The swap will come when Apple rolls out its new operating system – iOS 10 – and will be among a number of updated emojis on offer, including occupational emojis now available in female versions (such as a female weightlifter and female engineer) and new family configurations.
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They’re also replacing the controversial pistol emoji with a neon green water gun. A new job-related emoji for female construction workers and private investigators are also added.
There are lots of changes coming in iOS 10. It also includes new female athletes, a rainbow flag and family options for single parents.
The water gun swap is not Apple’s first foray into cartoon gun control. A teen in Brooklyn was arrested for posting a police emoji with pistol emojis pointing at his head.
Decisions about which emojis live and which don’t are made by an organization called the Unicode Consortium, which oversees new emojis and manages the library of existing icons. A 22-year-old man in France was sentenced to three months in prison after he texted his ex-girlfriend a pistol emoji.
The new water gun emoji replacing the pistol was introduced over a year after the #DisarmTheiPhone movement started, a social media campaign launched by the advocacy group New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.
Apple announced a bunch of new emojis on Monday.
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The fall update will feature hundreds of new and revamped emoji characters on iPhones and iPads, as the tech company works with Unicode Consortium to ensure its emojis represent its diverse users, according to a press release.
