All of it sounds a bit freakish and unnecessary, but many people have been calling for Apple to do this, such as an organization known as New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, who have been campaigning for Apple to replace the pistol emoji. Apple is replacing its gun emoji with a green water pistol in iOS 10, its new iPhone and iPad operating system coming this fall.
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After much debate, in January 2016, the Russian government concluded that pre-installed emojis don’t violate the law against promoting homosexuality to minors.
CNN reports that a group called New Yorkers Against Gun Violence began campaigning a year ago to get Apple to dump its pistol emoji “as a symbolic gesture to limit gun accessibility”.
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. Earlier when there was a talk to include the rifle emoji in Unicode 9, Apple, along with Microsoft, put its foot down and lobbied hard to ensure that no such emoji is included. Last year, a 12-year-old child in Virginia was charged with a felony and fined for using the pistol emoji in an Instagram post that police said amounted to a death threat, NBC News reported.
However, this is not Apple’s first raid into cartoon gun control.
One of the most noticeable changes is the gun emoji has been replaced with a less offensive water pistol.
Ifyou can’t wait for the newest update released in just a few months you can download the public beta version now.
Additionally, there is now a rainbow flag, reflecting Apple’s support for same-sex marriage.
A teen was arrested for posting a police emoji with pistol emoticons pointing at its head.
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Apple is following in Google’s footsteps when it comes to releasing more emojis that promote gender equality.
