The iPhone's new, diverse emoji are good, but these third-party emoji are better
As of Wednesday morning, iPhone users can upgrade to iOS 8.3. The new mobile operating system contains CarPlay integration, new languages for Siri, and the ability to filter text messages from saved numbers in a different folder from unsaved phone numbers. But most importantly, it contains new, diverse emoji.
In the new update, users can cycle through skin tone options for the faces of many of the emoji characters, with some characters having up to six different choices. (All of the facial features are the same—nothing changes aside from the emoji’s complexion.)
We give Apple the emoji hand clap for their efforts. But for the next update, the company could go farther. Diversity isn’t just about color, after all—for Apple to allow its users to fully tell a story through emoji, it needs icons that represent a broad range of cultural images.
Luckily, there’s an example for Apple to follow: a third-party emoji app called Wemojis.