Apple dropped a beta release of the iOS 8.3 update, which will include a new assortment of “diverse” emojis on February 23. Emojis will soon include six different skin tones, 32 new country flags, and new “diverse” family combinations. These combinations will include families with same-sex parents. No official release date for the iOS 8.3 update has been announced.
Some students felt that not all the emojis serve their purpose in encouraging acceptance of diversity.
“The other emojis [skin tones] are acceptable and are drawn more seriously, but the Asian ones seem comical and people [might] make fun of [Asian people’s ethnicity],” freshman Claire Byrne said.
Freshman Haley Waldron agreed. “The five skin tones will [have benefits], but the [Asian] one is obviously misrepresented and is probably going to cause some [reaction],” Waldron said.
Byrne felt that, ultimately, the emojis will have benefits. “It shows that Apple is making an effort to become more diverse and have more equality, even if it is something as small as emojis,” Byrne said.