Emojis have come a long way from the iconic yellow to real skin tones but when it comes to diversity there’s still a long way to go. Soon, we can expect to add a tamal, piñata and more to the growing list.
In honor of World Emoji Day, Emojipedia shared a first look at some of the new Emojis coming to iOS this year including the transgender symbol, a ninja and the Russian nesting doll. The tamal joins the burrito and taco but we’re still waiting for the empanadas, pupusas, mangú and other Latin American foods. The new emojis will reportedly be available with the iOS 14.1 or 14.2 later this year.
Google also announced their upcoming emojis for Android. They include the same updates as those on iOS, with an additional 55 gender and skin tone variants. Apple announced they would adopt 13 emojis from Emoji 13.0, approved by Unicode Consortium while Google will introduce all 117 emojis with the Android 11 update, according to Gadgets 360.
But there’s also a more timely addition for iPhone users—Memoji will now feature new headwear and colorful face masks to reflect the realities of the pandemic. So while it’s great they’re taking into consideration the current reality for users, we’re still waiting on more culturally diverse emojis that showcase the multitudes that make up the Latinx identity and beyond. What emojis would you like to see?