The forthcoming Apple iOS software update is due to bring some new emojis – and one is about to get a significant makeover.
iOS 10, currently still in beta stage, is scrapping the gun emoji in favour of a bright green water pistol design.
The move comes after the New Yorkers Against Gun Violence group launched a social media campaign titled #DisarmTheiPhone in 2015.
An Open Radar community bug report raised by app designer Neven Mrgan in June 2016 also addressed the issue of the pistol being ‘a reminder of a weapon causing tens of thousands of deaths in the US every year’.
The report said: “Apple would be doing a service to society by changing this image to a plastic toy gun, such as a bright pink or green water squirter.”
The water pistol isn’t the only change to the emoji design set – while many of the old emoticons have been given slight tweaks, there are some new ones in there too.
A rainbow flag is being included, alongside several gender variations in the ‘family’ emojis, including single-parent families and new designs of same-sex parents.
There will also be female versions of the walking, cycling, rowing, golfing, weight-lifting, basketball, surfing, swimming, and running emojis.
The most tweeted emojis of 2015
The new designs will be rolled out in the iOS 10 update for iPhone, iPod and iPad users, though a release date for the new software is currently unknown.
