Latest Apple iOs update features inclusive new gender-neutral emoji designs

Line-up also includes drop of blood to represent menstruation

(Emojipedia

Apple has launched a host of new emoji, including more inclusive options such as gender-neutral characters and people with disabilities.

The designs have been unveiled as part of Apple’s latest iOS 13.2 update and include 398 new ways for iPhone users to express themselves.

The update boasts an impressive roster of new and updated keyboard characters with a focus inclusion and diversity.

So much so, that when combined with the gender neutral designs introduced in previous updates, iOS 13.2 features a grand total of 457 gender neutral emoji designs.

As well as standard male and female emoji, many of the character-based designs now also include a gender-neutral option, including the superhero, scientist, office worker and detective.

And the inclusivity doesn’t stop there. iPhone users can also now select the ethnicity of each character when using the “holding hands” emoji, with the option to mix and match sexes such as two women, two men, a woman and man, or a new combination which shows people holding hands without a specific gender.

In a bid to deliver more diverse keyboard characters there are now also more disability-themed emoji options, including characters in wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs and emoji to represent the visually impaired.

Last year, Apple said it wanted to improve the representation of those with disabilities, submitting a number of designs to Unicode, the body which maintains and regulates the library of characters, after consulting a number of campaigns and charities on the issue.

A drop of blood emoji, designed to represent menstruation, has also been introduced following a campaign to fight period stigma.

In response to the addition of the period emoji, Rose Caldwell, chief executive of Plan International UK, said: “We are thrilled to see the arrival of this long-awaited blood drop emoji, which signals a real breakthrough in the fight against period stigma.

"Girls, women and other menstruators told us this emoji would help them talk more freely about their periods, which is why we campaigned so hard to make it a reality. But this is only one part of the solution.

(Emojipedia)

“We know that girls around the world are being held back because of their periods, whether that's the one in five girls here in the UK who are bullied and teased, girls in Zimbabwe who have dropped out of school because the recent cyclone destroyed their period-friendly toilets, or those living in refugee camps in Bangladesh who can't access period products since fleeing their homes.

"Period poverty will not stop until we fix the toxic trio of affordability of products, lack of education and period shame. We hope this emoji helps to keep the conversation going."

(Emojipedia)

The software update also includes the introduction of Apple's new Deep Fusion photography technology, which uses machine learning to take and quickly analyse multiple photos before piecing together the best parts into a single image.

A new privacy control which enables users to opt-out of allowing Apple to store interactions with its voice assistant Siri has also been introduced.

(Emojipedia)

iPhone and iPad users can access the new emoji by opening their Settings app, selecting General and then Software Update before confirming the installation of iOS 13.2.