[ot-caption title=”A PC student admiring the countless new emojis. (via, Ana Simon, sophomore)”]

With the iOS9 iPhone software update released this past fall, there were several changes and improvements to the much-desired Apple technology. A fan-favorite is the countless amount of new and much awaited emojis that appeared in iPhone users’ keyboards.  Emojis are a way to express oneself through text, adding a little spice to the conversation. Originally created in Japan, the company Unicode controls the “emoji empire” and has expanded its collection of hundreds of emojis across the world, through products such as Apple and Android. A myriad of emojis has been added to the already immense and still growing collection. From foods, such as tacos and popcorn, to animals, like the lion and unicorn, the new emojis have taken text conversations to a different (and more colorful) level.

The iPhone gurus have taken the idea of “equality” truly into perspective when brainstorming for these new emojis.  As seen with the previous update, the people emojis can be of practically any racial background.  The original emoji shows up yellow and by holding down the image, several different racial options pop up to choose from. Also, the family emojis have been almost doubled, creating a more inclusive array of options for users; now, there is almost any family type- from two mothers with one son, two fathers with one daughter and one son, etc.

With over 150 new emojis, the choices are endless! In addition to new family types, Unicode also added both magical and realistic creatures and a handful of new country flags.  Some of the new featured emojis consist of new animals (i.e. lion, unicorn, turkey), a bunch of new facial expressions (i.e. upside-down smiley face, money face, nerd face), new hand signals (i.e. rock&roll sign, star trek sign), and countless other random and goofy emojis. Scrolling through the countless amount of emojis to choose the perfect one for a conversation or photo caption can be an extremely overwhelming task and with this new update, it is going be even more difficult.

Although there are thousands of emojis to choose from, there are still some missing.  Pine Crest students weighed in on what emojis they thought should be created next. Madeline Turner, a junior, shares, “There should be a hot air balloon emoji somewhere in the mix.” Stefy Grau, a sophomore, says, “Lacrosse should be represented if cricket and field hockey are.” Having never been done before, Skylar Pollack wants a celebrity emoji; she adds, “Queen B, Beyoncé, should be featured as an emoji.” In addition, Isabel Turner, a senior, remarks, “Only color missing now from the hearts is black.” With all of these different requests, Unicode better start working on yet another update for the next iOS update to keep users satisfied.

With countless new emojis to choose from, texting options are endless.  Ranging from a burrito to the Ukrainian flag, Unicode really pulled through with some amazing emojis.  Even though there are so many options to choose from, it will be interesting to see what new emojis will be included in Apple’s updates in the future.

Sources: Apple, Mashable, Washington Post