Apple proposes 13 new emoji to represent people with disabilities

Apple proposed new emoji today that would better represent hearing aids, guides, and people with disabilities, in a submission to the Unicode Consortium, as noted by Emojipedia.

Apple wrote in its submission, “Apple is requesting the addition of emoji to better represent individuals with disabilities. Currently, emoji provide a wide range of options, but may not represent the experiences of those with disabilities.”

The new suite of emoji include a hearing aid, people using canes or wheelchairs, a guide dog, and prosthetic limbs. There are 13 new emoji suggested in total, with 45 if you count skin tone options. Apple says the emoji are just a starting point, hinting that there might be more accessibility emoji to come.

The Unicode Technical Committee meeting, where members will deliberate over these emoji, is slated for next month. If these emoji are approved, they would be put on a shortlist of candidates for Emoji 12.0, due for a release during the first half of 2019. Meanwhile, the emoji list for 2018 has been completed and is due to come to major mobile platforms during the second half of this year.