Apple's massive emoji redesign arrives with iOS 10.2
Apple just delivered an early Christmas present to emoji lovers.
The company is now rolling out iOS 10.2, which adds hundreds of new characters, to iOS devices. The update also redesigns nearly all of the the existing emoji characters.
The update adds the 72 new characters that have been part of the iOS 10.2 beta since last month, as well as the new professional emoji that show men and women in new careers.
We're also getting some of the more controversial characters like the new gorilla emoji (cue the Harambe memes) and a creepy clown. Included in the new emoji: the facepalm, the selfie, several new smileys (Face With Cowboy Hat, anyone?) and lots of new food.
Close observers will notice more changes than just the new characters, though. In iOS 10.2, Apple also redesigned just about all of the existing emoji so many of your old favorites will now look a lot different.
Almost all of the emoji characters look much more realistic and three-dimensional. (This was part of why the peach emoji was controversially changed in one of the iOS 10.2 betas, though it was later restored to its former glory.)
If you want a full list of everything that's changed, Emojipedia has a good rundown of all the updates.
New emoji aside, iOS 10.2 also adds Apple's new TV app, which acts as a guide for its Apple TV set-top box.
You can grab the new new update now by heading over to Settings --> General --> Software Update.
Topics Apple
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
