The squirt gun may still look like a pistol to recipients who view the message on a non-Apple device. In 2015, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence kicked off a campaign to get rid of the pistol on grounds of it being “a symbolic gesture to limit gun accessibility”.
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According to a CNN report, Apple will replace the “controversial” pistol emoji with a green water gun in the next iOS 10 upgrade.
Apple is working with the Unicode Consortium, the organization that oversees the inclusion of new emoji.
Once sent the symbols will transform into the logo, this can then be copy and pasted from your iPhone into new conversations.
Some of the new female emojis which are being added by Apple in the iOS 10 version are female emojis for runners, swimmers, cyclists, and builders, among a horde of others.
Google announced two weeks ago that it would begin supporting the new gender equal emojis. This move is to ensure that emoji characters will reflect the diversity of people everywhere, Apple Newsroom reported. And some female-only characters have also expanded to include men in the dancing, massaging and hair-cutting emoji.
Apple has made a decision to remove the revolver emoji from its iOS lineup. Earlier this year the governing body in charge of emojis nixed a proposed rifle emoji.
Apart from the toy gun, iOS 10 will introduce redesigns of the rainbow flag and more family options.
Apple’s iOS 10 also brings with it a new feature for QuickType, which includes emoji suggestions based on the word the user is typing.
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Have fun with your fake guns while you can, the pistol emoji will be no more this fall.
