Apple launches iOS 10.2 Beta with new emoji

On November 1, Apple released a beta version of the iOS 10.2 for developers. While the new version comes with several improvements, the most noticeable feature is the introduction of a host of new emoji. With iOS 10.2 Beta the US Tech giant has finally introduced complete support for Unicode 9.0.

The additions which are in accordance with the Unicode 9.0 standard, include several interesting emoji such as rolling on the floor laughing, clown face, sneezing face, cowboy hat face, fox face, owl, food emoji like kiwi, avocado, carrot, cucumber, peanuts, bacon and whiskey glass. There is also more representation of women with women in different professions like a detective or an engineer, and women in different sports include Basketball, Swimming, Running, Skateboarding and Weightlifting.

The company has also redesigned several older emojis, giving them fresh new colours and designs which are much more suitable for high resolution Retina displays.

Other additions on iOS 10.2 beta include three new wallpapers for the iPhone 7, a new celebrations effect for iMessage, a widget for the Videos app and an option to rate music in the Music app. The ratings that users give affect the ‘For You’ recommendations. Users can also customise and save Camera app settings (flash, HDR, etc.) for future use.

It should be noted that when an emoji is sent, what recipients see can vary according to the device and software they’re using. For instance if you send one of the new emoji’s to someone without the iOS Beta, the recipient will see a generic error instead of the emoji. Furthermore with the graphic style varying from one manufacturer to another, Android versions of the emojis may differ from iOS versions.

The update is only available to users with a developer account. Users can become a part of the Apple Beta Program, by registering their devices here. Also the emojis are still in beta, so it could be sometime before they are available to the public.