14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has just revealed the new set of emoticons coming to its devices with the iOS 11.1 update, confirming that developers and public testers would get a chance to try them out starting with the next beta version.
The company says the overhauled pack will include hundreds of new characters that are part of Unicode 10, and a preview published today indicates that in addition to more food types and animals, Apple will also include gender-neutral characters and even an “I love you” emoticon in American Sign Language.
“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,” Apple explains.
Beta testers getting them next week
While the full pack of emoticons will be included in the final iOS 11.1 release, the very next beta, namely 11.1 beta 2, will go live sometime next week including this new pack as well. Only developers and public beta testers will be provided with access to the emoticons, but Apple says that by the end of the month, all devices should get them with the official stable release.
The same emoticons will be available on both iPhone and iPad models updated to iOS 11.1, and will also make their way to macOS and watchOS in the upcoming software updates.
Emoticons are becoming more of a big deal these days and Apple appears to be one of the companies that are actually very focused on delivering a fresh experience with every update. Earlier this year, Apple announced Animoji, an interactive version of its emoji that’s personalized to each user with the help of a 3D-generation image captured with the dedicated cameras on the iPhone 8.
Make sure you check out the photo gallery below to preview some of the new emoticons coming in next week’s update.
