It’s World Emoji Day again, where has the time gone since the last one? It’s tomorrow, Saturday, July 17. Most years, Apple sneak-previews some of the emoji it’s working on and will release in the Fall.
But this year it’s all about me, me, me. Or rather, me, me, Memoji.
As you’ll know, Memoji are the rather brilliant Apple-only creation that first arrived when the iPhone switched to Face ID. You can customize the look of your cartoony doppelganger with skin and hair color, facial jewelry, spectacles, hats and more.
As you look at the iPhone camera, the Memoji mimics your facial expressions perfectly. They are a lot of fun.
But Apple seems to have decided you can’t have enough of a good thing and this year has used World Emoji Day to show off what’s coming in iOS 15. Anyone using the public beta of iOS 15 (on a secondary device, remember) can now access a lot of extra customization options.
Here’s what’s new.
Customized clothing
More than 40 new outfits are available, so you rarely need wear the same clothes twice. And since there are up to three different colors, there’s real variety here.
Since many Memoji stickers include upper body, it’s easy to show off your hoodie, zip jacket or sports kit.
New headgear
It’s multi-colored, too, so you can express your support for your favorite team.
Glasses
Sure, there are plenty of styles for face furniture such as glasses already, but supposing you want something a bit more Elton John? Or heart-shaped or retro? Now, you can.
Accessibility options
These are hands-down the coolest additions and include cochlear implants, oxygen tubes and soft helmet options.
Two different eye colors
Also very cool: now you can choose different colors for each eye.
Stickers
New elements for stickers include a cute shaka, a hand wave and a light bulb moment—that thing we all need more of.
Emoji
Beyond Apple, the Unicode Consortium is previewing several upcoming emoji including pregnant man, person with crown, crutch, playground slide and ID. Then there are a bunch of new smileys including salute, melting face, can’t-bear-to-look-ppeing-through-fingers and, my favorite, holding back tears. Check out @Emojipedia on Twitter for more details.
Happy World Emoji Day.
