The forthcoming Apple iOS 14.5 release will include a whopping 217 new emoji, with the majority focused on matters of the heart.
First spied by emojipedia, the current beta release includes a heart on fire for when passions are running high, as well as a mending heart, wrapped in a bandage.
However, 200 of the 2017 newcomers are designed to ensure different skin tones are represented for the couples emojis (two folks with a heart between them). The report points out that this follows on from similar additions to the hand-holding emoji in 2019.
Following on from the theme of inclusivity Apple is also adding more options for beards, with more gender options. Apple is also adding an emoji called exhaling face, as well as face with spiral eyes and face in clouds.
Image credit: Emojipedia
Elsewhere, there’s also a new syringe that’s free of the blood, which suggests its more adept at depicting a vaccine. Last but not least, the over-ear headphones emoji now looks like Apple’s AirPods Max. No surprises there. Apple uses an iMac, MacBook, iPhone and Apple Watch to depict desktop computers, laptops, smartphones and smartwatches respectively.
iOS 14.5 is shaping up to be more of the more significant updates of recent times and will be especially helpful to Apple Watch owners who struggle to use the iPhone’s Face ID tech while wearing a face mask.
It also appears as if Apple is giving Maps a major boost with the addition of Waze-like cloud sourced live incident reporting, which can alert drivers to an accident or a speed trap.
The update also includes the hotly-debated App Tracking Transparency pop-ups that give users the opportunity to approve or ask apps not to track them across the web for the purposes of targeted advertising.
We’re probably still a few weeks out from the launch of iOS 14.5, which may be the last major boost before iOS 15 arrives this autumn.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
