Apple Wants To Bring 13 New Emojis For People With Disabilities To IOS

Apple has proposed a set of 13 new emojis to represent people with different disabilities.

The tech company submitted the proposal to the Unicode Consortium and in their submission wrote,

“One in seven people around the world has some form of disability, whether that be a physical disability involving vision, hearing, or loss of physical motor skills, or a more hidden, invisible disability.” 

Though Apple are proud of the diversity in their current emoji lines, they are aware that “very few speak to the life experiences of those with disabilities.”  And though the proposal is not meant to be a definitive list of all possible depictions of disabilities, Apple believe it is a “starting point for greater representation in the emoji universe”.  

The proposed emojis come in four main categories: Blind and Low Vision, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Physical Motor, and Hidden Disabilities.

In the current iOS, Apple have access symbols and sign language emojis.

If the proposal is approved, the iOS update will include emojis like a guide dog, people using wheelchairs, and prosthetic limbs.

???? ???? New: Apple has submitted a proposal to Unicode for accessibility emojis including people in wheelchairs, service dogs, and prosthetic limbs. If approved, they'll be on phones next year https://t.co/ic87QRkDpj pic.twitter.com/d7NISQR0me

— Emojipedia ???? (@Emojipedia) March 23, 2018

Apple worked together with the National Association of the Deaf , the American Council of the Blind, and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation to design the emojis.

Naturally, a lot of people were happy with the news and took to Twitter to praise the tech giant.

YES! YES! YES! I need a better ♿ emoji!

— Hatty (@_Hatty_) March 23, 2018

This is wayyyyy overdue but well done Apple ???????? https://t.co/bDlnMMjPrO

— Ella Shipley (@ellashipleyx) March 23, 2018

THERES A SERVICE DOG OH MY GOD YES

— ♿DeVonne♿ (@devonnexxmarie) March 23, 2018

Yessss! LOVE this. Can there also be a tandem bike emoji please? ???????? My husband is a blind cyclist training hard for the Tokyo 2020 #Paralympics, and using an individual bike emoji twice just doesn’t have the same effect. ????????‍♂️????????‍♂️????
~Julie ???? pic.twitter.com/Bqvewteb0m

— Julie and Lowell (@JulieLowellCAN) March 23, 2018

The manual chair is the same color as mine! ????

— Rhys (@wanderingpuck) March 24, 2018

If you ever wondered how an emoji proposal happens, you can check out the website HERE. Prepare to be amazed by just how much work goes into one little, digital emoji. The more you know.