Apple unveils new emojis to increase diversity

July 17 (UPI) -- In an effort to bring more diversity to its emoji collection, Apple announced Tuesday a new line of characters that include images representing the disabled along with expanded relationship options.

Emojis include images of a guide dog, an ear with a hearing aid, wheelchairs, a prosthetic arm and a prosthetic leg, which will be available in the fall. Emojis of couples holding hands will feature 75 different combinations of skin tones and gender matches.

"Celebrating diversity in all its many forms is integral to Apple's values and these new options help fill a significant gap in the emoji keyboard," an Apple statement said.

"Many additional emoji categories are getting exciting updates with a new smiley face for yawning, a one-piece swimsuit, new food items including a waffle, falafel, butter and garlic, and new animals like the sloth, flamingo, orangutan and skunk," Apple said.

According to USA Today, Apple worked with American Council of the Blind, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, the National Association of the Deaf, among others in an effort to come up with appealing emojis for the disabled.

David Phelan, a Forbes lifestyle technology contributor, said Apple will likely roll out the emojis when the iOS 13 goes online, but some could be available with iOS12 updates.

"Apple's take on emoji is just what you'd expect, detailed, precise and original," Phelan said. "Sometimes they even have too much detail, like the vomiting face emoji from 2017 where green flecks provided a little more reality than was required."