Starting next week, a ton of new emoji are going to hit the iPhone and iPad via the beta version of iOS 11.1. Hundreds of new characters will be included as part of Unicode 10, such as “more emotive smiley faces, gender-neutral characters, clothing options, food types, animals, mythical creatures and more.”
Developers and public beta testers will be the first to get their hands on iOS 11.1 beta 2 early next week and the software update is expected to roll out to the rest of us by the end of the month. Apple has already showed off some of the new emoji on World Emoji Day on July 17 but no information was given about potential release dates.
The new emoji are designed to reveal every detail and adapted from approved characters in Unicode 10. iOS 11.1 will also include characters announced on World Emoji Day like Woman with Headscarf, Bearded Person, Breastfeeding, Zombie, Person in Lotus Position and new food items such as Sandwich and Coconut. Also included in the update is the Love-You Gesture, designed after the “I love you” hand sign in American Sign Language.
The animals section will grow with the addition of a zebra, a giraffe, a hedgehog and even a Brachiosaurus.
In food, the new dumpling emoji will find a friend in the chinese takeout box and there is also a broccoli and a pie.
As always, Apple continue to be progressive with gender neutral emojis that will be available in various skin tones.
New mythical emoji include a mermaid, a wizard, a vampire and a fairy.
Smileys get even more expressive with a monocle emoji, a swearing emoji and a shhhhh.
Finally, not to be confused with the metal horns emoji that was released a few years back, this emoji means “I love you” in American sign language.
