
With almost 400 new emojis to play with and express yourself, maybe the iPhone iOS 13.2 update isn’t so much about food and fun, but rather making us more aware (and accepting of) inclusion and diversity and using it as part of our everyday vernacular. Or in this case, texting.